West Virginia hits the road for Cincinnati on Thursday night for a matchup tipping off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN 2. The Mountaineers (14-8, 5-4 Big 12) are coming off a 20-point home loss at the hands of Baylor last weekend, and the Bearcats (11-11, 3-6 Big 12) are coming off a similarly lopsided 76-54 loss at No. 10 Houston last Wednesday. Here’s a preview, prediction, key storylines, and updated odds for tonight’s contest in Cincinnati.
WEST VIRGINIA VS. CINCINNATI BASKETBALL ODDS
Cincinnati opened as a 5.5-point favorite and has remained there as the over/under grew 2.5 points to 128.5 total as of Thursday afternoon.
KEY STORYLINE: DEFENSE MEET DEFENSE
Both teams are known to struggle from the field, and the Bearcats especially, as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the Big 12. This one’s a tale of two defenses: Cincy, ranking 15th nationally in points per possession allowed, and WVU, the better of the two with just 63.8 points allowed per game. Cincy averages just 0.4 more steals per game than WVU
MATCH UP TO WATCH: WHO WINS FROM DEEP?
Baba Miller leads the Bearcats’ frontcourt with a double-double average of 13.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. But Cincy is getting just a combined 21.1 points per night from guards Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James. Cincy can’t get burned at the 3-point line, and will be working just as hard to meet West Virginia, led by Honor Huff (15.8 ppg) at the other end. West Virginia is roughly 5% than Cincinnati behind the arc (30.4%).
PREDICTION: CINCINNATI 68, WEST VIRGINIA 62
West Virginia escaped the Bearcats at 62-60 at home in January on a buzzer-beater 3-point basket by Treysen Eaglestaff, and playing on the road doesn’t make this matchup any easier for Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers. Cincy already upset Iowa State at home, and is 11-2 at Fifth Third Arena this season.
