A quick glance at the stats suggests this matchup should be close. Both clubs score 75 points per game while allowing just over 60. Both are nationally ranked and they enter riding lengthy winning streaks, so something’s gotta give. And it’s first place in the American Athletic Conference when the Houston Cougars put their 31-game homecourt winning streak on the line in Sunday’s tilt against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Cincinnati Bearcats at Houston Cougars
Date and Time: Sunday, February 10, 2019, 4 p.m. ET
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, TX
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Cincinnati at Houston TV Coverage: ESPN
Live Betting Odds Analysis
Both teams continued their winning ways ahead of Sunday’s first-place showdown. Cincy extended its winning streak to eight by downing Memphis, overcoming a poor shooting night to eke out the 69-64 win. The Bearcats have had some good fortune during their run, winning twice in overtime with six of the eight victories by five points or less.
Apparently that loss to East Carolina last month was a wakeup call the team needed. We didn’t expect Cincy to drop a game to a team at the bottom of the conference standings, but it did. The loss was out of character for the Bearcats, whose other two defeats were administered by Ohio State and Mississippi State.
At 22-1 Houston is certainly worthy of a top-10 ranking and will likely get there with a win over Cincinnati on Sunday. The Cougs responded after their only loss of the year by winning their last seven outings, and they haven’t been nearly as close as the Bearcats games. The run was extended with a win at UCF on Thursday and the Cougs return home where they’ve won 31 straight games, including last year’s matchup when Cincy was ranked No. 5 in the country.
Player to Watch
There are several good ones in this confrontation, but keep an eye on Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland. You know the Cougars are going to do the same thing. Cumberland leads the AAC in scoring with 18.6 per outing, and he also plays a hounding defensive game.
Like the rest of the team, Cumberland struggled in the win over Memphis, but he did enough down the stretch to help his team get the victory. He tallied 17 points, his lowest output in the last seven games, and made just 4 of 11 field goals. But he will be remembered for the late second half outburst that put Memphis away.
Leading by three points with two and a half minutes to play, Cumberland scored nine straight points to give the Bearcats a comfortable margin. ”It helps to have a great player to put the ball in the basket late in games. Jarron Cumberland is a great player,” coach Mick Cronin said.
Matchups
Both teams win with defense and if they are at the top of their game this one could be a low-scoring affair. Houston is ranked seventh in the country in points allowed per game at just over 60 while the Bearcats rank 11th surrendering 61.7 per outing.
Cincinnati trailed for much of its game with Memphis, using defensive pressure in a game-changing second half run to overcome the deficit. And that’s what both teams do well. They pressure the ball and defend the three-point line making their opponents work hard to score. And that results in more opportunities on the offensive end later in the game.
The Cougs entered their game with UCF holding teams to 60.5 points and 36 percent shooting. The Knights had more success than most connecting on 42.6 percent of their shots, but Houston blanked them over a six minute stretch to build a double digit lead. “If you take a picket fence and put it around the paint, that’s how our defense is,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said.
College Basketball Live Betting Picks
We’ve seen a team score more than 70 points just once in the last nine meetings between these clubs and they cashed the under in eight of them, so don’t expect a track meet. And if this one is anything like the games last season it will be close. Cincy won by 10 at home, Houston recorded a 5-point home win and the Bearcats won by a single in the AAC Tournament. They clearly are the best in the conference with not much separating them so I have to side with the home team on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu.
College Basketball Score Prediction: Houston 66, Cincinnati 63
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