The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kansas Jayhawks meet Saturday in college basketball action from Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. Here’s a Kansas vs Cincinnati prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Kansas vs Cincinnati pick.
Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Preview
Cincinnati could only manage a .500 record in their first 16 games of the year at 8-8 overall. The Bearcats would then beat Colorado and Iowa State before losses to Arizona and Arizona State. Cincinnati beat Baylor then lost to Houston and West Virginia after that. The next three were all wins over Central Florida, Kansas State and Utah. Over the first 26 games of the year that gives the Bearcats a 14-12 run.
In the Utah matchup on Sunday, the Bearcats held a mild three-point lead 37-34 going into the second half. Cincinnati kept it up with a 32-31 run the rest of the way and powered out the victory 69-65 in the end on their home court. Tops in scoring was Day Day Thomas with 16 points and two assists while Moustapha Thiam had 15 points and 10 boards for a double-double.
Kansas Jayhawks Betting Preview
Over on the Jayhawks’ side, they managed to win 11 of their first 16 games out of the gate. The Jayhawks lost to North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Central Florida and West Virginia during that stretch. Kansas would get victories in the next eight over Iowa State, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas State, BYU, Texas Tech, Utah and Arizona. After a loss to Iowa State, Kansas had a 19-6 overall record.
Matched up against Oklahoma State on Wednesday the Jayhawks were out in front 43-29 by the end of the first half. Kansas hit a 40-38 deficit in the second half but had plenty of room left for the double-digit victory on the road 81-69 in the end. Darryn Peterson led the charge on 23 points with two boards and Bryson Tiller managed to double up on 10 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Why the Kansas Jayhawks will win
- Kansas has won each of its last 13 games at Allen Fieldhouse against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Cincinnati has lost 23 of its last 24 games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
- Kansas has won the first half in each of its last 10 games at Allen Fieldhouse against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Cincinnati Bearcats will win
- Cincinnati has won each of its last four games when playing with a rest advantage.
- Cincinnati has won the first half in each of its last four games.
Total Points Facts
- Eight of Kansas’ last nine games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 142+ points.
- Three of Cincinnati’s last four games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 130 or fewer points.
Kansas vs Cincinnati Prediction
I’m going to stick with Kansas. The Jayhawks didn’t have too many issues with a good Oklahoma State team this week, taking a road win thanks to 45.9 percent shooting and a 32-26 rebounding edge. Kansas gave up just 34.8 percent shooting on defense but did have 12 turnovers along the way. The Jayhawks are a nice 9-1 in their last 10 games, scoring 71 or more points in eight of those nine victories.
As for Cincinnati, they were able to power past Utah in their last outing thanks to 44.4 percent shooting, a 32-16 advantage on points in the paint and just six turnovers. The Bearcats got out-rebounded 37-26, but the 36.1 percent shooting on defense helped negate that stat. Cincinnati has three straight wins in the bag with 91 or more points scored in two of those. The Bearcats could cause some issues for Kansas if all goes well. They’ve beaten a few very good teams this year already.