Miami-Notre Dame Odds: Hurricanes Road Favorites
Both Teams Having Some Problem in ACC Play
The Miami Hurricanes visit the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a game between two NCAAB teams in need of ACC victories. The Hurricanes are 12-6 overall, but just 3-4 in conference play. Miami is already 4.5 games behind North Carolina in the NCAAB conference standings. It’s been even tougher for Notre Dame.
The Irish are just 7-11 and 2-5 in ACC play. Notre Dame has just one victory over a team ranked in the KenPom top 100. The Irish have lost eight NCAAB games to teams ranked in the Pomeroy top 100. The Miami-Notre Dame odds show the Hurricanes are 4.5-point road favorites and the total on the game is 140.
Hurricanes vs Fighting Irish 
Day/Time:
Location: Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Streaming: Watch Live Sports
Miami With Puzzling ACC Losses
While Miami is 3-4 in conference play, it’s some of the losses that are troubling. The Hurricanes lost at home to Louisville as a 16.5-point favorite and then lost to Florida State as 5.5-point favorites the next home game. Miami is a better team than that, as evidenced by its 12-6 record. The Hurricanes are 9-9 against the spread and 10-8 in totals on the NCAAB season.
Offensively, Miami is averaging 82.4 points per game on 49.1% shooting. The ‘Canes hit 39.3% of 3-point attempts and 55.2% on 2-pointers. But since ACC play began, Miami is shooting 36.4% from 3-point range and 52.5% on 2-pointers.
The Hurricanes are a little below average in turnovers and grabbing offensive rebounds. Miami doesn’t get to the line often as a result of shooting a number of 3-pointers. The Hurricanes are last in the ACC in free throw attempts per field goal attempts in conference games.
The Miami defense isn’t bad, allowing 72.8 points per game. The Hurricanes do a solid job at keeping the opposition off the foul line, but do allow a few too many offensive rebounds. In ACC games, Miami is allowing 32.8% on 3-point attempts and 50.6% on 2-point attempts.
Irish Seeking to Make Amends
Notre Dame is looking to turn the tables on the Hurricanes after dropping a 62-49 decision in Miami last month. The Irish were just 18 for 63 from the field in the game. Miami wasn’t a whole lot better, but the Hurricanes shot well enough to win.
Notre Dame may not be getting the job done on the NCAAB scoreboard, but the Irish have been cashing tickets for bettors. The Irish are 6-1 against the spread in conference games and 7-2 ATS after scoring fewer than 60 points.
Offensively, Notre Dame isn’t much, scoring just 62.6 points per game on 40.2% shooting. The Irish are shooting 29.7% on 3-pointers and 48.3% from 2-point range. Notre Dame is shooting better from 3-point range and worse inside the arc in conference games. The Irish play at a slow pace but still make too many turnovers and don’t grab enough offensive rebounds.
On defense, Notre Dame is above average, holding teams to 40.3% shooting The Irish have been a little bit better defending the inside, ranking No. 1 in the ACC in 2-point field goal percentage allowed. Notre Dame doesn’t force many turnovers but does a decent job preventing offensive rebounds.
What to Expect
Miami plays an up-tempo game and will look to get Notre Dame out of its comfort zone. The tempo was down a little bit in the first meeting between the two. But it was poor shooting that played a bigger part in the low score.
Notre Dame will come out looking to slow things down again. The Irish don’t have the athletes to play conference foes at a fast tempo. This isn’t the gridiron, where you can expect to see Notre Dame in the NCAA college football rankings. Instead, Notre Dame has to try and shorten the game to have its best shot at winning.
Who to Bet On?
The Miami-Notre Dame odds of Hurricanes -4.5 look to be a bit low at first glance. But after looking how the teams perform against the spread, it makes some sense. Notre Dame has played three overtime games and four other games decided by four points or less.
So the Irish are playing tough, just not coming up big down the stretch. Notre Dame gets a slight edge in strength of schedule, so the betting odds calculator has Miami winning 71-67, making the line and total pretty close to the prediction.
The Miami-Notre Dame odds on the total appear to be a shade high. The over/under when the team first played was 144.5. But Notre Dame wasn’t struggling to score quite like it is now. This is one of those games that makes you pause, as the total should be closer to 138. But the betting value on this game is on the under. So play the under 140 for one of your NCAA basketball picks for Wednesday.
For NCAAB betting news, NCAAB odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
