Wichita State vs Cincinnati B1/5/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Cincinnati Bearcats (10-5) vs. Wichita State Shockers (7-7)
January 5, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Wichita State Shockers +1 / Cincinnati Bearcats -1; Over/Under: +133
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Wichita State Shockers meet in college basketball action from the Charles Koch Arena on Thursday night.
The Cincinnati Bearcats will look to bounce back from a 70-61 loss to Temple last time out. David DeJulius leads the Bearcats in scoring with 16.1 PPG and 3.2 APG while Landers Nolley II has 15.1 PPG with 4.3 RPG as well this season. Viktor Lakhin has 12.8 PPG with a team-high 7.7 RPG to lead the Bearcats on the glass and to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Cincinnati so far this season while Jeremiah Davenport has 9.4 PPG and 3.5 RPG this season. Mika Adams-Woods has a team-high 3.5 APG to lead the Bearcats in assists this season. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 79.6 points per game on 46.4% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three point range and 68.8% from the foul line up to this point in the year.
The Wichita State Shockers will try to bounce back from a 79-69 loss to East Carolina last time out. Craig Porter Jr. leads the Shockers in scoring and assists with 11.9 PPG and 3.8 APG while Jaykwon Walton has 11.7 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead Wichita State on the glass and make up the pair of double-digit scorers for Wichita State so far this season. As a team, Wichita State is averaging 64.8 PPG on 42.3% shooting from the field, 29.2% from three and 68.6% from the foul line this season.
Cincinnati is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Thursday games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games following an ATS loss. Wichita State is 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall.
I get the case to be made either way in this game, but I like the under here. This just feels like a defense-first kind of game for me and one that I think points are going to be hard to come by in. Wichita State’s defense has been rock solid and I think Cincinnati will hold down the Shockers’ offense here and we have a lower-scoring battle. Give me the under here.
