Louisville and Miami are playing their final regular-season game, and both are expected to make the NCAA tournament. But Louisville has had trouble all season on the road at just 3-7. Louisville has gone 1-4 against the spread in its last five, winning two of those games and losing all three on the road, including at Clemson, North Carolina, and SMU, where they were favored in all. Miami has put it all together at the right time of the year, winning seven of its last eight games. Miami to win.

Guard Mikel Brown Jr., a possible lottery pick in April, will miss his 10th game with an injury. Louisville is 5-4 straight-up without him, with most wins against lesser opponents than this one. The Cardinals have dropped three in a row SU on the road and are 1-7 versus hosts with winning records. Miami enters on the vapors of a three-game SU streak, with two notched away from home. This would seem to shape up as an even matchup with Brown engaged. Because he sits, the 'Canes should be more substantial favorites.

I’m through having any hesitation about Miami’s status as one of the better teams in this conference, as though the 24 wins and 13-4 conference mark weren’t enough. But for about a month we have seen Miami not only take down tournament-bound ACC teams like North Carolina, NC State and most recently, SMU, but take care of business against lesser competition. The team is 7-1 since Feb. 1 with the only loss coming at Virginia by three points, and Louisville has been far too erratic on the road to be trusted. The Cardinals are 3-7 in true road games this year, and Mikel Brown’s DNP on Tuesday leaves some availability questions for the team’s star freshman.