Play the music! March Madness’ Round of 64 tipped off yesterday with matchups all across the schedule, but the action continues today with even more! Whether you’re tuning in at your leisure this evening or taking off work with the diehards to soak in the action, there are games for everyone no matter where you look.
In what might be one of the most-anticipated matchups in recent memory between a No. 6 and No. 11 seed, the Miami (OH) RedHawks bring a staggering 31-1 record into the first round against the Tennessee Volunteers. There’s chatter that this may be the big upset spot bettors and fans look for, but this’ll surely be a tough battle for the MAC challenger as it looks to take down an SEC foe.
Prepare for the game with a Miami vs. Tennessee prediction, pick and more on DraftKings Sportsbook ahead of today’s contest.
Miami (OH) vs. Tennessee prediction, preview
Miami RedHawks
31-1. Read that again. 31-1. Miami Ohio has dominated college hoops this season and was undefeated heading into the MAC Tournament, though the team fell to Massachusetts in the opening round and was forced to fight through the First Four for a spot in the NCAA’s Round of 64. After downing SMU 89-79 for their first Quad 1 win of the season, the RedHawks punched a ticket to the Big Dance and remain unbeaten against Quad 2 and 3 squads as well.
Miami comes in at 88th in the KenPom rankings with a +9.27 NETRTG. The RedHawks boast one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses with 87.3 PPG, with their ORTG at 61st. They have a 50.6% FG% that’s fifth-best in the country, and a 37.6% 3P% also ranks 21st as well. That efficiency makes them a very formidable opponent, and they’re fairly clean in distributing 15.4 assists per game thanks to a 1.497 AST/TO ratio. The RedHawks bring in 34.3 rebounds a game, too. The defense isn’t nearly as impressive as the offense, however, allowing 76.4 PPG to opponents at 150th in DRTG.
Miami has six double-digit scorers on the roster, lacking a true alpha but getting contributions across the board. Peter Suder brings 14.4 points with 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and he’s matched by Brant Byers with 14.4 PPG as well. Eian Elmer scores 12.9 points with a team-high 5.9 rebounds, while Luka Skaljac averages 10.5 points and a roster-leading 4.7 assists. Almar Atlason and Antwone Woolfolk score 10.1 and 10.0 PPG apiece.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers have put forth a pretty good campaign since after all, it’s tough to complain too much about going 22-11 and 11-7 in a tough SEC. They began to slow down over the final few weeks of the campaign though, dropping three of their last four regular-season contests before going 1-1 in the conference tournament. They’re only 6-10 against Quad 1 teams, though a 6-1 Quad 2 record looks much better.
At 16th in the KenPom rankings with a +25.99 NETRTG, Tennessee sits close to the sport’s elite. The Volunteers thrive on defense and rebounding, bringing in the sixth-most rebounds with 42.6 per game and allowing just 69.4 PPG with the 15th-best DRTG. Those marks are particularly impressive given that their opponent strength of schedule sits 12th with the fourth-best ORTG as well. The Volunteers’ own offense is more than respectable with 79.5 PPG and the 35th-best ORTG, dishing 16.9 assists with a 1.449 AST/TO ratio. A 46.3% FG% is just fine, though the team largely eschews the perimeter game with just a 33.4% 3P% and very few attempts.
Jakobi Gillespie is the lead man for Tennessee with 18.0 points and 5.5 assists per game, also logging a very impressive 2.1 steals in the process. Nate Ament is close behind in scoring with 17.5 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds as well. They’re quite the star tandem, and J.P. Estrella brings 10.1 PPG with a 40.0% 3P% too. Felix Okpara and Bishop Boswell play key roles in this rotation.
Miami (OH) vs. Tennessee pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Tennessee as an 11.5-point favorite in this one with -550 odds to win on the Moneyline. Miami holds +410 odds on the Moneyline as an underdog with the game total set at 149.5 combined points.
Frankly, the Volunteers should win this one and may do so through their sheer ability to crash the glass, also leading the nation in offensive rebounds and OREB%. However, the RedHawks can ab-so-lute-ly cover this spread. An 11-point margin isn’t too much to ask for by any means given the offensive excellence of this Miami roster, and unlike in many cases, the opposing defense can’t just hone in on one or two guys and force everyone else to step up. Anyone can produce for the No. 11 seed and that team play is a huge strength. Miami has covered 20 times this season, and the RedHawks stayed within 10 points of an awesome SMU offense in the First Four. This is a tough defense to duel against, but they’re capable of hanging around and should comfortably cover at +11.5 even despite being far less battle-tested than Tennessee, which has covered only 14 times on the year.
Best Bet: Miami (OH) +11.5 (-115)
Make sure to follow all the picks from our college basketball team on The CBB Board. You can join and tail picks directly from the DraftKings app, all while enjoying pregame breakdowns from our top hoops analysts!
