It’s that time of year, again, when the Xavier Musketeers and Cincinnati Bearcats meet on the hardwood to battle for supremacy in the Queen City in the Crosstown Shootout.
A year ago, the Musketeers and Bearcats were both ranked and met up on Xavier’s campus as the Musketeers came away victorious despite the Bearcats ranking 10 places higher in the AP. This year neither team enters their head-to-head battle ranked as Cincinnati gets ready to play host to Xavier on Saturday afternoon, just a few miles away from the Xavier campus.
Both of these teams were high seeds in last year’s tournament and each are striving to get back. Which team will walk away with this key non-conference victory?
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Xavier Musketeers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Date and Time: Saturday, December 8, 2018, 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Musketeers vs. Bearcats TV Coverage: ESPN2
Defense was the name of the game for Cincinnati last year as the Bearcats rode their No.2 defense based on PPG allowed to a 2-seed in the Big Dance. Things didn’t go so well from there, but this year’s rendition of the Bearcats appear just as defensively-minded.
While the competition hasn’t been all that difficult, yet, the team has put together a strong 8-1 start, allowing no more than 65 points to any team. They lost their season opener to Ohio State, but have gone on to win eight straight since.
In the loss to the Buckeyes, Cincinnati scored just 56-points and shot a miserable 27.4-percent from the floor, including going 4-for-29 in the first half. Jarron Cumberland was the lone palyer to reach double-digits in the game, scoring 22, and sank half of the teams’ six buckets from three himself.
Cumberland is the team’s leading scorer on the year with 14.9 PPG in his nine games, but he’s not alone in double-digits as he was against Ohio State. Tre Scott, Cane Broome and Keith Williams are all averaging north of 10 per game.
Cumberland is the leader in the backcourt and a strong all-around talent. He and Justin Jenifer are also the main shooters on the outside and that’s a bit of a concern.
Inside the paint, Cincinnati has Tre Scott as a strong power forward. He’s second on the team in scoring at 11 PPG and first against the boards with 6.4 RPG, but he stands at just 6’8”. Nysier Brooks adds some height at center, but is less of an offensive threat.
On the other side of the floor, Xavier—like Cincy—lost a bit of talent from last year’s team and have, consequently, taken a step backwards after a great season.
Xavier is under first-time coach Travis Steele this year and the team’s shown some bumps of a team in transition, going 5-3 early on.
The Musketeers have fallen to Wisconsin, Auburn and San Diego State. Those losses all came in the first half of November and Xavier has since won three in a row, but questions obviously remain.
The Xavier defense has held Miami (Ohio) to 55 points and Oakland to 63 recently, but the offense is stronger for the Musketeers, but defense a bit less potent compared to Cincinnati.
The team has five players with at least 10.6 PPG through the first eight contests, including Naji Marshall who leads the way at 13.1. The second year forward has taken a nice step forward and adds to his scoring potential with seven RPG and 3.5 APG.
Tyrique Jones and Zach Hankins help Marshall control the paint. While Marshall is the offensive leader inside, Jones and Hankins have combined for 21.5 PPG, but also provide plenty of rebounds and blocks. Jones, in particular, is coming off back-to-back double-doubles with 24 points and 24 rebounds combined over the last two games.
On the outside, Quentin Goodin and Paul Scruggs will matchup with Cumberland and company. Neither are strong shooters from three, but as a team, Xavier is shooting a solid 48.3-percent from the floor. Scruggs is a big reason why as a very effective shooter.
Live Betting
The Crosstown Shootout carries a lot of weight for Xavier, Cincinnati and their players. While it’s just a regular season game to the outside world, it means a lot more to these schools. Like any rivalry game, however, it also brings with it plenty of unpredictability. Both teams will be more motivated than they have been to this point in the season and that could make a difference; so could the added pressure.
In the end, this should be a tough battle. Cincinnati, in particular, plays a tough, aggressive form of basketball on defense and will do their best to win on the backboards. It’s crucial that Xavier do what they can to match that. Given all that, the team that’s best able to hold onto the ball and not turn it over while getting their own rebounds will be victorious.
Watch how the rebounding game goes early to help decide where to go in the end.
Look for a lower scoring affair and bet the total accordingly while taking the points should the spread get too large. As always, be sure to also take advantage of all the exciting live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
The Cincinnati defense is tight and the offense is good enough, particularly with Cumberland taking his game up a notch. Xavier needs to find a way to compete defensively.
The Musketeers have already allowed 85 points to Evansville this season and gave up 88 to Auburn in the Maui invitational. That’s got going to fly against a team yet to surrender more than 65.
Defensively, Jones and Hankins provide solid rebounding and some key blocking ability down low, but on the outside it comes down to Paul Scruggs.
Goodin is a team captain and a given on the court and tough one-on-one matchup in the backcourt for anyone, but Scruggs needs to bring some good defense on the outside in this one.
Scruggs can impact the game on defense. He’s got an impressive wingspan given his height and that allows him to smother the ball defensively. He’s a mentally tough competitor who can help the rest of the team bring up their energy on defense as well. He’s the team leader in steals and has seven blocks in eight games, a rather impressive number for a guard.
Musketeers vs. Bearcats Live Betting
The Bearcats have been off to a better, more predictable start. Look for the Cincinnati defense to be the difference maker in this game as the Musketeers fall short.
Cumberland and Scott should have good games against Xavier. While Cincinnati isn’t as strong of an offensive club, they’re a better shooting team on the outside than Xavier and will compete with the Musketeers on the boards.
Overall, look for a close game between these bitter rivals and jump on any exaggerated spread, but Cincy should have the narrow edge on their home floor, albeit just a few miles away from Xavier’s.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Cincinnati 74, Xavier 68
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