The Cincinnati Bearcats are still considered one of the favorites in the American Athletic Conference heading into Thursday night as they travel to Oklahoma to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Cincinnati will try to get back in the win column in this game while the Hurricanes look to remain undefeated at home.
The Bearcats could certainly use a win after a tough loss in their last outing. Can Cincinnati bounce back to regain its standing amongst the elite in the AAC with a road win over Tulsa? Or will the Golden Hurricanes exploit Cincy while the team is down with a win at home?
Statistically, the Bearcats are the better team thanks in large part to a strong defense. That defense will have to hold firm against the Golden Hurricanes who could prove a tough match for Cincy if the team doesn’t return to form.
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Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
Date and Time: Thursday, January 10, 2019, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Reynolds Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Bearcats vs. Golden Hurricanes TV Coverage: ESPN2
Cincinnati came into conference play with an 11-2 record, looking like a fringe top-25 team. The squad still ranks just outside that in the KenPom ratings, but a bad loss to East Carolina is worrisome.
Generally considered amongst the top tier in the AAC along with Houston and UCF, the Bearcats should have beaten ECU easily. Instead, the Pirates got the win, 71-73. That game was in Greenville, but this game on Thursday is another road game for Cincy.
In the loss to ECU, the Bearcats struggled in the first half, shooting just 39.4-percent from the floor and missing all 10 shots on the outside. The team bounced back in the second half, but it was too little, too late. The team couldn’t close the early deficit.
The team also shot just 44.4-percent on free throws, ultimately costing itself a comeback.
Cincinnati is usually a good free throw shooting team, sinking more than 70-percent of its chances behind the line. This team is also at 35-percent from three-point range usually and a solid 46.8-percent from the floor. The team just couldn’t find the hoop against ECU and took a tough loss.
Jarron Cumberland leads the team on the floor. The junior guard did score 18 in the loss to ECU. On the year, he’s shooting better from beyond the arc than from the floor in general and is typically good for two or three from the perimeter a game. Justin Jenifer is another good perimeter shooter who helps spread the floor. He’s also the team leader in assists with 4.4 per contest, setting up his teammates for success.
Keith Williams and Cane Broome are two more quality guards in the mix. The backcourt is deep for Cincy. The frontcourt is rather strong, too. Tre Scott and Nysier Brooks aren’t prolific scorers, but they are both solid defenders and play rather well against the boards.
Tulsa is a better scoring team inside compared to Cincy, but the Golden Hurricanes don’t have the size to compete with Brooks who stands at 6’11”.
DaQuan Jeffries, Martins Igbanu and Jeriah Horne are all smaller forwards. They can each hold their own on the outside. Igbanu only shoots from down low, but Jeffries and Horne are both shooting above the team average of 33-percent from three-point range.
Sterling Taplin is the leading scorer from the guard position with 9.7 PPG. Both Jeffries and Igbanu are ahead of him with 13.8 and 13.3 PPG respectively.
As a whole, the team is scoring just 72 PPG as it struggles against good defenses and has shown its vulnerability.
Unlike Cincy, Tulsa is coming off a win heading into this game, topping USF, 78-75. Both teams are now 1-1 in conference. Tulsa’s loss in conference came against Houston.
Live Betting
Heavy favorites according to the KenPom ratings even after the difficult loss to ECU, the Bearcats should be—by this measure—favored to win on Thursday, despite playing on the road. Ranked No.30 in the KenPom ratings, Cincy’s ranked as the top team in the AAC, just ahead of Houston thanks to a strong defense and serviceable offense.
By comparison, the Golden Hurricanes rank No.129, nearly 100 spots lower than their counterpart on Thursday night despite being separated by just one game in their overall record. Both teams are 1-1 and it’ll be crucial to see how Cincinnati bounces back from their difficult loss to East Carolina, a team sitting at No.233 according to KenPom.
The Bearcats should be motivated to show that loss was merely a blip on the screen. A hot start to this game could certainly help Cincy get back on track. Watch the team’s early reaction after such a bad loss. It’ll be important that the team comes out determined, but in control rather than desperate.
Either way, be sure to take advantage of a plethora of live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
Cumberland is the best player on the court in this game, but he played well enough on Saturday, but the team was still upset by ECU. The Bearcats need more than him. The bench will need to come through in a bigger way. The team will also need to lean on its defense.
Prior to the loss to ECU where the team allowed 73-points, no team had scored more than 70 against the Bearcats, including Ohio State, Xavier and Mississippi State. Defense is key and that starts inside.
Nysier Brooks is key to Cincy getting back into the win column against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricanes are strong inside with a good collection of smaller forwards, but Brooks represents a difficult obstacle. He had three blocks in the games against ECU and is a strong rebounding option inside as well.
Bearcats vs. Golden Hurricanes Live Betting
Look for the Bearcats’ loss to ECU to be an aberration. This team is better than that and should show it with a road win over Tulsa.
Look for Cincy to win the battle of the boards and gain an advantage inside the paint as Brooks has a nice game defensively. The backcourt should find more success from beyond the arc and the free throw shooting should also bounce back to season norm levels, giving the Bearcats more than enough to walk away from this one victorious.
Count on a big game from Cumberland who is sinking nearly half his shots from distance this year. As for Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes will have trouble scoring around the basket, getting pushed back and will give up too many turnovers to come back from.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Tuesday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Cincinnati 72, Tulsa 66
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