Cincinnati vs. SMU Pick
Can No. 11 Cincinnati stay unbeaten in the AAC when it is a road underdog against No. 25 SMU today at 4PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, SMU is the slight favorite at home today, as the Mustangs are getting odds of -4 points against Cincinnati. The over/under total for the game is listed at 128 points. Cincinnati has won and covered in four of the last five in this series. The Bearcats picked up a 66-64 win at home over SMU on Jan. 12.
Cincinnati is on a 15-game winning streak to get to 22-2 on the season and 11-0 in the AAC. The Bearcats are just 11-9-1 against the spread, including a 4-4-1 record ATS away from home. Cincinnati has a solid defense, allowing just 61.2 points per game this season. Offensively, the Bearcats are putting up 77 points per game. On the road, their defense actually improves to allowing only 57 points per game, but their offensive dips significantly to only 61.9 points per game. Kyle Washington is leading the team with 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while Jacob Evans is adding 13.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest.
SMU is on a seven-game win streak since the loss to Cincinnati. The Mustangs are 21-4 overall and 11-1 in the AAC. SMU is 7-0-1 against the spread in its last eight games to get to 15-4-1 ATS on the season. The Mustangs are also a dominant defensive team, allowing only 58.3 points per game on the season. At home, they allow just 55.3 per game. Offensively, the Mustangs average 73.2 points per contest. Semi Ojeleye is leading the team with 18.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while Shake Milton is adding 13.7 points and 4.4 assists per contest.
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This should be an absolute grind of a game. I give the edge to SMU, as the Mustangs are a pretty dominant team at home. They are 8-1 against the spread on their home floor this season and their defense causes so many problems for the opposition. Cincinnati has really struggled to score on the road and that should certainly be the case against this defense.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: SMU -4