The Cincinnati Bearcats are one of the hottest teams in college basketball and have yet to lose in American Conference play. They will aim to keep it rolling in a conference showdown with the Connecticut Huskies.
Connecticut has struggled badly for most of the season, which is surprising considering how well the program has done in the past few decades. The Huskies do enter this game winners of three straight and they would love to pull off the upset.
However, Cincinnati has proven itself as the American Conference’s team to beat and will undoubtedly be the favorite with the superior roster and home court advantage.
At 4 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, February 4, 2017, at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Cincinnati is 19-2 straight up and 11-7-1 against the spread. The Bearcats have played 11 home games on the season and have covered in seven of them. Cincinnati has been the favorite most of the time this year and has gone 10-6-1 against the spread in those games.
Connecticut is 10-11 straight up and a disappointing 6-12 against the spread. Expectations were much higher for the Huskies and they have failed to reach them. UConn has played eight true road games this year and covered in three of them. The Huskies have been the underdog nine times and have gone 3-6 against the spread in those matchups.
Player to Watch
Jalen Adams – The sophomore guard is Connecticut’s leading scorer so far this season, averaging 15 points per game. He is capable of putting up big numbers but has lacked consistency this season.
Adams will be looking to make a bigger impact against Cincinnati after finishing with just eight points in the Huskies’ win over Tulane on January 28th. In the games prior, he combined for 39 points and 17 assists.
The young player scored a season-high 34 points against Oklahoma State in November and also had 27 points against No. 13 Oregon earlier this season. He will need another big game this weekend if UConn wants to hang around and try to pull the upset in this matchup.
Key Stat
61.8. That’s how many points per game Cincinnati is holding opponents to per game this season. The Bearcats rank No. 11 in the nation for points against.
The team comes into this matchup riding a 13-game winning streak. In that time, Cincinnati held seven opponents to less than 60 points.
This week, the Bearcats face an offense in Connecticut that is only averaging 66.6 points per game. The Huskies are on a three-game winning streak however, and averaged 77 points per game in that stretch.
UConn must get it going offensively in order to stay close. If the Huskies can score efficiently, they could get blown out.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Cincinnati has answered all questions throughout conference play and is steadily moving up the national rankings. The Bearcats are in a two-team race for first place in the conference, but Southern Methodist is playing well and sits only a half-game behind.
Cincinnati beat SMU by two points a few weeks back to give it the head-to-head edge, but any loss would pull the teams back to even. While UConn hasn’t been very good all season, there is always some concern because it does have some talented players.
The Bearcats are at home, but they can’t overlook this game or it will be uncomfortably close. The Huskies haven’t proven they can be counted on in a situation like this, but they could cover the spread depending on where it comes in. Keep an eye on that as the game gets closer.
College Basketball Odds: Cincinnati 73, Connecticut 67
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