Cincinnati Bearcats (13-5) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (15-3)
January 22, 2024 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas Jayhawks -7; Over/Under: 145
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kansas Jayhawks meet Monday in college basketball action from Allen Fieldhouse. Cincinnati is coming off a loss to Oklahoma that dropped the Bearcats to 13-5 this year. As for Kansas, they’re 15-3 so far after a loss to West Virginia on Saturday. Let’s get into our Cincinnati vs. Kansas prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Cincinnati Bearcats
The Bearcats only lost two of their first 10 games this year versus Xavier and Dayton. Cincinnati has been on a 5-3 run since then with wins over Merrimack, Stetson, Evansville, BYU and TCU alongside losses to Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma during that stretch.
In the Oklahoma game on Saturday, the Bearcats held a 31-31 tie going into the second half. Cincinnati was outscored 38-34 from there and lost 69-65. Leading the team in scoring was Sima Lukosius with 17 points and seven rebounds. John Newman added 14 points and five boards as well.
Kansas Jayhawks
Over on the Jayhawks’ side, they beat NC Central, Manhattan, Kentucky, Chaminade, Tennessee, Eastern Illinois, UConn, UMKC, Missouri, Indiana, Yale, Wichita State and TCU in their fist 14 games. Kansas is 2-2 since then though, losing to UCF and West Virginia around wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Matched up against West Virginia on Saturday, the Jayhawks were also tied at halftime 51-51. Kansas was outpaced in the second 40-34 and ended up with a tough loss 91-84. Leading scorer Kevin McCullar posted 24 points with five assists. Hunter Dickinson added 19 points and five rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE CINCINNATI VS KANSAS PREDICTION
I’m going to go with Kansas. You could probably argue this one either way, though. The Jayhawks really need a good showing here after a very permissive game versus a middling West Virginia squad. The Jayhawks shot a nice 53.3 percent in that one, but also gave up 51.8 percent shooting on the other side and got out-rebounded 31-22. Kansas has scored 69 or more points in all but two games this year, so offense shouldn’t be the issue in this one.
As for Cincinnati, they’re just 1-3 in their last four outings but to be fair they’ve taken on some very tough teams in that time. The Bearcats have been at 65 points or fewer in two of the last three but I like them to get it going better on Monday. Ultimately I think Kansas will cover this one in the end but it’s a coin flip.
