Miami Hurricanes vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Miami Hurricanes vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The North Carolina Tar Heels (18-11) will play the Miami Hurricanes (6-22) at Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.

The Miami Hurricanes played Duke and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 97-60 in their last game. Miami ended the game having earned a 39.1% FG percentage (25 out of 64) and knocked down 5 out of their 25 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Hurricanes converted 5 of 5 attempts for a rate of 100.0%. In the matter of getting rebounds, they compiled 25 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 dimes for this game as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When it comes to the defense, Miami allowed the other team to go 56.1% from the floor on 32 of 57 shooting. Duke distributed 20 dimes and had 10 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Duke snagged 27 rebounds (7 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Duke shot 90.0% at the charity stripe by making 18 of their 20 shots. They buried 15 of their 25 shots from 3-point range. When talking about fouls, the Hurricanes ended up with 17 and Duke accounted for 10 fouls.

Lynn Kidd is someone who came through for this game. He ended up scoring 17 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also totaled 3 boards. He shot 57.1% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Miami comes into this contest with a mark of 6-22 for the season. They currently have an average of 74.1 pts per contest (181st in D-1) while connecting on 46.1% from the field. The Hurricanes are shooting 31.5% from downtown (202 of 642) and 77.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Miami is pulling in 31.8 boards per game and has accumulated 363 dimes for the year, which is 243rd in D-1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.0 times per game and as a squad they are committing 14.6 fouls every game.

On defense, the Hurricanes are forcing 10.0 turnovers every game while drawing 14.7 fouls. They currently rank 346th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 457 conceded on the campaign. The Hurricanes defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 49.4% (818 of 1,657) and they surrender 33.4 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 39.5% on 3-point attempts and they are 351st in college hoops in opponents points per game (80.3).

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 96-85 when they faced Florida State. When talking about rebounding, North Carolina permitted Florida State to pull down 19 overall (4 on the offensive side). They shot 50.0% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 10 of 20 and ended up going 21 of 28 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Tar Heels permitted Florida State to make 27 of 50 attempts from the field which left them shooting 54.0% in this game. When all was said and done, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 32 for 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.2%. When discussing three-point attempts, North Carolina buried 10 of 26 attempts (38.5%). They were able to bury 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 71.0%. Florida State committed 25 fouls for the game which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for 31 shots. They also gave up possession 8 times, while getting 2 steals in the matchup. The Tar Heels earned 20 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this matchup.

RJ Davis ended up being a major contributor for the Tar Heels in this game. He earned 20 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and had 5 dimes for the contest. He buried 5 of 9 for the matchup for a rate of 55.6%, and totaled 2 rebounds.

North Carolina has a record of 18-11 on the campaign. The Tar Heels have committed 17.4 fouls every game and they go 73.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.5 times per game (122nd in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.8 times per game. North Carolina has scored 2,361 pts this season (81.4 per contest) and they pull in 36.7 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Tar Heels are shooting 47.6% from the field, which has them ranked 45th in Division 1.

The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 309th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 76.6. They are forcing their opponents into 10.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.5% from the field (161st in college hoops). The North Carolina defense allows 34.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (236 of 685) and opponents are connecting on 75.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 13.2 dimes and 33.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is 189th and 158th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami

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