Wichita State vs Cincinnati 1/16/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Wichita State Shockers meet in college basketball action from the Charles Koch Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Cincinnati Bearcats will look to build on their 79-71 win over East Carolina last time out. Jeremiah Davenport leads the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding with 13.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG while David DeJulius has 12.6 PPG with 2.6 APG as the only other double-digit scorer for Cincinnati up to this point in the season. Mike Saunders has 7.9 PPG with 3.2 APG while Mika Adams-Woods has a team-high 3.6 APG and Viktor Lakhin has a team-high 5.2 RPG as well this season to lead the Bearcats on the boards. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 71.6 PPG on 42.5% shooting from the field, 31.4% from three and 65.8% from the foul line while allowing 62.7 PPG on 37.8% from the field and 31.2% from three this season.

The Wichita State Shockers will try to snap a three-game losing streak after a 68-67 loss to Tulane last time out. Tyson Etienne leads the Shockers in scoring with 15 PPG with 2.2 RPG while Morris Udeze has 11.2 PPG with 5.5 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Wichita State up to this point in the year as well. Ricky Council IV has 9.7 PPG with a team-high 5.7 RPG to lead the Shockers on the glass while Craig Porter Jr. has a team-high 3.1 APG as well on the year. As a team, Wichita State is averaging 68.3 PPG on 40% shooting from the field, 30.7% from three and 73.6% from the foul line while allowing 64.5 PPG on 41.3% shooting from the field and 28.7% from three this season.

Cincinnati is 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 2-7-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 games following an ATS loss. Wichita State is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 4-1 in their last 6 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600.

I get the case to be made either way here, as Wichita State usually plays well at home while Cincinnati has been playing the better basketball as of late. Instead, I’m going to side with the under here as I think this is going to be a defensive battle and could be a first to 65 wins kind of game.