@SidekicksPicks CBB Play of the Day - 2/16

The Miami Hurricanes travel to Kentucky to face off against the Louisville Cardinals for 7:00 pm tip. The Hurricanes are currently 18-7 overall, 6-2 on the road. They are currently on a 2 game winning streak and have won 4 of their last 6 games. Of those 6 games, 4 have been on the road and they are 3-1 in their last 4 away games. The Hurricanes are tied in 3rd place in the ACC with a 10-4 record. Louisville is having a down year and are 11-13, 7-6 at home. The Cardinals are currently on a 6 game losing streak and are 1-9 in their last 10 games. The Cardinals are on a 3 game losing streak at home and have won 1-4 in their last 5 at home. Louisville is 10th in the ACC with a 5-9 record.

Miami has had a successful season and are right in the mix for the ACC title. This game is very important for the Hurricanes as they are trying to build their resume for the tournament. A bad loss to Louisville would be detrimental to their case. As of now, the Hurricanes are a 10 seed in the tournament. They are currently 1 game out of 1st in the ACC and if they want any chance at winning the ACC, they need to handle lesser opponents.

Miami holds quality wins over Duke, Wake Forest twice, UNC, and VTech. Miami is a solid offensive team that can light up the scoreboard. They rank 85th in the country in ppg (74.8) and 41st in fg% (47.1). Their downfall is their ability to defend. They give up a ton of points and rank high 200s - 300s in all defensive categories, but this team finds a way to win and covers.

Louisville has been one of the worst teams in a conference that has had a down year. The Cardinals don’t have an answer on any side of the ball and rank in the mid 200s in just about every category, except offensive rebounding (47th). They hold quality wins over Mississippi St. and Wake Forest. Overall, this is a terrible team that can’t find any consistency.

• Hurricanes are 5-1 ats in their last 6 road games, 6-2 ats in their last 8 road games
• Hurricanes are 4-1 ats in their last 5 road games vs a team with a winning home record
• Hurricanes are 7-3 ats in their last 10 games overall
• Cardinals are 3-10 ats in their last 13 home games, 1-6 in their last 7 home games
• Cardinals are 2-8 ats in their last 10 games overall
• Cardinals are 0-5 in their last 5 home games as an underdog
• Cardinals are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs a team with a winning record

The trends indicate that Miami should win this game and cover. I think that Miami has more to play for and more to lose. They have a chance to grab that ACC title and need every win that they can get. A bad loss would ruin their resume for the NCAA tournament. Louisville has struggled in every aspect this season. They fail to cover consistently throughout this season and have been on a terrible run.

This should be a no brainer bet. The numbers indicate Miami and Miami is a much better team than Louisville.