Miami seeks its first win in over a month when it hosts SMU on Saturday. The Hurricanes enter the game on Saturday afternoon with 18 consecutive losses versus Power Conference opponents, 16 straight in the ACC and six in a row overall. SMU has won its last two games and is in sixth place in the ACC.
Expect a high-scoring game. Miami likes an uptempo style and SMU is 57th nationally averaging 73.7 possessions per game. SMU is incredibly balanced offensively with seven players averaging over eight points per game. Lynn Kidd and Matthew Cleveland are the only players playing for Miami on Saturday averaging in double figures.
Matthew Cross returns to Miami after previously playing for Louisville and Massachusetts. Cross is fourth on SMU averaging 10.1 PPG and leads the Mustangs posting 8.1 rebounds per game. Miami will be without Nijel Pack and Divine Ugochukwu. Austin Swartz will continue starting for Miami at point guard.
SMU projects to be a bad offensive matchup for Miami. The Mustangs rank in the 100 in most offensive categories. Miami is a very poor defensive team. The Hurricanes rank below 300th in four defensive categories. Miami needs to focus less on three-point shots and more on shooting inside the arc with a 57.4 shooting percentage.
SMU at Miami FanDuel Odds
Miami is a 5.5-point home underdog to SMU per FanDuel. Laying the points with SMU is minus 102. Taking Miami and the points is minus 120. SMU is minus 210 on the money line and Miami is plus 172. The over/under is 157.5. Betting the over is minus 106 and taking the under is minus 114.
Miami versus SMU series history
Miami and SMU are playing for the first-time. There are a lot of firsts for SMU this season in the ACC.
SMU at Miami TV information and announcers
SMU at Miami will tip off at 2 PM Eastern time on ESPNU with Wes Durham calling play-by-play and Dan Bonner as the analyst.
Predictions
Until Miami proves otherwise they cannot be safely bet on. Taking SMU and the money line seems like a safe bet. The over/under is extremely high, but with SMU a very good offensive team and Miami poor defensively, the over seems like a good bet.