The Cincinnati Bearcats (17-11) travel to face off against the Houston Cougars (25-4) on Saturday, March 1st. This game will be played at Fertitta Center in Houston and televised on CBS. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Tip-off is set for 4:30 ET.

Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars

The Bearcats Are Coming Off A Win

Cincinnati Bearcats Recent Game/Games

Cincinnati improved to 17-11 on the season with a 69-67 win over Baylor on Tuesday. The Bearcats were -2 point favorites at home, and the game ended in a push against the spread. The total points for the game were 136, just under the O/U line of 136.5.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 39-26 lead at halftime but allowed Baylor to score 41 points in the 2nd half while managing only 30 points themselves. Despite the narrow win, the Bearcats will need to address their 2nd half defense moving forward.

The Cougars Are Coming Off A Win

Houston Cougars Recent Game/Games

Houston improved to 25-4 this season with a 69-61 win over Texas Tech on Monday. The Cougars, who were -4.5 favorites going into the game, covered the spread with the victory.

Houston led 33-30 at halftime and outscored Texas Tech 36-31 in the second half. The game’s total points of 130 fell just under the O/U line of 131.5.

Bearcats Offense Breakdown

Cincinnati’s offense put up 69 points in their last game, shooting 46.3% from the field and 43.5% from beyond the arc, connecting on 10 of 23 three-point attempts. Their effective field goal percentage was 55.6%, and they hit 64.3% from the free-throw line, making 9 of 14 attempts.

VJ Edgecombe and Jizzle James each scored 18 points, with Edgecombe hitting 5 of 8 threes and shooting 46.2% overall. Norchad Omier added 15 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 58.3%, while Dillon Mitchell contributed 13 points and 9 boards, shooting 66.7% from the field.

Cougars Offense Breakdown

In their latest game, the Cougars put up 69 points, shooting 44.9% from the field and hitting 50% from beyond the arc (6/12). Their effective field goal percentage stood at 51%, and they were strong from the line, converting 82.6% of their free throws (19/23).

Milos Uzan led the way with 22 points, shooting 53.3% overall and 75% from three (3/4). J’Wan Roberts added 16 points, while JT Toppin and Elijah Hawkins each contributed 14 points, with Hawkins dishing out 5 assists.

Bearcats Team Defense

Cincinnati’s defense gave up 67 points, allowing their opponent to shoot 46% from the field, including 48% on two-point attempts (15/31).

From beyond the arc, Cincinnati’s opponent hit 10 of 23 threes, shooting 43%. They also went 9/14 from the free-throw line.

Cougars Team Defense

Defensively, Cincinnati allowed 67 points on 46% shooting from the field, as their opponent connected on 25 of 54 attempts. Inside the arc, the Bearcats gave up 15 two-point field goals on 31 attempts, a 48% success rate.

From beyond the arc, Cincinnati’s defense allowed 10 threes on 23 attempts, with their opponent shooting 43% from three-point range. The Bearcats also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 14 times, where they made 9, shooting 64%. Cincinnati gave up 8 offensive rebounds in the game.

Bearcats vs Cougars Trends

• Across the Bearcats last ten road games, the team averaged 66 points per game while allowing 70. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 4-6, while going 3-7 straight-up.
• When looking at their past ten home matchups, Houston has an ATS record of 7-3 while averaging 73 per game. The team went 9-1 overall in these games.
• Going back to their last five games as the underdog, the Bearcats have a straight up record of 1-4. But, their mark vs the spread was just 2-3.
• The last ten games that Houston was favored, they have an ATS mark of 6-4 while going 9-1 straight up.

Bearcats vs Cougars Prediction

For a pick on the point-spread in this Cougars vs. Bearcats matchup, our bet is to grab the Bearcats at +15.5. Even though our projections have the Cougars winning 76-70, we see the Bearcats as the play on the point-spread.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 125.5 and given that our model is projecting 146 points between the teams, we like the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.