Miami vs. Auburn Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Jeremy Perry
Miami cruised through the first half but then got punched in the second half by USC. The Hurricanes had to withstand a big surge, and they stood their ground, beating USC by two points on two free throws with three seconds left in regulation. Miami and Auburn figure to play a very specific and shared style of basketball when they meet on Sunday.
Miami vs. Auburn NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The Hurricanes were 2-point underdogs to USC at tipoff time, and they won by two. They have now covered in six of their last seven as a neutral site underdog. They are also 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Auburn was a 16-point favorite over Jacksonville State in its NCAA Tournament game on Friday afternoon and covered. That now makes it five straight March Madness games that they’ve covered the spread. For what it’s worth, they’ve covered five of their last six Sunday games.
Miami Hurricanes (10)
If the Miami Hurricanes needed a lesson in how to handle adversity, they got it against USC in round one of March Madness. Miami was up 11 at halftime and dominating USC in every facet of the game. Then USC uncorked a 17-2 run at the start of the second half to take a 37-33 lead. Miami had to regroup and get back to what it did best. The Hurricanes did settle down, and guards Isaiah Wong and Charlie Moore were terrific. They got steals which led to fast-break baskets. Wong hit some tough jump shots. Moore was able to get into the paint late in the game and either score or draw a foul. Miami led by seven in the final minute and then watched USC hit two 3-pointers. Miami missed one of two foul shots and then saw USC’s Drew Peterson tie the game. Moore was then able to drive into the lane, draw a foul, and make the winning free throws with three seconds left. Miami 68, USC 66.
Auburn Tigers (2)
The Tigers had to love one specific element of Friday’s win over Jacksonville State: Their much-maligned guards, who had struggled to get teammate Jabari Smith the ball more often in recent regular-season games, fed Smith early and often while also committing very few turnovers. Auburn had not taken great care of the ball for much of the regular season. It improved a lot against Jacksonville State, which is a very encouraging sign for coach Bruce Pearl’s team as it tries to make a run to the Final Four. Auburn has to guard against a Miami defense which converted a lot of turnovers into points against USC. Miami should push Auburn in this game, but the Tigers will win a high-scoring battle by a relatively small margin.
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