The No. 5 Miami Hurricanes (28-7) and No. 2 Texas Longhorns (29-8) will battle it out Sunday to see which team moves onto the Final Four out of the Midwest region. This game will take place at T-Mobile Center, with tipoff scheduled for 5:05 pm ET.
The Longhorns are the favorites to win this one. They are -178 to win, while the Hurricanes’ moneyline is +146. The spread features Miami as 3.5-point underdogs (-104), and the over/under for total points is 149.5 (-110).
Miami Looks To Make School History
Last season was the first time that Miami ever made the Elite Eight. After losing to Kansas last year, they will look to make the Final Four for the first time in school history.
To get to this point, the Hurricanes had to take down the No. 1 Houston Cougars, beating them 89-75, which was even more impressive given that Houston had the second-best defense in the country, allowing an average of 57.5 points per game to opponents.
Guards Nijel Pack (26 points) and Isaiah Wong (20 points) led Miami to the victory. Wong has led the team this year in scoring, averaging 16.3 points. Pack was the third-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per year.
As a unit, Miami ranks 15th in scoring, averaging 79.4 points per game. On the defensive end, they rank 211th, allowing opponents an average of 71.7 points per game. Over their last three, though, they have allowed just 66.7 points per game.
Texas Is the Top Surviving Seed
With all four number-one seeds out of the tournament, Texas now finds itself tied with Connecticut as the favorites to win the National Championship (+350). Trying to avoid being upset, they will look to take down Miami on Sunday.
In their last game, Texas took down No. 3 Xavier 83-71. In the win, the Longhorns had four players with 16 points or more, including Sir’Jabari Rice (16), Christian Bishop (18), Marcus Carr (18), and Tyrese Hunter (19).
Collectively, Texas ranks 25th in scoring, averaging 77.9 points per game. In 37 games this season, Carr (15.8 points, 3 rebounds, 4.1 assists), Rice (12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists), and Hunter (10.4 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists) have been their most productive players.
Texas is also decent on the defensive end. They rank 82nd in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 67.3 points per game.
Take Texas To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, Miami is 6-4 against the spread in their last 10, including 3-0 against the spread in this tournament. In their last ten overall, they are 8-2.
The Longhorns are on a seven-game winning streak and are 8-1-1 against the spread in their last ten matchups.
This one is a tough one to call. Both have momentum and can put up points on the offensive end. It is the defensive side where the Longhorns have a distinct advantage, though, and that will likely come into play in this one.
Miami will probably keep it close through the first half, but don’t be surprised if Texas pulls away a bit in the second. Take Texas to win and cover the 3.5 points (-118).
