College Basketball Preview & Pick: #19 Miami Hurricanes @ North Carolina Tar Heels

With the conclusion of the NFL season, basketball takes center stage, and we get a pivotal ACC matchup on Monday night between the Miami Hurricanes and North Carolina Tar Heels. To prepare you for the action, we look at the game and how you can find some value in the matchup.Miami @ North Carolina Game Information

• Location: Dean E. Smith Center | Chapel Hill, NC
• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN

Although they have dropped three of their past four games, the Tar Heels have been relatively dominant at home this season. They are 11-1 on their home floor, with their lone defeat coming to Pittsburgh at the beginning of the month.

Miami will look to make it five straight with a win here. They currently sit just half a game back of first place in the ACC at 11-4, only behind Virginia and Pittsburgh for the top spot.

• Spread: Miami +5.5 (-110) | North Carolina -5.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Miami +198 | North Carolina -245
• Total: Over 155.5 (-115) | Under 155.5 (-105)

The Hurricanes have made it awfully convincing to be on their side over the past two weeks. Wins over Duke and then conference leaders Clemson will do that, but three of the four coming at home is worth noting. KenPom has North Carolina ranked three spots higher, and their home court is clearly essential, as stated previously.

The key to this matchup will be foul trouble. Both teams rank in the bottom 50 nationally in bench minutes, meaning the team with more foul trouble could be in for a tough night. If a key player on either side sees two quick ones early on, that could be a time to take advantage of the shallow rosters for the opposition.

Armando Bacot could be a problem for Miami. No one in their starting lineup stands taller than 6’7”, and he loves to dominate the offensive glass, providing his team with second-chance opportunities. The senior ranks first in the ACC in offensive rebounding percentage and second in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, which could spell trouble for the Hurricanes.

The Dean Dome dominance from the Heels feels too strong here. They showed how well they perform on their home court in a commanding win over Clemson this past weekend, and we could see more of the same against Miami. Bacot will be an X-factor, and the paint advantage could decide this one. Back the Tar Heels against the number here.