Penny Hardaway has not gotten off to a great start as the new face of the Memphis Tigers. The former NBA All-Star was one of the league’s best throughout the 1990s, but he is a neophyte in the coaching world. He was a high school head coach for just one season before taking over at Memphis, and that led to criticism of him being used as a recruiting tool and little else. Hardaway’s Tigers are just 13-9, so he hasn’t done much to answer those concerns, and they will be underdogs at home to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday night.
This AAC showdown will take place on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. ET from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Odds Analysis
Cincinnati has been one of the top teams in the country. The Bearcats are ranked in the AP Top 25, and they have lost just three games this season. They haven’t played a great schedule though, so many observers are hesitant to think too much of this team. Cincinnati lost to its two best non-conference opponents (Ohio State and Mississippi State), and the Bearcats have yet to beat a ranked opponent. They are 8-1 in conference play, but two of their wins came in overtime and four of them have come by five points or less.
The Tigers have lost three of their last four, but they nearly pulled off an incredible rally on the road against South Florida over the weekend. Memphis was down 38-13 to the Bulls at the half, but they stormed back in the second half thanks to 41 points from Jeremiah Martin and nearly won the game with 65 points in the second half. They are 5-4 in conference and looking to avoid falling to .500 with a loss here.
Key Injuries
There are no injuries to report for Cincinnati ahead of Thursday night’s game, but Memphis is still without reserve guard David Wingett. Wingett has been sidelined by a hairline fracture in his fibula that has kept him out since mid-December. He didn’t see much time before the injury, so his absence hasn’t affected the team too much.
Matchup to Watch
It will be a big contrast of styles when these teams meet. Memphis plays in the mold of its coach. The Tigers want to spread out and run the court as much as possible, and they are averaging the fifth-most possessions per game in the country. They aren’t too efficient, but they let it fly from beyond the arc, putting up nearly 500 three-pointers already this season and they are constantly trying to score in transition.
In comparison, Cincinnati moves like molasses. Mick Cronin has largely relied on defense during his time at Cincinnati, and the Bearcats don’t push tempo at all. They have the 11th slowest pace in the country according to Ken Pomeroy, but it fits their system and helps them play solid defense.
Prediction
Cincinnati isn’t known for its offense, but the Bearcats do enough to get the job done. Keith Williams and Tre Scott are efficient shooters that are hitting 50 percent of more from the field, and leading scorer Jarron Cumberland can do it all. He is the team’s go-to guy in the clutch and can get off his own shot pretty reliably.
The Tigers don’t have that same consistency, and they have not been able to do the things that help a team with pace play well. Memphis is hitting just 32.5 percent of its three-point attempts this season, and the team is turning the ball over nearly 16 times per game. Their hope is that a player gets hot, like Martin did over the weekend, but if that doesn’t happen, Memphis doesn’t win.
CBB Betting Odds: Cincinnati 73, Memphis 65
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