SMU Mustangs vs Miami Hurricanes Prediction, 1/18/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Miami Hurricanes

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

Location: Watsco Center in Coral Gables, FL

TV: ESPN+

The SMU Mustangs (13-4) are headed to Watsco Center on Saturday where they will try to beat the Miami Hurricanes (4-13).

The SMU Mustangs stepped onto the hardwood against Virginia and earned the victory with a final of 54-52 in their last contest. SMU finished the game with a 43.4% FG percentage (23 of 53) and made 5 of their 21 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Mustangs knocked down 3 of their 7 attempts for a percentage of 42.9%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected 36 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 12 assists for the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In terms of the defense, SMU let their opponent shoot 34.6% from the field on 18 out of 52 shooting. Virginia recorded 15 assists and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, Virginia had 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Virginia finished shooting 80.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 12 of their 15 shots. They converted 4 of 26 attempts from long range. Concerning fouls, the Mustangs ended up walking away with 17 while Virginia totaled 14 fouls.

Chuck Harris is one player who played a role for the contest. He finished shooting 35.7% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He played for 29 minutes and pulled down 3 rebounds. He ended up with 12 points on 5 of 14 shooting.

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SMU heads into this one with a win-loss record of 13-4 on the year. They cough up possession 11.6 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 16.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, SMU is snagging 40.5 boards per contest and has tallied 272 assists for the campaign, which is 76th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Mustangs are shooting 37.4% on shots from 3-point land (136 of 364) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 82.9 pts per contest (29th in the country) while connecting on 47.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Mustangs are forcing their opponents into 13.2 turnovers every game and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They concede 34.4% from beyond the arc and they are 191st in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.4). The Mustangs are allowing a FG percentage of 40.9% (416 of 1,016) and they surrender 33.3 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 295th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 256 conceded this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Miami Hurricanes took a loss by a score of 89-54 when they played Duke. The Hurricanes were able to collect 16 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 20 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. Duke committed 8 fouls for this game which took the Hurricanes to the charity stripe for a total of 2 shots. They were able to make 2 of the free throws for a rate of 100.0%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, Miami buried 6 of 20 tries (30.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Hurricanes went 23 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.0%. The Hurricanes allowed Duke to bury 34 of their 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.8% in the game. They finished the game shooting 53.1% from 3-point land by going 17 of 32 and ended up going 4 out of 7 at the free throw line (57.1%). Concerning cleaning up the glass, Miami permitted Duke to snag 39 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

Lynn Kidd pitched in for the Hurricanes for the matchup. He totaled 20 points in his 35 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to get an assist. He made 10 out of 17 in the game for a field goal rate of 58.8%, and earned 1 rebound.

Miami has a win-loss mark of 4-13 for the year. The Hurricanes are responsible for committing 14.6 fouls per contest and they go 77.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.5 times per contest (213th in the country) and they turn it over 10.8 times per game. Miami has scored 1,294 points for the year (76.1 per game) and they average 33.2 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Hurricanes are shooting 46.8% from the field, which is ranked 92nd in college.

The Miami defense surrenders 38.8% on 3-point shots (151 of 389) and opponents are converting on 73.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 15.5 assists and 32.7 total boards per game, which is ranked 323rd and 91st in the nation. The Hurricanes on the defensive side of the court are 310th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 77.0. They are forcing 10.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.2% from the field (353rd in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami

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