Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 02/27/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Venue:  Fertitta Center, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Cincinnati +13.5, Houston -13.5; Over/Under:  132 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Cincinnati +13.5, Houston -13.5; Over/Under:  132 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Cincinnati +13.5, Houston -13.5; Over/Under:  132 points

Cincinnati Bearcats:  16-11 (5-9) (11th place, Big 12)

Houston Cougars:  24-3 (11-3) (1st place, Big 12)

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Cincinnati Bearcats:  1-4  last 5

Houston Cougars:  5-0  last 5

Cincinnati is entering this game with a 16-11 record overall, a 5-9 record in conference games, and they are 4-5 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the TCU horned Frogs in their last game. Day Day Thomas led the team in points per game in that game with 13 while Simas Lukosius, Dan Skillings Jr, and Jamille Reynolds each were next on the team with 9. Simas Lukosius led the team in assists with 4 in that game while Aziz Bandaogo led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 41.5% from the field, 35.7% from 3-point range, and 57.1% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 74.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 67.9 PPG against them. Cincinnati has an ATS record of 13-14 this season and their O/U record is 13-14.

Houston is entering this game with a 24-3 record overall, an 11-3 conference record, and they are 15-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Baylor Bears in their last game. Emanuel Sharp led the team in points in that game with 18 while J'wan Roberts was next on the team with 17. Jamal Shead led the team in assists with 10 in that game while J'wan Roberts led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 47.5% from the field, 28.6% from 3-point range, and 85.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 74.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 56.1 PPG against them. Houston has an ATS record of 13-12-2 this season and their O/U record is 12-15.

The current betting odds have Houston listed as a 13.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Houston has looked really good in their games this season with their 24-3 record overall which has them ranked inside the top 25 teams in the country and also ranked as one of the best in the nation right now. They have looked great in the Big 12 all season with their 11-3 conference record which leads the way and they have looked great on their home court too with their 15-0 home record. Meanwhile, Cincinnati hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 16-11 record overall and their 5-9 conference record which has them in the bottom half of the Big 12. They haven't looked good in their road games either with their 4-5 road record. Cincinnati hasn't looked good in their games lately either with their 1-4 record in their last 5 games while Houston has been really hot, winning 5 games in a row now. Houston also won their last game on the road against Baylor who is a ranked team and that is only going to give them more momentum here as they look to finish the season as the best team in the country. Cincinnati has been terrible in their road games this season and hasn't looked good lately, losing again in their last game to TCU by almost 20 points. Houston will continue to roll in this game with the way they have been playing lately as they strive to finish the season ranked 1st in the country. The best way to place a bet here is on Houston to cover the spread in this game. 

Cincinnati Houston Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Houston 81 Cincinnati 61.

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Cincinnati Bearcats: 5-1 ATS as an underdog. 19-8 ATS off a loss against a conference rival. 12-4 ATS off a road loss. 70-41 UNDER in a road game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 9-5 UNDER against conference opponents. 7-3 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive losses.

Houston Cougars: 1-4 ATS after scoring 80 points or more. 1-6 ATS after 3 straight games committing 7+ less turnovers than opponents. 11-5 UNDER as a favorite of 10 or more points. 30-20 UNDER in all home games. 22-13 UNDER after scoring 80 points or more.

Cincinnati Bearcats:  None.

Houston Cougars:  R. Walker Jr. (G) out for season - Knee. T. Arceneaux (G) out for season - Achilles.

"First off, we lost. Jamie Dixon's team was really good tonight. I don't think anyone in our locker room is pleased with this. I have a pretty good pulse on our team. Our guys are down about how they played, as they should be, because they didn't play well. I thought our preparation was pretty good yesterday, but we made controllable errors that by this time of year, you want to clean that stuff up. TCU punished us today in transition for communication and focus errors, for turnovers and forced shots and poor shots and poor decisions with the ball. They were much quicker to the boards than us.… They were the better team than us tonight by a stretch." - Wes Miller after his team’s loss against TCU in their last game on Saturday.

“Really proud of L.J. L.J. was in a tough environment today. ... He showed his maturity because he just played solid.” - Kelvin Sampson after his team’s win against Baylor in their last game on Saturday.

A. Bandaogo 

V. Lakhin 

S. Lukosius 

J. Newman 

D. Thomas

L. Cryer 

J. Francis 

J. Roberts 

E. Sharp 

J. Shead

PPG: D. Skillings Jr. (12.1)

APG: D. Thomas (3)

Reb/G: A. Bandaogo (7.8)

PPG: L. Cryer (15)

APG: J. Shead (5.9)

Reb/G: J. Roberts (7.1)

Coaches:

Cincinnati Bearcats: Wes Miller (3rd season)

Houston Cougars: Kelvin Sampson (10th season)