The Miami Hurricanes have been dealing with some injuries to their core starters and they weren’t able to fend off a tough NC State team on the road with little reinforcements. Still, the Hurricanes have made due and continue to find success in an otherwise lacking ACC conference this year. Their last 82-74 win over Virginia Tech could have been their cleanest game of the season as five of their players managed double-doubles. They also out-rebounded the Hokies 37-28 and didn’t let them back into the game at any point. Their rebounding will have to be just as sharp to find success in this game.

Norchad Omier has been very solid for the Hurricanes this year and he’ll have to be a focal point of their offense if they want to cover against Virginia. The Cavaliers have been great on defense this year and their home streak has been impressive, but the Hurricanes can stun them out of the gates if they can carry their hot shooting over into this game. Look for Miami to be the team pushing the pace as they try to keep the Cavaliers in transition situations.

Virginia is fully hitting their stride right now and they’re playing their best basketball of the year with six consecutive wins under their belt. They’ve also caught up to the top of the ACC standings and sit just two games back of leading North Carolina, making every game a must-win through this point of the season. They played their last game against Clemson short-handed and needed some clutch shots down the stretch to barely win by one point. Jacob Groves gave them a great boost off the bench with 16 points as the Cavaliers had to dig deep for the win. Games won’t get much easier from here on out, but the Cavaliers have the confidence knowing they can seal a win in the final minutes.

The Cavaliers boast one of the better defensive units in college basketball, holding opponents to just 57.8 points per game. Against a team like Miami, who averages 80.8 points, Virginia will have to keep their guards involved in defending along the perimeters. Down low, they certainly have the discipline to not send Miami to the free-throw line, but they’ll have to work as the better rebounding team to get the edge. They’ve lost just two games on their home floor this season and hop to keep that streak going.

Miami comes into this game shaky over their last 10 contests and they’ll have to limit their turnovers while winning the rebounding battle to have a chance here. They have a very high-powered offense and put together scoring runs in a hurry, but they may struggle against this stout Virginia defense on the road. Miami will have to play at a frantic pace to outrun the Cavaliers.

Virginia, on the other hand, is hitting their stride and they’ve been locking teams down defensively during their current winning streak. Expect them to slow down Miami’s offense and play this game to their pace. For our prediction, we like the Virginia Cavaliers to continue their success at home as they pick up their seventh-straight win.