Jeff Benton
Tuesday's 30 Dime winner ... 30 Dime: MIAMI, FLA. (minus the points over Boston College)
Miami (Fla.)
There’s not a more misleading final score in ACC play this season – and maybe all of college basketball – than Boston College 61, Miami 60 back on Dec. 6 in Massachusetts. In that game, Miami shot 47.2 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line and committed just six turnovers, while the Eagles shot 34.5 percent from the field, 72 percent from the foul stripe and had 11 turnovers. So how did the Hurricanes lose? Two reasons: They got outrebounded by a whopping 43-19 margin, and they got hosed by the officials. See, those aforementioned free-throw percentages are deceptive, as Miami went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, and B.C. went 18-for-25. Yep, the home team shot 21 more free throws, and that proved to be the obvious difference in a one-point game.
Well, tonight’s contest is down in South Beach. You think that free-throw gap might narrow significantly this time around? Of course it will. Hell, even if the free throws are even, Miami not only wins this game, it covers it easily.
Yes, the Hurricanes have followed up a seven-game winning streak (which started after the loss at Boston College) with consecutive disastrous efforts on the road against ACC foes Virginia Tech (15-point defeat) and Virginia (18-point defeat). But Miami has proven to be a much stronger team at home, where it has won 11 in a row (9-0 this year), and that streak started last February with a 69-58 victory over Boston College as a 6½-point home favorite. This year at home, Miami has posted seven double-digit wins (and another was a five-point victory over a solid Minnesota squad), and the Hurricanes’ average margin of victory at home has been 20 points.
As for Boston College, it has lost three straight ACC games to Clemson (72-56 on the road), Duke (79-59 on the road) and Maryland (73-57 at home), failing to cover in all three contests. Not only were the Eagles not competitive in those contests, but they couldn’t score the ball, scoring 56, 59 and 57 points while shooting just 38.9 percent (their opponents shot a combined 46.8 percent and scored 72, 79 and 73 points!).
Back to this rivalry: Although Miami came up short in Boston back in December, it did cash as 4½-point road underdog. So the Hurricanes are 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings (and as I have detailed, that one loss very easily could’ve been a Miami win).
Two final points to make: Since stealing that game from Miami, Boston College is just 4-6 SU – with losses to Harvard, Rhode Island and Maine, all at HOME! – and the Eagles are just 1-7 ATS in their last eight lined contests.
Guys, this is a total mismatch, and this line is an absolute joke and an overreaction to Miami’s last two performances, which came on the road in ACC play. The Hurricanes get back on track tonight in their building and they do so by handing mediocre-at-best Boston College yet another double-digit conference loss!
Bought, Paid & Confirmed:toast: