Georgia Tech Yellowjackets at Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Feb 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM EST
Opening Line: Miami -5.5
Current Line: Miami -5.5
Opening Total: 139.5
Current Total: 140.5
Opening Moneyline: Mia -245 / Ga T +205
Current Moneyline: Mia -250 / Ga T +200
Tonight’s game brings together an ironic juxtaposition of how you can dominate play but lose the wrong games. Georgia Tech, despite being at only .500 (10-10) has a 3-4 ACC record and favored Miami with a better record of 12-9 is 1-6 in the ACC. Georgia Tech is ranked 8th in the ACC consequently, while Miami sits at 11th.
Georgia Tech and Miami are both winning teams, at least in terms of point differential. The .500 Yellowjackets have a +3.7 point differential, scoring 70.6 and giving up 66.9. Miami is also in the positive, but not much better than Georgia Tech, with a +5.0 point differential, scoring 73.4 and giving up 68.4 The combinative total of the teams’ offensive output is 141, and the opening total for tonight’s game was about in line with that at 139.5. It has since shifted a point to 140.5, but it is a good estimate by college basketball oddsmakers and an over/under doesn’t seem like a good idea with the line being set precariously close to what it actually will be.
Some betting trends:
Georgia Tech is 0-5 SU in their last 5 road games.
Miami is 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games and 1-6 SU in their last 7 games. They are 10-3 SU in their last 13 home games and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of the last 6 Miami home games. Miami is 5-1 SU in their last 6 against the Yellowjackets.
Georgia Tech is led by sophomore Brian Oliver and junior Iman Shumpert, who average 11.5 and 16.6 points per game, respectively. Shumpert leads the team in rebounding too with 5.9 rebounds per game. Brian Oliver, though undersized for a big man, his strength and leaping ability enable him to be an effective big inside, while clearly lacking the size to take his game to the next level. Shumpert is having the best year of his three years at Tech so far, upping his scoring average from previous years by over 3 points a game. His field goal percentage, though, is a paltry 37.5%, in line with his percentage from previous years. He will have to up his percentage for the Yellowjackets to have any chance at all this March.
Sophomore Glen Rice Jr. doesn’t appear to have the shooting skills of his father, but should still develop into a nice player for the Yellowjackets. He is averaging the second most points per game on the team with 12.6 a game. Last year he did a better impresonation of his father, shooting 46.7% from behind the arc, but he has inexplicably struggled this year, albeit in a small sample size, going 26 of 77 behind the arc. If he can regain his touch Georgia Tech it would enable Georgia Tech to have a good shot at covering the spread.
The Miami Hurricanes are led by the trio of Malcolm Grant, Durant Scott, and Reggie Johnson. The three of them combine for 41.8 points per game, 57% of Miami’s offensive output. They are led by 6’1″ junior point guard Malcolm Grant, who averages a team high 32.6 minutes per game and a team high 15.7 points per game. He also chimes in 3.8 assists while shooting 44.2% from behind the arc (57 of 129). He’s scored 20 or more in 7 of Miami’s 22 games, including a 26 point, 3 rebound, 3 assist game against West Virginia in a 3 point Hurricane win. His backcourt mate Durand Scott is Miami’s second leading scorer with 14.2 points per game and like Grant, he is an excellent three point shooter, as well. He averages 40.9% from three (only 44 shots though) and also averages 3.2 assists per game, as a bit of a combo guard being 6’3″ 200. He’s scored 20 or more 5 times and has the team high for points in a game this year with 27 against Ole Miss, another Hurricane win. If the backcourt of Grant and Scott can get cookin’ from downtown, it will be a long night for Georgia.
