SEC tournament
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-4.5)
The rubber match for these two SEC East rivals tips off after the Volunteers (25-7) beat the Wildcats (30-2) 74-65 in Knoxville two weeks ago and Kentucky defeated Tennessee 72-63 in Lexington a month ago.
Kentucky struggled to beat Alabama Friday, using a second-half surge to claim a 73-67 victory. Freshman John Wall led all scorers with 23 points and Patrick Patterson chipped in with 20 points.
Tennessee had a slightly easier time with Ole Miss, knocking off the Rebels 76-65. Wayne “The Big Weezy” Chism had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds and three other Vols scored in double figures.
The Vols were outrebounded 41-31, which should be a concern against the bigger WildCats. Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins scored 20 points and grabbed 26 boards in the season series with Tennessee and could be the big factor today.
Kentucky’s lone loss in its last 10 games was to the Vols but they are 1-3 ATS since that game. The Vols have won seven of their last eight SU but are 4-4 ATS during that stretch.
Tennessee is 9-1 at Bridgestone Arena under Bruce Pearl but really doesn’t have much of a home-court advantage since both Knoxville and Lexington are about three hours away.
Prediction: Kentucky 68, Tennessee 66
ACC tournament
Miami Hurricanes vs. Duke Blue Devils (-10.5)
The Hurricanes kept their whirlwind ride through the ACC tournament going with a 70-65 win over fourth-seeded Virginia Tech Friday afternoon. Miami built on the momentum of its 83-62 beat down of sixth-seeded Wake Forest. The key for the boys from Coral Gables has been their ability to overcome the loss of leading rebounder and scorer Dwayne Collins, who remains sidelined with a leg injury.
Without Collins, the team has turned to a tenacious defence which held Virginia Tech to a meagre 38.1 percent shooting and Wake Forest to an even worse 35 percent. Miami also has been dominant on the boards, out-rebounding its opponents in the ACC tournament by a combined margin of plus-15.
Miami entered the postseason losers of 11 of 14 and firmly on the NIT bubble, but after consecutive wins as the lowest-seeded team, no one is taking the Hurricanes lightly anymore. With so many teams losing in front of them, an upset of Duke could push them firmly on the NCAA bubble for Selection Sunday. The Hurricanes have been magic on neutral courts this year, posting a 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS record in such games.
But toping Duke will be easier said than done. The Blue Devils opened the ACC tournament by outlasting a scrappy Virginia side and limiting the Cavaliers to just 32 percent shooting from the floor while forcing 14 turnovers.
The Blue Devils are continuing their run at a possible No.1 seed and have plenty to play for. Duke entered the postseason as winners of nine of its past 10 and is 19-11 ATS this year.
In the team’s only meeting this year, offence ruled the day, as Duke pulled out an 81-74 victory in South Florida. But don’t expect an offensive shootout in this one. Miami held a 12-point halftime lead, but squandered away chances in the second half as the Blue Devils finished the game connecting on 13-of-29 threes.
Duke won’t hit as many threes this time, but should still have enough for a similar result at the end.
Prediction: Duke 73, Miami 62