The 7-seed Miami Hurricanes will take on the 10-seed Missouri Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night at the Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis.
Although Miami has the better seed, the NCAA Tournament selection committee awarded the Tigers a de facto home game just two hours away from their campus in Columbia, Missouri.
Miami Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas isn’t worried about the location of their first round game, though.
“It was business as usual for us,” he said. “We’ve won eight road games, which is one of the most in the country, and we’ve kind of felt under appreciated all year. They could have put this game on the moon. We’ve been fine. We’re going to show up and do what we do no matter where we are.”
An exciting element of the NCAA Tournament is the clash of non-conference opponents, where contrasting styles often define the matchup. However, these teams are eerily similar in style of play. Both teams suffer from a good amount of turnovers: 10.9 a game for Miami and 11.7 for Missouri. Neither team relies on the three-point shot as Miami averages 6.6 made threes a game and Missouri averages 7.2.
The performance of each team’s big men will be pivotal. Miami’s Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh will have to be efficient offensively and convert from the free-throw line more often than not – an issue that has plagued the Hurricanes for the entirety of the season. However, staying aggressive inside on its own will be important for the Canes, as Missouri’s starting center Shawn Phillips Jr. lived in foul trouble in their last three games of the season, fouling out and playing less than 20 minutes in their SEC tournament loss to Kentucky.
While the big men will play a massive role, if this game is back and forth in the final minutes, it will be a head-to-head battle between Miami guard Tre Donaldson Jr. and Missouri guard Mark Mitchell for the big-time shot to close out the game and send their respective teams to the Round of 32 game on Sunday.
In terms of the trends for each team entering the NCAA tournament, Missouri has three straight losses despite Mitchell recording over 30 points in their last two games. On the other side, Miami has been performing much better as of late, only dropping three games since the start of February. However, the Canes lost to the University of Virginia in the ACC Tournament Semifinal in humiliating fashion, 84-62.
Ultimately, the winner of this one will play the winner of No. 2 Purdue versus No. 15 Queens NC Sunday in St. Louis, Missouri, in the Round of 32.
Odds and Prediction:
Pick ATS: Miami (-2.5)
Pick OU: Under (147.5)
Prediction: Miami 77, Missouri 72