Each looking to rebound from a tough loss, the UCLA Bruins and Cincinnati Bearcats will face off at Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday night. Neither team are currently ranked amongst the top-25, but a big win by either team in this one could certainly improve their chances for consideration in the coming weeks.
Neither team comes into this game clicking on all cylinders as both need a rebound win off a tough loss. Can the Bearcats put their tough loss to Mississippi State in the rearview mirror to overcome a revamped UCLA club or will the Bruins—finally free of the Ball family—be able to find its shot and get back in the win column?
This game should be a well fought battle between two solid teams that find themselves in similar spots despite being quite different in approach and style. Cincinnati has the better record and is playing at home, they should be the favorites.
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
UCLA Bruins vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Date and Time: Wednesday, December 19, 2018, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Bruins vs. Bearcats TV Coverage: ESPN2
Losses to Michigan State and North Carolina shouldn’t come as a surprise to UCLA fans or bettors, but the program is coming off a much more concerning loss, this one coming at home to Belmont.
In that battle of the Bruins, the Belmont version inched out UCLA 74-72. While Belmont is a very good mid-major team and tournament contender, it’s still a game UCLA should win, particularly at home.
Instead, the Bruins struggled shooting in the second half whether inside the paint, from the perimeter or from the free throw line. As a result, the team took the loss and snapped a three-game winning streak.
Overall, UCLA is a better shooting team than they showed in the Belmont game. The Bruins need to improve their shooting from the free-throw line, but they’re solid from the floor and sink over a third of their shots from three-point range thanks largely to Prince Ali’s strong outside shot. David Singleton has been a good outside shooter too in his limited chances.
This is a guard-heavy team save for Moses Brown under the basket and Cody Riley who offers another reliable option inside the paint since his return.
Brown, however, is the key to this team’s success on the frontcourt. The towering center has 11.8 PPG, but more importantly has 9.7 RPG while also delivering several blocks to help minimize the opposition’s success inside.
On the outside, Ali’s the best shooting option, but Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands are the team’s leading scorers with 17.4 PPG and 12.5 PPG respectively. Wilkes is an elite player and has enough size to compete with the wings and provide some assistances on the boards. Even in the loss to Belmont he scored 20.
Comparatively, the Bearcats are averaging nine fewer PPG, ten fewer rebounds as well as less assists, steals and blocks. All those stats point this in UCLA’s favor, though it also tells a story of a slower pace of play for Cincinnati along with an excellent defense. That defense will need to be a big factor for the home team on Wednesday night.
While there is certainly a difference in the style of play for these two programs, Cincinnati—just like UCLA—is coming off a loss heading into this game. For the Bearcats, that loss came on the road against a ranked Mississippi State. Still, Cincy managed to score just 59 and lost by 11 points.
The loss for Cincy snapped a nine-game winning streak. The Bearcats are now 9-2, losing their first and most recent game of the year.
As for the player matchups, Cincinnati has Nysier Brooks in the middle to compete with Brown for UCLA. Brooks doesn’t have as much offensive presence but at 6’11” has the size inside. He’s not a huge blocker or rebounder but is certainly a presence.
Head-to-head, Brown’s been the better center, but Brooks has some help with Tre Scott inside.
Scott makes good use of limited opportunities to score with 10.4 PPG and adds 6.5 RPG.
On the outside, Cincinnati has a plethora of strong guards led by Jarron Cumberland. The strong outside shooter put up 21 points in the loss to Mississippi State and has scored 40 over his last two games. Meanwhile, Keith Williams doesn’t offer much deep, but has 11.1 PPG mostly from shorter distance. Cane Broome and Justin Jenifer have also proven to be valuable options at the guard position.
Live Betting
Pay attention to the boards in this one. The Bruins are averaging 10 more rebounds a game than the Bearcats on the young season and that’s a big reason for their solid 7-3 start. They’ve fallen short against the country’s elite teams but, save the Belmont game, have otherwise done quite well.
The Belmont game has another interesting warning for UCLA fans and bettors. In that contest, the Bruins struggled shooting the ball. They’ve been a solid shooting team otherwise, but the score of that game was low and the Bruins were on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Watch this one early to see if UCLA is doing a better job and getting open shots and sinking them. The Bruins need this to be a higher scoring game. Cincinnati is the defense-first team that’ll try and slow the UCLA pace. If they’re successful at doing so, this would could easily fall to the home team. Likewise, if UCLA can find some open shots and keep the score—and pace—up, they’ve got the upper hand.
Keep an eye on the spread as this one progresses and take advantage of props and all live betting opportunities for this game at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
The Bruins have Wilkes and Hands leading the way offensively, but this team needs something inside and that comes in the person of Moses Brown.
Cincinnati has a key center, too, but Brooks comes with a bit more help inside than Brown. Brown’s rebounding and defense is key, of course, but the offense is very telling. Brown has scored six PPG in the team’s three losses but has 12.5 PPG in the team’s wins. Competition plays a role in those numbers, but when Brown helps prove a threat inside, the Bruins are victorious.
Brown’s also the key to the team’s performance on the boards and they’ll need to win—or at least stay competitive—in the rebounding battle. He’s got 9.7 RPG, far and above the rest of the team. In fact, his rebounds account for over 20-percent of the team’s total. That said, his rebounding number have dropped lately. He’s got just one double-digit rebounding game in his last five compared to four in his first five this season.
Bruins vs. Bearcats Live Betting
Look for Brooks and Scott to keep the Bearcats close on rebounds in this one and the duo—with some help, of course—to own the paint, driving the Bruins to the outside and into some lower percentage shots.
Cincy’s defense ultimately wins this one for the Bearcats. Cumberland and Williams should both help the backcourt provide enough offense to accompany Cincinnati inside.
While struggling to push to the basket, UCLA will still get solid production from Wilkes and Hands but look for Brown’s scoring numbers to suffer as the Bruins see their shooting percentage take a hit.
In the end, take the Bearcats at home to get the win in this one. They’ve been the better team overall and their defense should be able to exploit a team that struggled to shoot against Belmont. Still, don’t look for a blowout. Count on this one going down to the wire with Cincy pulling it out in the end.
Be sure to check out all the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Cincinnati 75, UCLA 71
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