The Stetson Hatters and the Cincinnati Bearcats meet in college basketball action from the Fifth Third Arena on Friday. Can Stetson pull off the upset and give Cincinnati their first home loss of the year? Or will the Bearcats defend home court? Let’s dive in and find out with our Stetson vs. Cincinnati Prediction.

Stetson Team Preview

The Stetson Hatters will be looking to build some consistency after alternating wins and losses in each of their last four games after an 80-68 win over FIU last time out. Jalen Blackmon leads the Hatters in scoring with 22.6 PPG along with 2.8 RPG while Stephan Swenson has 10.8 PPG with 5.3 RPG and 6.5 APG to lead the Hatters in the assist department this season as well. Aubin Gaterense also has 11.4 PPG with a team-high 7.6 RPG and Alec Oglesby has 10.3 PPG with 4.9 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Stetson while leading the Hatters on the glass as well this season. As a team, Stetson is averaging 78.8 PPG on 47% shooting from the field, 37.3% from three and 81.8% from the foul line this season. Stetson is 7-5 in the ASUN and has the same number of wins as North Florida.

Cincinnati Team Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats come into this one looking to build on a 65-49 win over Merrimack last time out. Viktor Lakhin leads the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding with 14 PPG and 8.5 RPG while Day Day Thomas has 11 PPG with 2.8 APG as the only other double-digit scorer for Cincinnati so far this season. Dan Skillings Jr., Jizzle James and John Newman III also have 9+ PPG and Simas Lukosius also has 8.6 PPG with a team-high 3.2 APG as well this season. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 82.5 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 34.8% from three and 68.3% from the foul line this season. Cincinnati is 9-2 in the Big 12 and has the same record as Baylor and Texas Tech.

Stetson vs. Cincinnati Prediction

I’m on Cincinnati here. It’s a big number, but Stetson’s defense, or lack thereof, is going to allow Cincinnati to score enough to cover it. The one edge the Hatters have is free throw shooting as they’re the best free throw shooting team in the country, but they don’t get to the line enough to make it count. Give me the Bearcats in this one.