Miami Hurricanes vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 2/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Miami Hurricanes vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Monday, February 8, 2021

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+10)

Dean E. Smith Center is the site where and the North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6) will take on the Miami Hurricanes (7-11) on Monday. North Carolina opens this contest as 10-point favorites. The O/U is set at 141.

Miami comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 7-11 so far this season. They are averaging 66.7 points per contest (291st in the nation) while hitting 43.2% from the floor. The Hurricanes are shooting 29.4% from downtown (101 of 344) and 68.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Miami is collecting 35.8 boards per game and has accumulated 211 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 178th in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.6 times per contest and as a team they are committing 13.4 personal fouls per game. On the defensive end, the Hurricanes are able to force 12.9 turnovers per game and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. The Hurricanes defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.4% (466 of 1,074) and they concede 34.6 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 309th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 263 surrendered this year. They give up 37.1% from beyond the arc and they are 176th in D-1 in points per game allowed (69.9).

The Miami Hurricanes played the Virginia Tech Hokies and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-76 in their last contest. Miami walked away from the contest with a 41.4% field goal percentage (24 of 58) and knocked down 6 of their 20 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Hurricanes made 22 of 26 tries for a percentage of 84.6%. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they collected 33 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 12 dimes in this matchup while earning 5 steals and 2 blocked shots. When discussing defending, Miami allowed the other team to go 41.4% from the field on 24 of 58 shooting. Virginia Tech distributed 25 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. Furthurmore, the Hokies grabbed 29 rebounds (5 offensive, 24 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Virginia Tech ended up going 80.0% when shooting free throws by converting 12 of their 15 tries. They converted 8 out of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Elijah Olaniyi is one guy who had an impact in the matchup. He scored 19 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 41 minutes and pulled down 4 rebounds. Olaniyi finished the contest at 54.5% from the field and also recorded 2 assists. An additional guy that was a major factor in the game for the Hurricanes was Isaiah Wong. He grabbed 8 rebounds and also accounted for 6 dimes. He finished the contest at 33.3% from the field for the game by shooting 4-of-12 (19 points). When this game wrapped up, Wong was on the court for 39 min.

North Carolina has a record of 12-6 for the season. The Tar Heels are committing 17.3 personal fouls per contest while shooting 65.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.1 times per contest (77th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 15.0 times per game. North Carolina has accounted for 1,333 points so far this year (74.1 per contest) and they pull in 42.5 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Tar Heels are connecting on 44.0% from the field, which is 198th in the nation. The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 184th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 70.4. They are forcing 13.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.2% from the floor (181st in college basketball). The North Carolina defense gives up 36.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (152 of 419) and opponents are knocking down 68.3% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 13.2 assists and 31.6 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 193rd and 49th in D-1.

In their last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels got the victory with a final of 91-87 when they faced the Duke Blue Devils. The Tar Heels corralled 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 35 for this contest. They blocked 3 shots while getting 10 steals in this contest. The Blue Devils earned 18 fouls in the matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to convert 13 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 59.1%. In relation to three-point shots, North Carolina made 10 out of 15 attempts (66.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Tar Heels went 34 for 64 from the floor which had them shooting 53.1%. The Tar Heels permitted the Blue Devils to bury 36 of 67 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.7% in this matchup. They finished 44.0% from behind the 3-point line via 11 of 25 and ended up shooting 4 of 7 from the free throw line (57.1%). With respect to attacking the glass, North Carolina allowed Duke to snag 28 in all (8 offensive).

Caleb Love ended up being a major contributor for the Tar Heels in this contest. He knocked down 9 out of 16 for the contest for a field goal rate of 56.3%, which had him finishing with 25 points. Love snagged 2 boards in his 31 mins played and had 7 assists for the game. Another guy who was a determining factor for North Carolina was Armando Bacot. He left the arena with 16 points in 25 minutes played by going 6 of 12 from the floor in this contest. Bacot ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and also collecting 2 dimes and 6 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami (+10)

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