Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Miami Hurricanes: NCAA Basketball Free Pick

The Ramblin’ Wreck are one of just two teams in this conference that aren’t above the .500 mark coming into this week. They had won three out of four games at home over the course of the last three weeks, but their 74-63 loss to the Maryland Terrapins really stung. Now, they have to hit the road, where they have yet to win a game this season in ACC play, and where they are just 0-5 ATS on the campaign. It’s not a lack of talent that is costing this team games, that’s for sure. Iman Shumpert is one of the best players in the ACC, and he is proving it once again this year. He is scoring 16.6 points and bringing down 5.8 boards per game, and he is also the team’s top assist man at 3.8 per night. Glen Rice Jr., just like his father, is a tremendous sharpshooter as well, and he is putting forth 12.6 points per game. These two can’t do it all though, and the talent behind them is very, very young and could really hamper G-Tech for the rest of the season.

At just 1-6 in ACC play, it is clear that the Hurricanes need to go on a real run and in a hurry to be able to even think about going dancing this year. These next six games are all winnable, and one would think that they need to snare at least five of the six, and then at least two more down the stretch and a couple of games in the ACC Tournament to have a shot at dancing. If not, they’ll be destined for the NIT once again, and probably deservedly so. The Canes have dropped four in a row, and though none of these four are by more than four points, the proof is in the pudding that this team just cannot win close games. If even one of these four went the other way, things would look significantly different, but Miami is really in dire straits now. Malcolm Grant, Durand Scott, and Reggie Johnson are the three to really keep an eye on in green and orange. These three are combining to average over 40 points per game, while Johnson is also putting up a double-double per night at 11.9 points and 10.0 boards per game.

If Miami is ever going to go on a run, this is the time. The NCAA basketball odds shouldn’t be all that bad in this one, as the Canes aren’t on a great spurt right now, and as long as we don’t have to lay more than about a half dozen or so, we have no reservations taking the hosts on Thursday.