NCAAB : Hurricanes-Orange in ACC Tourney

The Syracuse Orange and the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes have already made it to the second round of the ACC Tournament. They earned a direct bye into Wednesday’s game (noon ET, ESPN), with Syracuse as the No. 8 seed and Miami at No. 9 on the ACC bracket; the winner will go on to face the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday.

Syracuse (18-13 SU, 13-13 ATS) may have the better seed and de facto home-court advantage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the Hurricanes (20-10 SU, 10-18 ATS) were the superior team during the regular season. However, in their lone meeting back in January, it was the Orange prevailing 70-55 as 3-point home dogs, up from +1 at the open. Miami had difficulty dealing with Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense, shooting just 39% on the day.

Wednesday’s game is doubly important for the Orange – they could fall off the March Madness bubble with a loss to Miami, while the Hurricanes are expected to receive a Tournament invite no matter what happens. Both teams improved their positions last month with upset wins over the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Cavaliers.

NCAAB Odds: ‘Canes Seek Revenge on ‘Cuse

The No. 25 Miami Hurricanes will get at least one more shot at the Syracuse Orange. They’ll meet at Barclays Center in Brooklyn this Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament, tipping off at noon Eastern on ESPN.

When these two teams met at the Carrier Dome in January, it was the Orange winning 70-55 as 3-point home dogs. If the Hurricanes take the rematch, they might knock Syracuse off the March Madness tournament bubble; at press time, the Orange are the last of 10 ACC teams (including Miami) expected to receive invitations to the Big Dance.