The Cincinnati Bearcats (11-4) visit SMU to play the No. 15-ranked Mustangs (13-0) in a game that has the potential to be high-scoring. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 and will air on ESP and ES3.
The Mustangs beat South Florida 72-58 the last time they played. With 12 points and 10 rebounds, Ben Moore recorded his third double-double this season. The Bearcats are coming off a 76-57 win over Tulsa in their last outing. Farad Cobb shot 8 for 14 and led in scoring with 21 points.
The game should be a matchup of strength against strength, as the high-powered offense of SMU (second in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 126.0) takes on the stingy defense of Cincinnati (21st in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 92.2).
SMU, a seven-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Cincinnati. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 141 points. The Mustangs enter the game with records of 13-0 Straight Up (SU) and 4-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Mustangs are an incredibly accurate shooting team from three-point range with a .428 three-point field goal percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Teams have a tough time keeping SMU off of the offensive glass. They rank 31st in Division I in offensive rebounds. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than SMU, which ranks 13th at 1.64. As for the SMU defense, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Mustangs, who allow only 62.4 points per game. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Mustangs, who allow a field goal percentage of only .388.
Across the court, the Bearcats head into the game with records of 4-6-1 ATS and 11-4 SU. Most recently, Cincinnati is a meager 2-6-1 ATS over the last 10 games. The Bearcats are a force on the offensive glass, grabbing an average of 13.6 offensive rebounds per game. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Bearcats. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.41. When it comes to stealing the ball, the Bearcats are one of the best in the nation with an average of 8.2 steals per game.
The conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Bearcats were winners, moving their SU record against SMU to 3-1. Additionally, Cincinnati leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-1-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cin, ATS Winner – Cin, O/U – Under
Notes
Southern Methodist is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
Southern Methodist is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
SMU is a perfect 2-0 SU against its conference, while Cincinnati is even at 1-1 SU.
Cincinnati scores an average of just 77.5 points per game (ranked 103rd). SMU ranks 18th in points allowed, giving up 62.4 points per game.
Cincinnati scores just 66.6 points per away game (ranked 234th). SMU ranks 31st in points allowed at home, giving up 59.6 points.
The SMU Mustangs have the second-best offensive rating in the nation (126.0). The Cincinnati Bearcats have a top-tier defense with a defensive rating of 92.2 (ranked 21st).
The Cincinnati Bearcats average 66.9 possessions per game and 1.158 points per possession. The SMU Mustangs earn fewer possessions with 65.7, but they score more points with 1.260.
SMU is ranked eighth in the nation with an average effective field goal percentage of 57.7%. Cincinnati has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-1).
On average, SMU attempts 16.0 three pointers and Cincinnati attempts 21.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the SMU Mustangs are undefeated at 3-0 while the Cincinnati Bearcats have a solid 8-3 record.
The 13th-ranked team in the category, SMU has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.64 this season. Cincinnati ranks 34th with an A/TO of 1.41.
SMU, the 22nd-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 41.9 rebounds per game. Cincinnati ranks 56th with 39.9.
SMU ranks 51st in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Cincinnati ranks 36th.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 20.3% when playing Cincinnati this season. SMU is undefeated this season (4-0) when its TO% is 20.3% or higher.
