The Cincinnati Bearcats have put together some dominant runs on their own floor and they’re in the middle of yet another. Cincy extended its current home winning streak to 24 straight and looks to remain at the top of the American Athletic Conference standings with a matchup against the Memphis Tigers. The Bearcats have some work to do in order to match their longest home stretch, which reached 41 games back in the late 1990s, but getting to 25 looks promising.
This war on the floor will go down Thursday, February 23, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at the Fifth Third Arena. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Thursday schedule.
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The Tigers hit a lull in their schedule having lost two straight and three of four. Not the most enticing situation as the team closes in on the end of its regular season and the 20-win mark appears to be slipping further and further away. Memphis dropped a tough one last time out, losing a 17-point lead and falling 65-62 to Connecticut. The Tigers covered the 3.5-point spread, but they’ve struggled lately, going just 3-8 ATS over their past 11. Losses to Temple and UCF in that slide hurt and now the Tigers need to grapple with the league’s best down the stretch.
Responding from its first league loss, the Bearcats have won two straight since falling to SMU on Feb. 12. A solid all-around effort in Saturday’s 80-60 win over Tulsa kept Cincy unbeaten at home, extending their mark to 16-0 SU and 8-5 ATS. They don’t play SMU again during the regular season so Cincy needs to win out and hope the Mustangs stumble along the way in order to get the regular season title.
Scheduling Situation
The Tigers had the weekend off from competition and it will be exactly one week since they last played a game when they lace it up against Cincinnati. For most teams a break in the schedule at this point of the year is welcome. For Memphis, not so much. The Tigers entered their off week on a sour note after blowing a 17-point lead to UConn last Thursday and falling 65-62. It marks the first time this season the Tigers have lost two in a row and they’ve dropped three of four overall to fall into the middle of the pack in the AAC.
With games against SMU, Cincinnati and Houston among its final four contests, the Tigers need to be well rested in order to make a push up the standings. Memphis is currently in fifth place and would get a first-round bye in next month’s conference tournament. The Tigers need to stay ahead of UCF in the standings to avoid having to play on the first day.
Key Stat
With the AAC’s highest scoring offense and second-best defense, it’s easy to understand why the Bearcats are at the top of the standings and ranked 17th in the latest AP poll. And while Cincy scores almost 76 points per game, the defense is what makes this team click. The Bearcats have allowed more than 60 points just once in their past seven games and they are 6-1 SU and 3-4 ATS in that span. The only loss was to SMU, owners of the ACC’s top defense, when Cincy was held to a season-low in a 60-51 loss.
The Bearcats have the 11th-best defensive efficiency rating in the country, according to kenpom.com, and ranks higher than SMU in the AAC. They clamped down on Tulsa in Saturday’s victory, holding the Golden Hurricane to only 28 second half points.
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Memphis has struggled to score the basketball during its recent skid and the hope is that a few extra days off can rest some tired legs. But going against the most efficient defense in the AAC isn’t going to help the Tigers’ woes. Memphis averages nearly 75 points per outing but was held to 62 in each of its last two games and has surpassed its average just once in the last 10 games.
That lack of production has led to the under cashing in the last four and five of the past six Memphis games. And beating Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena is something no team has done in the past 24 games. Cincy has proven to be one of the best in the AAC and it isn’t going to let Memphis put a damper on that. Look for the home team to cover the spread and extend its home court winning streak.
College Basketball Odds: Cincinnati 67, Memphis 54
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