Cincinnati Bearcats vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cincinnati Bearcats vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (+7)

The SMU Mustangs (6-1) host the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-6) at Moody Coliseum on Thursday. Cincinnati opens this matchup as 7-point underdogs. The total opens at 143.

Cincinnati heads into this game with a win-loss record of 2-6 so far this year. They turn the ball over 15.0 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 20.8 fouls per contest. As a unit, Cincinnati is pulling in 34.9 rebounds per contest and has 115 assists on the season, which has them ranked 172nd in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Bearcats are shooting 26.0% on shots from distance (44 of 169) and 66.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 68.1 points per contest (260th in the nation) while hitting 42.7% from the field. When they are on the defensive end, the Bearcats have forced 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They rank 172nd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 105 conceded on the year. The Bearcats defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.3% (195 of 430) and they surrender 32.5 boards per game as a unit. They concede 32.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 213th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (71.5).

The Cincinnati Bearcats stepped onto the hardwood against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and took a loss by a final of 70-66 in their last game. Cincinnati walked away from the game with a 34.4% field goal percentage (21 of 61) and knocked down 6 out of their 19 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Bearcats converted 18 of 27 tries for a percentage of 66.7%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they compiled 27 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 11 dimes for the matchup as well as earning 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. Pertaining to defending, Cincinnati allowed the other team to shoot 34.4% from the floor on 21 of 61 shooting. Tulsa earned 16 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Golden Hurricane had 27 rebounds (2 offensive, 25 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Tulsa ended up shooting 78.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of 19 attempts. They buried 5 of their 18 tries from 3-point range.

Keith Williams is one player who was important for this game. He was able to score 18 points on 4 of 14 shooting. He played for 34 mins played and also snagged 4 rebounds. Williams finished 28.6% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes. One more player that was a contributor in this matchup for the Bearcats was Jeremiah Davenport. He collected 7 rebounds and also had 2 assists. He finished the game shooting 66.7% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 6-of-9 (16 points). When the final whistle blew, Davenport was on the court for 27 minutes.

SMU has a record of 6-1 on the season. The Mustangs commit 16.1 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 73.2% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.3 times per contest (37th in D-1) and they turn it over 13.7 times per contest. SMU has accumulated 565 points on the year (80.7 per game) and they collect 39.6 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Mustangs are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which is ranked 90th in Division 1. The Mustangs defensively are ranked 84th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 65.7. They give up 12.7 dimes and 35.3 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 166th and 186th in Division 1. The SMU defense allows 31.4% on 3-point attempts (53 of 169) and their opposition makes 71.3% of their free throw attempts. They are able to force 15.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.1% from the floor (23rd in D-1).

For their last game, the SMU Mustangs went home defeated by a final of 74-60 when they faced the Houston Cougars. The Mustangs were able to collect 21 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 31 in this game. They blocked 8 tries while recording 8 steals for the game. The Cougars had 17 personal fouls for this contest which took the Mustangs to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They were able to convert 8 of the free throw tries for a clip of 53.3%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, SMU made 6 of their 21 tries (28.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Mustangs finished the game shooting 23 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.4%. The Mustangs allowed the Cougars to convert 25 out of 64 tries from the field which had them at 39.1% for the game. They finished 35.0% from downtown by hitting 7 out of 20 and ended up going 17 out of 20 from the charity stripe (85.0%). When discussing cleaning the glass, SMU permitted Houston to pull down 42 in total (16 on the offensive glass).

Kendric Davis ended up being a factor for the Mustangs in this game. He converted 8 out of 12 for this game for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, which had him sitting at 23 points. Davis collected 8 rebounds in his 37 minutes and accounted for 4 assists in the game. One more player who was a determining factor for SMU was Feron Hunt. He notched 12 points in 35 minutes played by going 5 out of 11 from the floor for this game. Hunt ended up shooting 45.5% from the floor while also contributing 2 dimes and 12 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati (+7)

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