Home » Blog » Miami and Indiana Highlight Today’s East Region Action

Miami and Indiana Highlight Today’s East Region Action

Lucas M. NCAAB News

No. 3 seeded Marquette takes on No. 2-seeded Miami at 7:15 p.m. EST tonight on CBS. It’s a great matchup between two wildly divergent styles (Marquette likes to slow things down and Miami wants to get out and run). The other big game in East Region action today is a faceoff between two of the most storied programs in collegiate basketball history: the no. 1 seeded Indiana Hoosiers take on the No. 4 seeded Syracuse Orange at 9:45 p.m. EST on CBS. Let’s dive right into the previews.

Indiana vs. Syracuse

Indiana are only 5.5-point favorites here against the Orange, and it’s easy to see why: both of these teams rank among the very best in the country (Indiana is No. 8 in the RPI rankings and Syracuse is No. 13). Indiana has had a much tougher run to the Sweet 16 than Syracuse, barely squeaking by a ferocious Temple squad last weekend on the late heroics of Victor Oladipo. Syracuse, meanwhile, has been the far steadier team, suffocating their opponents with their famed zone defense. Still, Indiana is the best team left in the region, and I think that they both win and cover the spread against the Orange.

Here are some statistics in Indiana’s favor, courtesy to Bleacher Report’s amazing StatSmack feature included in each of their game previews:

  • Indiana is ranked higher than Syracuse in their conference (No. 1 vs. No. 5).
  • Indiana has more wins against the RPI Top 50 than Syracuse this season (eight vs. four).
  • The top-ranking players between the two conferences for points and free throws made are in the Big Ten.
  • The Big Ten has 2 teams – Indiana (80.8) and Michigan (75.4) – that score more per game than the Big East leader, Louisville (73.5).
  • Even computers respect Indiana more. Indiana has a better RPI this season than Syracuse (RPI: No. 5 vs. No. 15).
  • Indiana has a better conference record than Syracuse this season (14-4 vs. 11-7).
  • The Big Ten has 2 teams – Indiana (41.8 percent) and Michigan (38.8 percent) – that shoot a better three-point percentage than the Big East leader, Notre Dame (37.6 percent).
  • The Indiana rebounding leader (Cody Zeller, 250 rebounds) has more rebounds than the Syracuse rebounding leader (C.J. Fair, 229 rebounds).
  • The Big Ten has 2 teams – Indiana (48.8 percent) and Michigan (48.7 percent) – that shoot a better field goal percentage than the Big East leader, Pittsburgh (47.9 percent).
  • Indiana has a better record on the road than Syracuse this season (7-2 vs. 5-5).
  • Indiana allows fewer rebounds (30.9 allowed per game vs. 34.3 allowed per game) than Syracuse this season.

Miami vs. Marquette

The Miami Hurricanes, totally rejuvenated and flying high this season, are 5.5-point favorites over the Marquette Golden Eagles. Marquette is a very good team, but, as they illustrated last weekend against Butler, they have a tendency to embroil themselves in defensive slugfests. That isn’t Miami’s game. Led by star point guard Shane Larkin, the Hurricanes like to push the ball up the court and score quickly. I think Marquette will cover the spread; they’re too solid defensively to let Miami gallop to a big win. However, I think the Hurricanes do beat the Golden Eagles to advance to the Elite Eight.

Here are some statistics in Miami’s favor, courtesy to Bleacher Report’s amazing StatSmack feature included in each of their game previews:

  • The ACC has 3 teams – Duke (41.6 percent), Virginia (39.0 percent), and NC State (38.7 percent) – that shoot a better three-point percentage than the Big East leader, Notre Dame (37.5 percent).
  • Miami has a much better NCSA Athletic Ranking than Marquette (No. 58 vs. No. 204).
  • The ACC has had six more NBA Draft picks than the Big East over the past 10 years.
  • AP Voters agree that Miami is superior to Marquette (Latest AP Poll: No. 9 vs. No. 12).
  • Miami has a better RPI this season than Marquette (RPI: No. 4 vs. No. 11).
  • Miami has a much better NCSA Academic Ranking than Marquette (No. 50 vs. No. 84).
  • The worst team in the ACC has a higher RPI than the worst team in the Big East (No. 177 vs. No. 202).
  • The Miami steals leader (Shane Larkin, 59 steals) has more steals than the Marquette steals leader (Junior Cadougan, 35 steals).
  • Miami has a much lower admission rate (more selective) according to Kiplinger (44 percent vs. 66 percent).
  • The Miami three-point leader (Shane Larkin, 54 three-pointers) has more three-pointers than the Marquette three-point leader (Vander Blue, 33 three-pointers).
  • 100%