Was sitting here waiting on the injury status of two USC guards! Why on earth did it take so long? KenPom ranks the Trojans at No. 42 and the Hurricanes 60. Sagarin has USC at No. 30 and Miami at 65. In the NCAA NET rankings, the Trojans are No. 35 and the Canes No. 62. Who am I to argue with all these computers? The ACC was really down this year -- the Pac-12 wasn't much better, but USC was clearly the third-best team in that league. Coach Andy Enfield's club will have a major size advantage led by Isaiah Mobley; USC shot 50 percent from inside the arc this season and UM's inconsistent three-point shooting (35.3 percent) can't be trusted. The Canes also were last in the ACC in rebounding. The past three decent teams that UM played (Duke, Virginia Tech and Virginia), it lost to.

This line is inflating a bit past what I am comfortable with, I almost took it at +1.5 so I think I need to take it here. I do not think the Pac-12 is all that strong this year and if North Carolina is any type of sign about the ACC, I think USC might just be in trouble today. UCLA almost lost to Akron and the Trojans split with the Bruins this season. Not the best sign for USC. Miami has road wins against Duke, VT, Cuse and Wake Forest, they do not turn the ball over extraneously and are a top 20 offensive unit. I know Andy Enfield made that run with FGCU but Shaka Smart made a run once too, look at how his teams have done recently. I just think the basketball players are better on Miami and have more experience for this type of game. Take Miami +2.5 and lets see if the ACC is legit.

USC's form tailed off in the final six or seven weeks of the season. Andy Enfield's team was still playing winning basketball, but that could also be a result of a down Pac-12 that only sent three teams to the tournament. The efficiency numbers dropped, there were close calls against bad teams and I think it sets up for a short stay in the Big Dance, especially against a Miami team that has a high end offensive ceiling with Charlie Moore, Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty.

USC went 9-4 down the stretch, with all four losses coming to Arizona or UCLA -- no shame in that. The Trojans are terrific on the glass and should get second chances against a Miami team that ranks 267th in giving up offensive rebounds. Look for the Trojans' length to disrupt the Hurricanes' scorers and for USC to improve to 8-1 ATS in its last nine NCAA Tournament games.

The biggest difference in this matchup is height/rebounding. Four of the Trojans' five starters are at least 6’9” and this has allowed them to be a great rebounding team. The Hurricanes start four guards and they are terrible on the glass. They are in the bottom 15 percent of Division I in rebounding rate. The Trojans will be able to get second chance points all game and easily take this game.