{"id":199762,"date":"2026-03-20T22:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/199762\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T22:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:56:09","slug":"march-madness-2026-round-of-64-pick-odds-best-bet-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/199762\/","title":{"rendered":"March Madness 2026 Round of 64 pick, odds, best bet Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

The No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup of the West Region<\/a> between Miami and Missouri is one of the Round of 64\u2019s truest coin flips.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miami has been one of the nation\u2019s biggest turnaround stories under first-year head coach Jai Lucas, jumping from a seven-win season to a third-place finish in the ACC behind a veteran, transfer-heavy roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Missouri took a more winding road to get here, mixing high-end wins over teams like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida with uneven stretches, including a three-game losing streak entering the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Tigers gain a geographic edge, having already played a game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis despite being 1.5-point underdogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Missouri vs. Miami prediction, odds<\/p>\n

The biggest commonality between these two is that they rely heavily on interior scoring.<\/p>\n

Miami ranks only behind Florida and Gonzaga in points in the paint per game. Its identity is built around physicality, anchored by Malik Reneau and his 18.8 points and 6.6 rebounds average. Alongside Ernest Udeh Jr., this tandem makes for one of the most productive frontcourts in the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mizzou also leans on its size in the frontcourt with multiple rotation players at 6-foot-9 or taller, including Mark Mitchell, Trent Pierce, and Shawn Phillips Jr., all looking to finish over defenders and control space near the basket. This overlap could be critical to the pace of this game as possessions stretch themselves out.<\/p>\n

\"MiamiMiami forward Malik Reneau (5) drives against Louisville guard J\u2019vonne Hadley during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. on March 12, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Neither team excels in Torvik\u2019s Adjusted Tempo rating; both rank well outside the top 100.<\/p>\n

That said, neither side is built to produce high perimeter volume. Missouri averages 20.5 3-point attempts and Miami just 18.9.<\/p>\n

In the free-throw department, Missouri is shooting 69 percent from the line this year \u2014\u00a0the lowest mark amongst SEC teams. Miami converts at a 68.5 percent clip.<\/p>\n

Both teams get to the line frequently as Missouri averages 24.2 attempts per game while Miami 22.4, but it\u2019s this inefficiency that causes added empty possessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Betting on College Basketball? <\/p>\n

In the Tigers\u2019 three-game losing streak, turnovers have been a problem, with nearly 15 per game. Miami, meanwhile, has several ball-hounding guards who have forced 12.7 turnovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the Hurricanes don\u2019t necessarily produce big when faced with slower, more physical matchups \u2014\u00a0just look at their 62-point night against Virginia in the ACC Tournament last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pick\u2019em game in a tournament setting<\/a>. I\u2019m looking for a halfcourt-heavy ball game rather than a transition one.<\/p>\n

THE PLAY: Under 147.5 (-110, Fanatics<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4640,8294,43655,123,125,5079,124,10480,110,5775,5776],"class_list":["post-199762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-betting","tag-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-betting","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-hurricanes","tag-miami-news","tag-missouri-tigers","tag-sports","tag-sports-betting","tag-sports-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}