Day three of the 2023 ACC Tournament will tip off with a game featuring its top seed. The Miami Hurricanes had an incredible season in conference play, and enter the ACC Tournament ranked 14th in the country. Here, they will take on a Wake Forest team that is coming off of a memorable win at the buzzer against Syracuse, as we get you ready for this Wake Forest vs Miami matchup.
Wake Forest vs Miami Betting Pick
| ℹ️ The Pick: | Miami -6 |
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This game will be played at Greensboro Coliseum at 12:00 PM ET on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
Why Bet on Miami:
✅ Wake Forest scored an emotional win on Wednesday, beating Syracuse just before the buzzer on a three-point shot. Now they have to suit up for another early start against a very good Miami team, which is a recipe for a letdown for the Demon Deacons.
✅ Miami won the lone regular season meeting between these teams by nine points at home.
✅ Miami showed last season that it has the ability to win games in postseason play, making it to the Elite Eight as a 10-seed. This is not an identical roster, but several of the same key pieces are there for another postseason run.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Can They Build on Dramatic Win Over Syracuse?
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will remember Wednesday for a long time. After blowing a double-digit lead against Syracuse and falling behind in the second half, the Demon Deacons stormed back and won their first round matchup with the Orange at the buzzer. That win ended Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s 47-year tenure with Syracuse, and sent Wake Forest into this quarterfinal matchup with the Miami Hurricanes.
Against Syracuse, all five Wake Forest starters scored in double figures, but depth is a huge question mark for Wake going into this contest. They ran a seven-man rotation on Wednesday, which is exhausting enough as it is. Throw on top of that the need to play again today, and there is the potential for a real letdown on Thursday afternoon for the Demon Deacons.
Miami Hurricanes: Chance To Solidify Status as ACC Power This Week
Miami is the top seed in this year’s ACC Tournament, as the Hurricanes have taken full advantage of down years from Duke and North Carolina. That set them up with a double bye in this year’s conference tournament, which is Miami’s first postseason action since last year’s Elite Eight trip in the NCAA Tournament. Here, Miami will look to start a run that will prove they are a consistent force to be reckoned with out of the ACC when the calendar flips to March.
For Miami to have success in this game, and in the ACC Tournament as a whole, they will need Isaiah Wong to show out. Wong was heroic during Miami’s NCAA Tournament run last season, scoring 15 or more points in three of Miami’s four tournament games. But he was held in check in the ACC Tournament before that March Madness run, averaging just 10.5 points in Miami’s two games before they bowed out to Duke.
NCAA Tournament Seeding Implications for Miami
This Wake Forest vs Miami matchup has huge seeding implications heading into the NCAA Tournament. Miami is currently projected as a five-seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but a loss here would certainly drop them below that level. A win here would likely not improve Miami’s seeding prospects much, given Wake’s mediocrity in the ACC this year, but a loss would definitely hurt the Hurricanes.
On the other side of this game, Wake Forest is in an interesting position. They are not currently projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field. But if they win this game and get to the ACC semifinals, all of a sudden, they will be two wins away from stealing a bid to the tournament and shrinking the bubble for the rest of the country.
