Duke vs Miami 3/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Miami Hurricanes & 7^th ranked Duke Blue Devils will square off at the Barclays Center this Friday night in the Semifinals of the New York Life ACC Tournament.

The 4-seed Miami Hurricanes improved to 23-9 on the season after defeating the 13-seed Boston College Eagles, 71-69 (OT), yesterday afternoon. Miami allowed Boston College to fight back from a 61-56 deficit with 3:56 left in regulation to force OT, however, the Hurricanes were able to avoid the upset after Jordan Miller hit a game-winning layup with just :01 second left in regulation. Miami shot 53.6% from the field & 31.6% from beyond the arc while allowing Boston College to shoot 50.9% from the field & 40.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Hurricanes was Kameron McGusty who had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, & 2 steals.

Coming into their game against Boston College, Miami was averaging 74.9 ppg on 47.7% shooting from the field. The Hurricanes were averaging 7.3 three-pointers per game on 35.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Miami has been led by Kameron McGusty (17.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 spg), Isaiah Wong (15.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 apg), Charlie Moore (12.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.0 spg), & Jordan Miller (9.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.7 spg).

Defensively, prior to their game against Boston College, Miami was allowing their opponents to average 70.8 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Hurricanes had a rebound margin of -4.0 and a turnover margin of 4.3.

The 1-seed Duke Blue Devils improved to 27-5 on the season after defeating the 9-seed Syracuse Orange, 88-79, yesterday afternoon. Duke had their had their hands full with Syracuse, however, the Blue Devils were outstanding offensively in the 2^nd half against the Orange and pulled away later after closing out the final 3:38 of regulation on a 10-0 run. Duke shot 47.8% from the field & 34.4% from beyond the arc while allowing Syracuse to shoot 40.3% from the field & 41.9% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Blue Devils was Wendell Moore Jr. who had 26 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, & 1 block.

Coming into their game against Syracuse, Duke was averaging 80.4 ppg on 48.9% shooting from the field. The Blue Devils were averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 37.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Duke has been led by Paolo Banchero (17.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.0 spg), Wendell Moore Jr. (13.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.5 spg), Trevor Keels (12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.4 spg), & Mark Williams (11.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.8 bpg).

Defensively, prior to their game against Syracuse, Duke was holding their opponents to an average of 66.0 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Blue Devils had a rebound margin of 4.7 and a turnover margin of 1.0.

The Hurricanes are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss & 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The Blue Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games, however, are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.

Miami defeated Duke in their only regular season matchup this season as the Hurricanes defeated the Blue Devils by a 76-74 margin on the road in early January.

Duke is an outstanding basketball team that has been solid on both ends of the court, however, the defense has been a bit of concern as of late after allowing North Carolina & Syracuse to combine for 173 points (86.5 ppg). Miami had all they could handle against Boston College, however, this is still a very good team that has been led by their offense, which ranks 76^th in scoring offense & 27^th in FG%, and as I think the Hurricanes offense will keep this game competitive, I’m taking the Hurricanes and the points. Good Luck!