Miami vs. Houston is one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the Sweet 16 slate on Friday night.
The Canes will be looking to get the Elite Eight for the second-straight season. Meanwhile, Houston is fighting for a chance to play in the Final Four in its home city.
Friday night’s game tips off at 7:15 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
Over at Underdog, there are ways to get in on the action by making fantasy picks for player over/under stats in this game.
What is Underdog and why should college basketball fans care?
Underdog Fantasy is a daily fantasy platform backed by investors such as Mark Cuban, Kevin Durant and Adam Schefter, among others. Find out more about the platform here.
Through Underdog’s “Pick’em” contests, you can bundle a few selections of player prop picks similar to what you find at online sportsbooks, and you can put real money against these picks.
Underdog Fantasy is available in 41 states across the US, so a lot of those states where sports betting is not yet legal? You can do Underdog Fantasy picks for real money, as we’re outlining here.
Underdog Fantasy is not available in the following states: CT, DE, HI, ID, IA, LA, MI, MT, NV.
Underdog is available in these states, but Pick’em contests as we outline here are not available: AZ, CO, MD, MO, NH, NJ, OH, PA, TN, WA, WV.
If you want to get started, Underdog will match your first deposit up to $100 by clicking here or using promo code SOUTH.
• AL, MN: Play $5, Get $50
• GA, UT: Deposit Match + Play $5, Get $50
• ALL OTHER STATES: Sign Up & Discover Your Personalized Bonus!
My picks for Miami-Houston
Jordan Miller over 0.5 3-pointers made. Miller is 0-for-2 from beyond the arc so far in the NCAA Tournament, but this is a shot that he can get to and make. He’s at 35.2% on the year and had made at least 1 3-pointer in 4 straight games prior to the NCAA Tournament. Miller is a big part of Miami’s offense, as he attempted 15 shots against Indiana in the Round of 32 — albeit only 1 of those was from long range. But against an Houston team that ranks No. 1 nationally per KenPom in block rate, attempting 14 2-point shots might not be as appealing. I’d expect him to try to space the floor a bit and make at least 1 3-pointer in this matchup.
Norchad Omier over 9.5 rebounds. Houston is a physical team, but the Cougars don’t have a lot of size in the front court. That’s something Omier can take advantage of. He played last week with a sore ankle and still grabbed 17 rebounds in Miami’s win over the Hoosiers. Now that he’s had another few days of rest, that should only help his odds of getting to double-digit boards. Excluding the Duke game where Omier got injured and played just 1 minute, he has cleared 9.5 rebounds in 5 of his last 6 contests.
Jarace Walker under 11.5 points. Walker has been great this season as a freshman, but he has not been tremendously efficient as a scorer vs. good competition. Since the turn of the new year, Houston has played 3 games (all vs. Memphis) against a team ranked higher than Miami in KenPom’s system. He has 27 points on 27 shots in those matchups. He’s also in a 3-point shooting slump, making just 28.6% of his long range attempts over the last 5 games. If this is a tight game, Houston’s offense will likely be more geared towards its guards while Walker will have major responsibilities on defense. I’m fading Walker’s point total in this matchup.
How many picks should you make?
The more picks you string together, the higher the “multiplier” or payout. Of course, the more you string together, the less likely you are to win because all of the picks have to hit in order for you to win.
A 3-way parlay of the picks I listed above would pay out $60 on a $10 bet:
If you’re feeling even bolder, you could pick Isaiah Wong to go over 14.5 points. He scored 27 against Indiana last time out and figures to be a big part of the Canes’ game plan vs. Houston. Adding a fourth pick would improve the potential payout to 10x, so a 4-way parlay would net $100 on a $10 contest.
Get started on Underdog by clicking here and make your picks for Friday’s Miami-Houston game or other CFB, CBB, NFL and NBA games. Using this link means Underdog will match your deposit up to $100. If you deposit $25, you’ll get an extra $25 to start playing right away.
• AL, MN: Play $5, Get $50
• GA, UT: Deposit Match + Play $5, Get $50
• ALL OTHER STATES: Sign Up & Discover Your Personalized Bonus!
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
