Fresh off their first-ever ACC regular-season title, the Miami Hurricanes go looking for their first-ever ACC tournament championship when they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels Sunday afternoon in Greensboro (1 pm ET, ESPN).
Miami vs North Carolina odds: ACC championship game betting preview
Miami can win its first ever ACC tournament and push for a high seed as they battle North Carolina today. The UNDER has been the bet of choice between these teams lately.
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In the early betting, Miami was favored by a point and a half over UNC, but early action on the ’Canes quickly pushed that spread up to -4, according to OddsShark.com
The top-seeded ‘Canes got to Sunday’s championship game by beating Boston College Friday 69-58, then topping North Carolina State Saturday 81-71.
Miami pulled away late to sneak out a cover as nine-point favorites against the Eagles, then held the Wolfpack scoreless for the first five-plus minutes Saturday on its way to a cover as two-point favorites.
Totals bettors have seen 7 of the past 9 clashes between these teams go UNDER the total.
On the other side of this conference championship match-up third-seeded North Carolina, which has won eight of its last nine games, reached Sunday’s game by dispatching of Florida State Friday 83-62, then outlasting Maryland Saturday 79-76.
The Heels picked up an easy cover as nine-point chalk against the Seminoles, but came up short in trying to cover four points against the Terps.
Miami has already beaten North Carolina twice this season. Back in January the ‘Canes went into Chapel Hill and came away with a 68-59 victory, winning as four-point underdogs. A month later Miami bombed Carolina at home 87-61, making 15 shots from beyond the arc in covering as seven-point favorites.
With a win Sunday Miami has an outside chance of jumping into a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. At the moment the ‘Canes are ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, but Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 all lost this week. A conference tournament crown might look good on Miami’s resume.
North Carolina, meanwhile, isn’t ranked at the moment, but a victory Sunday might help the Heels get something better than a seven seed in the NCAA tourney, which is about where they sit at the moment.
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