OffshoreInsiders Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a pick Thursday on the Miami Hurricanes (-5.5) to Georgia Tech.
Reasoning: The very young Yellow Jackets have been half a disgrace at times this season and especially away from Hotlanta. Miami is not much better than mediocre but they do have quality guard play and being in South Beach should be too much for G Tech. In fact just being anywhere outside of their home element should be too much for G Tech.
Paul Hewitt has not coached his team up very well and right now the Jackets are a lower echelon ACC squad that has been awful. They have shown some glimpses at the Thrillerdome as Iman Shumpert, Daniel Miller, Glen Rice and a few others have manned up to beat North Carolina and play better at times against others but the road has been a different story and until they show anything really should lose by double digits against any opponent that has anything at all.
Tech is a perfect or imperfect 0-6 on the road and none of the games have even been that competitive. They lost to a dreadful team in Kennesaw State earlier in the season and were also downed by five by a regressing Siena program. The Saints are far from being the class of the MAAC anymore and all in all Tech has been brutally bad away and just cannot in any way, shape of form be trusted in such a spot.
Miami is 12-9 and if a few extremely tight games went their way it would be more like 15-6. This team has played a plethora of games that have come down to the last possession and they have been snakebitten with the results. But they have quality guard play led by Malcolm Grant and today is the game that they should get well with.
There is the potential for a blowout but in the end blowout or not I don’t see these visitors being able to compete. They haven’t yet so why tonight?
Top expert pick on this game: Miami Florida
Yesterday, we were two letters off. We stated that ESPN’s Chad Millman has renamed to long-standing sports handicapping tool of Margin of Cover as the “sweat meter.” He in fact refers to it as the “sweat barometer.” By any name, the “Margin of Cover” (+/- how much they did or did not cover by) continues to be a betting weapon.
Now that sports betting experts know the top MOC teams in NCAAB to bet on or against, how about analyzing which teams in college basketball are best and worst off straight up wins and losses?
Cal Poly has been the top “predictably unpredictable” squad as they are 1-7 against the spread off a straight up win, but 8-1 to the number off a straight up loss.
Here are the best teams off an outright win:
Team Against the spread record
Hawaii 8-1
George Mason 13-3
Texas 12-3
Cleveland State 11-3
However, the following teams can’t stand prosperity. These are the best teams to bet against off a straight up win:
Team Against the spread record
Miss State 1-8
Ohio 1-7
Miami Ohio 1-7
Southern Illinois 1-7
Cal Poly 1-7
Michigan State 2-9
Who are the best bounce back teams? Only two teams have been particular impressive against the sportsbook odds off a straight up setback:
Team Against the spread record
Cal Poly 8-1
San Francisco 7-1
Conversely, losing is quite contagious for these spread disasters. Here are the worst teams to bet on—or the best teams to bet against off a straight up loss.
Team Against the spread record
Fordham 1-8
Texas Tech 1-7
Florida Intl. 1-7
Arkansas State 1-7
San Diego 3-13
For more information: Get today’s top sports picks and the video preview of Super Bowl 2011 on the OffshoreInsiders Network.
