A Final Four battle features the No. 4 seed Connecticut Huskies and the No. 5 seed Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes playing on Saturday night as the 2023 NCAA Tournament reaches the national semifinals. Miami finished the regular season with a 29-7 overall record. Meanwhile, UConn went 29-8 on the season and has won 10 of its last 11 games. These teams have only met twice in history, with UConn picking up both wins. In 2019, the Huskies defeated the Hurricanes 80-55.
Caesars Sportsbook lists the Huskies as 5.5-point favorites for this 8:49 p.m. ET tip on CBS from NRG Stadium in Houston. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 149.5 in the latest Miami vs. UConn odds. Before making any UConn vs. Miami picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s Matt Severance.
Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He is SportsLine’s top college basketball expert, entering the Final Four on a 172-110-1 (+1931) roll on his picks. He’s also on a sizzling 9-0 run on picks involving the Hurricanes. Anyone following him is way up.
Now, he has set his sights on Miami vs. UConn and revealed his picks and predictions for the Final Four 2023. You can head to SportsLine to see the picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for UConn vs. Miami:
- Miami vs. UConn: Huskies -5.5
- Miami vs. UConn over/under: 149.5 points
- Miami vs. UConn money line: Huskies -240, Hurricanes +196
- MIA: Hurricanes are 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall
- CONN: Huskies are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS win
- Miami vs. UConn picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Miami can cover
Sophomore forward Norchad Omier is a strong force in the paint. Omier does all the dirty work and can be a monster on the glass. The native of Nicaragua averages 13.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and shoots 58% from the field. He’s recorded a double-double in two of his last four games. On March 24 against the Houston Cougars, Omier had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Nijel Pack gives the Hurricanes a knock-down shooter on the perimeter. Pack excels as a catch-and-shoot option but has the ability to score off the dribble. The Indiana native averages 13.8 points, 2.4 assists and shoots 40% from 3-point land. In the Sweet 16 win over Houston, Pack had 26 points and went 7-of-10 from downtown. See which side to back here.
Why UConn can cover
Senior guard Tristen Newton is a smooth and effective playmaker in the backcourt. Newton scans the floor well and makes the right reads consistently. The Texas native is averaging 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. On March 19 against Saint Mary’s, Newton had 13 points, three rebounds and five assists.
Freshman forward Alex Karaban has been a solid shooter on the outside. Karaban owns a good feel for the game and knows how to move well without the ball. The Massachusetts native logs 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and makes 40% of his 3-pointers. In his last outing against Gonzaga, Karaban tallied 12 points, four boards and two 3-pointers. See which side to back here.
How to make Miami vs. UConn picks
Severance has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he’s leaning Under the point total, he has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.
Who wins UConn vs. Miami on Saturday? And which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Severance’s Miami vs. UConn picks, all from the expert who is crushing college basketball, and find out.
require.config({"baseUrl":"https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-0439/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly/components/accordion":"1.0","fly/components/alert":"1.0","fly/components/base":"1.0","fly/components/carousel":"1.0","fly/components/dropdown":"1.0","fly/components/fixate":"1.0","fly/components/form-validate":"1.0","fly/components/image-gallery":"1.0","fly/components/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly/components/load-more":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-article":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly/components/loading":"1.0","fly/components/modal":"1.0","fly/components/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly/components/network-bar":"1.0","fly/components/poll":"1.0","fly/components/search-player":"1.0","fly/components/social-button":"1.0","fly/components/social-counts":"1.0","fly/components/social-links":"1.0","fly/components/tabs":"1.0","fly/components/video":"1.0","fly/libs/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly/libs/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly/libs/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly/libs/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly/libs/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly/libs/backbone":"1.0.0","fly/libs/underscore":"1.5.1","fly/libs/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly/managers/ad":"2.0","fly/managers/components":"1.0","fly/managers/cookie":"1.0","fly/managers/debug":"1.0","fly/managers/geo":"1.0","fly/managers/gpt":"4.3","fly/managers/history":"2.0","fly/managers/madison":"1.0","fly/managers/social-authentication":"1.0","fly/utils/data-prefix":"1.0","fly/utils/data-selector":"1.0","fly/utils/function-natives":"1.0","fly/utils/guid":"1.0","fly/utils/log":"1.0","fly/utils/object-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-vars":"1.0","fly/utils/url-helper":"1.0","libs/jshashtable":"2.1","libs/select2":"3.5.1","libs/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs/jquery/mobile":"1.4.5","libs/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs/velocity":"1.2.2","libs/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs/waypoints/infinite":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/inview":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/sticky":"3.1.1","libs/jquery/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs/jquery/flexslider":"2.1","libs/jquery/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs/jquery/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/marquee":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs/jquery/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs/jquery/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs/jquery/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs/jquery/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection/managers/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly/libs/underscore","version!fly/libs/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly/libs/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core","version!fly/libs/jquery.widget"],"libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js":["https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js","google":"https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js","google-csa":"https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https://www.google.com/jsapi","google-client-api":"https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client","gpt":"https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js","hlsjs":"https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hls.js/1.0.7/hls.js","recaptcha":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js","taboola":"https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js","twitter":"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js","video-avia":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/2.11.3/player/avia.min.js","video-avia-ui":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/2.11.3/plugins/ui/avia.ui.min.js","video-avia-gam":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/2.11.3/plugins/gam/avia.gam.min.js","video-avia-hls":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/2.11.3/plugins/hls/avia.hls.min.js","video-avia-playlist":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/2.11.3/plugins/playlist/avia.playlist.min.js","video-ima3":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js","video-ima3-dai":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js","video-utils":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js","video-vast-tracking":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});