College Basketball on Monday and we will see the Cincinnati Bearcats travel to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN 2. Currently the odds for the game have Pittsburgh favored by 6 points while the total sits at 125. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Free Analysis: The Bearcats had worked their way into the top 10 thanks to strong inside play but ended its non-conference slate with its first loss at home to New Mexico on Thursday. The Bearcats have not allowed a team to score more than 60 points since Nov. 24, but had their offense fail them against New Mexico in a 55-54 loss. Kilpatrick suffered through a 5-for-22 shooting performance and Cincinnati shot just 31.3 percent in the setback. The Bearcats had been one of the higher-scoring teams in the country until recently, as they have failed to break 70 points in any of the last three contests. Kilpatrick hit five 3-pointers en route to 19 points and JaQuon Parker scored 21 when Cincinnati earned a 66-63 win at Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day last season. Cashmere Wright handed out seven assists in the win.
Pittsburgh ripped through its non-conference slate, regaining some of the status it lost during a down 2011-12 campaign by taking its last eight games. Pittsburgh fought through injuries and inconsistency last season and struggled to a 22-17 overall record. One of the main problems was the absence of point guard Tray Woodall for 11 games. With Woodall back at the top of the offense, the Panthers lead the nation in assists at 19.6 and rank in the top five in team field goal percentage at 51.8. The Panthers’ lone setback came to No. 2 Michigan 67-62 back on Nov. 21 and they have cruised since. Pittsburgh has won its last eight by an average of 27.4 points and is coming off a 59-43 triumph over Kennesaw State on Dec. 23. Woodall is averaging 11.7 points and 5.8 assists while junior forward Talib Zanna paces the team in scoring (13.2) and rebounds (6.3). With a healthy Woodall at the end of last season, the Panthers recovered to win the College Basketball Invitational Tournament and have taken that momentum into the current campaign.
Free Pick: I like the Under in this one. Both teams have really been playing low scoring games of late. Cincinnati's last 3 have averaged just 113.3 ppg, while Pittsburgh's last 5 have put put up 118.4 ppg. Both teams have been excellent on defense this year, but even more so of late as Pittsburgh has allowed a mere 43.6 ppg in their last 5 games, while Cincinnati has allowed 54.8 ppg in their last 5. Cincy is 6th in the nation in defensive FG%, while Pittsburgh is 37th. This will not be an uptempo game and with both defenses playing out of their minds right now I look for this one to struggle to hit 115 points.
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