Miami vs. Louisville prediction: Odds, picks, best bet for ACC Tournament Thursday
Louisville is a team to keep tabs on as we head into the eye of the March Madness storm.Ranked No.24 by the AP and boasting a 22-9 record, the Cardinals look like your classic good-not-great team.
Their sixth-place finish in the ACC this season furthers that notion.It’s unlikely that Louisville will be on a lot of radars ahead of the Big Dance, where they’re projected to be a No.
6 seed.But there is more to this team than appears on the surface.
Miami may find that out the hard way in Thursday’s ACC Tournament clash.While Louisville may be a little underrated based on its standing in the ACC, the opposite is true of Miami.The Hurricanes are still a terrific outfit, but the numbers suggest that they’re probably the fifth or sixth-best team in the conference.KenPom has three teams (Duke, Miami, and Virginia) power-rated ahead of Miami, while Bart Torvik also has North Carolina and Clemson ranked in front of the Canes.
It’s a negligible difference in the big picture, but it is noteworthy that two of the most respected models in the industry are in agreement: Despite being the lower seed, Louisville should be the favorite in this tilt.What makes Louisville such a tough opponent is that it’s a balanced squad.The Cardinals grade out as an elite offense (11th in Torvik Rankings, 14th per KenPom), but the defense is also terrific, sitting inside the top-30 across both models.Miami is also a balanced side, but the Hurricanes rank behind the Cardinals on both sides of the ball.The rust vs.
rest narrative could come into play here since Louisville was in action on Wednesday, but the Cardinals had a handful of days off before their win over SMU, so I’m not worried about fatigue, and would argue that it’s not a bad thing to have already played a tough opponent in the tournament environment.Louisville is on my radar in this tournament and the next one, and I think they’ll get the better of higher-seeded Miami on Thursday.The Play: Louisville moneyline (-142...