Vols Will Continue To Roll As Miami Is A Disaster

Miami vs. Tennessee, 6:30 ET

Miami vs. Tennessee, 6:30 ET 

After a few days off on the hardwood for College Hoops, it is nice to be back and get a fairly decent slate of games for tonight. We don’t have any ranked matchups, but there are some popular and talented teams taking to the court. Duke is playing and I’m not writing about it, just wanted to share that for the record as I usually cover their games. Instead, I think this game between Miami and Tennessee could be one of the more fun matchups to watch tonight. 

Miami is struggling to start this season and is currently on a six-game losing streak. They started the year with three consecutive wins over Fairleigh Dickinson, Binghampton, and Coppin State. None of those teams are top-end talent, but Fairleigh Dickinson is somewhat regular in the tournament and usually has some good players. After those three games, Miami lost three straight during the Thanksgiving tournament time, dropping games to Drake, Oklahoma State, and VCU. They were relatively competitive in the games, but couldn’t get stops when needed. After returning from the tournament, Miami dropped to Charleston Southern by four points at home. Then the Hurricanes lost to Arkansas and Clemson, again in Miami. There are some serious concerns about dropping games to these teams and dropping the games at home. Miami has allowed at least 76 points in five of the last six games, again all losses. 

Dec 7, 2024; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Jalil Bethea (3) celebrates after scoring against the Clemson Tigers during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Tennessee has worked their way up to the #1 school in the country at the moment. They are 8-0 to start their season, and have beaten some pretty decent teams already. They’ve only played one ranked team, Baylor, and they were able to beat them by 15 points. They’ve only played one road game this season, it was at Louisville, and they won the game by 22 points. This game will take place in Madison Square Garden, and the tournament that Tennessee won also took place on a neutral court. Their team is led by guard Chaz Lanier, scoring 18.8 points per game and leading the team in scoring in almost every game. Their forward, Igor Milicic is a good rebounded and secondary scoring, and their other guard, Zakai Zeigler, leads the team in assists, dishing out almost eight per game. That’s a good amount at the college level and makes running an offense easier when you have a guy who sets up his teammates with ease. The Volunteers also play really good defense, allowing opponents just 56 points per game. They also haven’t been in many close games this season, having won every game by at least 15 points. 

I’m not quite sure why Miami is that bad of a team right now. They have some talented players, but are not putting everything together the way that they should be. Tennessee has a three-headed monster right now and look great. The defense of Miami is so bad right now, I can’t advise to take the under, but I usually like playing under when teams face each other on neutral courts. I also can’t take the over though. Instead, I’m taking the Volunteers to cover the -14.5. The line has moved in favor of the Hurricanes, but Tennessee is better, playing better, and currently is dominating teams. 

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