NBA Best Bets of the Day (12/2)
Alex Christenson
Check out our entire college basketball season preview!
The college basketball season is less than two weeks away, and here at FTN Fantasy we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. We will be previewing each team from all of the major conferences along with some mid-majors as well. We will recap betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season and talk about any key players for that program.
The ACC is home to some of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball. Lately, the Final Four champion has come out of the Big East or the Big 12 but the ACC has a great chance to reclaim the title of the best conference in CBB. There has been an influx of talent via the transfer portal, good old-fashioned recruiting and the additions of SMU, Stanford and Cal.
Let’s take a look at the Miami Hurricanes.
2024-25 College Basketball Season Preview: Miami Hurricanes
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (14th season)
2023-2024 Record: 15-17
ATS: 14-16-2
O/U: 14-18
Projected Starters: G Nijel Pack, G Jahlil Bethea, G Matthew Cleveland, F Brandon Johnson, F Lynn Kidd
It was a rough season for the Hurricanes, but they had some of the worst injury luck in all of college basketball. It was a rarity for their entire team to be available and it led to a large variety of lineup combos. This lack of continuity led to the lackluster 15-17 record.
They will have to replace some serious firepower with Norchad Omier, Kyshawn George, Bensley Joseph and Wooga Poplar all gone. However, in the transfer portal you can expedite a rebuild and that’s exactly what Miami has been able to do. They’ve added transfer Jalen Blackmon (21.3 PPG at Stetson), Brandon Johnson (14 PPG at ECU), Lynn Kidd (13.2 PPG at Virginia Tech), AJ Staton-McCray (11.5 PPG at Samford) and Kiree Huie (11.3 PPG at Idaho State). Top 10 recruit Jahlil Bethea will be a big part of the team’s success this year as well as a likely one-and-done.
Key Player: Matthew Cleveland
There is a ton of talent on this Canes team, but it’s Matthew Cleveland who truly holds the key to a winning season. He averaged 13.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.3 SPG. He is expected to be a primary scorer for the team with the hope that he can more closely resemble Jordan Miller than he did last year. You’ll recall from Miami’s Final Four run, Jordan Miller was a do-it-all player for them that could score, defend and rebound at the highest of levels. Cleveland didn’t quite reach that level last year, but we can expect him to have a big year, statistically speaking.
He is dealing with an upper-body injury so his status for the opener is in doubt, which clearly isn’t ideal, but it’s not expected to be something long-term. His health this year will be of the utmost importance for this team to avoid last year’s debacle.
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