Houston vs Cincinnati Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 1/28/23

The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Houston Cougars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hofheinz Pavilion. Cincinnati is 14-7 so far this year. The Bearcats lost to Memphis in their last game on Sunday. As for Houston, they’re currently 19-2 and coming off a win over UCF on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Cincinnati Bearcats 

Cincinnati posted a decent 11-5 run through their first 16 games, losing to Northern Kentucky, Arizona, Ohio State, Xavier and Temple. The Bearcats are 3-2 since then with wins over East Carolina, SMU and South Florida. 

In the Memphis matchup on Sunday, the Bearcats were down 42-32 by the break. Cincinnati posted a 36-33 advantage in the second half but couldn’t come back in a 75-68 loss. Viktor Lakhin doubled up on 22 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat. 

Houston Cougars 

Over on the Houston side, they lost just one of their first 19 games, opening the season at 18-1 with a lone loss to Alabama on December 10. Since then the Cougars have taken another loss to Temple and a win over UCF. 

Matched up against UCF on Wednesday, the Cougars took a 38-34 lead into the second half. Houston kept it up with a 44-37 run from there and won 82-71. Emanuel Sharp scored 18 points and Jamal Shead doubled up on 14 points and 10 assists. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stick with Houston. The Cougars bounced back well from their 56-55 loss to Temple with a solid road win over UCF, and now they’re back at Hofheinz. Houston didn’t have much trouble the last time these teams met up, securing a 72-59 victory on January 8 thanks to 45.6 percent shooting and just seven turnovers. Cincinnati is 3-1 since then with 68 or more points scored in three of those four. I like the Bearcats to hang around for a while in this one before Houston pulls away on the cover.