Posted on
1/30/2008 2:55:04 PM
NCAA Basketball Betting – Cincinnati at West Virginia
By Charles Jay
The Cincinnati Bearcats (9-11 SU, 11-7 ATS) have a big defensive job on their hands when they pull into Morgantown on Wednesday night to face off against the West Virginia Mountaineers (15-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) in Big East conference play that tips off at 7 PM ET at the WVU Coliseum.
In the BetUS NCAAB betting odds, West Virginia is listed as the 13.5-point home favorite.
Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends relative to this matchup:
* CIN has covered 11 of its last 13 games
* CIN has played four of its last six games UNDER the total
* CIN has covered five of its last seven road games
* CIN is 8-16-1 ATS in its last 25 road games
* CIN has lost 17 of its last 18 road games SU
* WVU has covered three of its last ten games
* WVU has won four of its last five games
* WVU has played seven of its last eight games UNDER the total
* WVU has covered two of its last six home games
* WVU has won 18 of its last 20 home games SU
* WVU has played four of its last five home games UNDER the total
* The last three meetings have gone OVER the total
This game has a special angle as Bob Huggins, who was the Cincinnati coach for 16 seasons, coaches against them in a conference game. One of his assistants from the days at UC, Mick Cronin, inherited the coaching job.
A soft early schedule wasn't really a barometer for Cincy to measure itself by. Then the Bearcats went into a five-game tailspin, but kept itself competitive against better teams like Xavier and Memphis. It's going to be difficult for Cincinnati to get to the post-season, but the team has gone 5-4 SU in its last nine, and had winnable games against U-Conn and Seton Hall that slipped away in the last week.
West Virginia is coming off a one-point loss to Georgetown, and in its last three games has shot less than 40%. That's tough when you rely on your shooting prowess to win games, but still, Alex Ruoff has hit 45% from beyond the arc and leads a crew of WVU shooters who can be dangerous, and who can extend leads too (8.4 threes per game).
On the other side, Cincinnati's offense is somewhat front-loaded, in that Deonta Vaughn the only starter averaging double digits. Vaughn (17.5 ppg on 47% shooting), who has scored 20 points or more six times Huggins has his team yielding less than 40% from the floor, and part of his defensive philosophy is to take away the team's best player. that is perhaps the key here against the Bearcats, who have emerged victorious in just one of their last 18 road games.
We're going to lay the points here with West Virginia, the 13.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds.
BetUS NCAAB betting odds: WEST VIRGINIA -13.5
JAY'S PLAY: WEST VIRGINIA
Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!
(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)