The Miami Hurricanes take on the Indiana Hoosiers. Check out our March Madness odds series for our Miami Indiana prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Miami Indiana.
The college basketball season has created a number of unexpected plot developments, one of them being that Miami won the ACC regular-season championship, getting the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament. A lot of people felt Duke was primed for a big run in March Madness in part because the Blue Devils won the ACC Tournament, beating Miami in the semifinals. What a lot of people might have overlooked or underestimated about Duke's journey was the impact of playing Miami on a night when the Hurricanes' big man, Norchad Omier, got injured. Omier is the glue which holds Miami together. The Hurricanes play a guard-dominant lineup, but they need a big man in the middle to erase shots and rebound the ball. That's Omier. His injury might have affected the semifinal against Duke — and the whole ACC Tournament — more than a lot of people first thought. Duke got bounced from the NCAA Tournament by a Tennessee team which had its big men healthy. The Vols outfought Duke on the glass and used their size and length to great effect.
Omier was able to heal from his injury. He wasn't 100-percent fit, but he was good enough. He scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 36 minutes in Friday's comeback win over Drake. Omier can play better than he did against Drake, but even when he doesn't play an elite game, he still provides a double-double or something close to it. He is someone to watch in this game.
Indiana handled Kent State with fewer problems than many college basketball experts probably anticipated. The key was Trayce Jackson-Davis, the superb big man with excellent quickness and agility who gives Indiana a chance to do something great in this tournament. Jackson-Davis dominated Kent State on Friday. He was easily the best player on the floor. He did whatever had to be done when Indiana needed him to be great. Jackson-Davis is the hammer the Hoosiers will try to use against Miami. The battle between Jackson-Davis and Ormier will be well worth the price of admission.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Miami-Indiana March Madness odds.
March Madness Odds: Miami-Indiana Odds
Miami Hurricanes: +1.5 (-105)
Indiana Hoosiers: -1.5 (-115)
Over: 145.5 (-110)
Under: 145.5 (-110)
How To Watch Miami vs. Indiana
TV: TNT
Stream: CBSSports.com, March Madness app, fuboTV
Time: 8:40 p.m. ET, 5:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Miami-Indiana LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Miami Could Cover the Spread
The Miami Hurricanes did not play a good game against Drake on Friday. This might seem like a reason to pick Indiana and not the Hurricanes, but it is often a great result for a team to win in spite of playing poorly. In the next game, it won't play poorly, and that's when its odds of winning go up, not down.
Isaiah Wong played an absolutely horrible game for Miami against Drake. He went 1 for 10 from the field. Miami still won. Wong won't have a bad game here. He will play extremely well, and if he does play well, Miami usually wins. That is a scenario Indiana should worry about.
Why Indiana Could Cover the Spread
Norchad Omier versus Trayce Jackson-Davis will be an elite big-man matchup, but with Omier not being 100-percent healthy and mobile — certainly good enough to play but also just slow enough to notice — TJD can gain the upper hand in that one-on-one battle. If Jackson-Davis does win this matchup, Indiana very likely wins the game.
Jackson-Davis is in very good position to win that mano-a-mano confrontation with Omier. It's the best reason to pick Indiana.
Final Miami-Indiana Prediction & Pick
Trayce Jackson-Davis will outplay Norchad Omier. Take Indiana.
Final Miami-Indiana Prediction & Pick: Indiana -1.5
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