Cincinnati Bearcats vs Xavier Musketeers Betting Pick & Prediction 12/9/23

Looking to win big? The Bearcats and Musketeers face off at 6:30 ET on FS1. The Musketeers are hosting the game at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH. The odds for this non-conference game currently have the Musketeers as the betting favorite with the over/under line sitting at 153 points.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS VS XAVIER MUSKETEERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Xavier Musketeers -1

This game will be played at Cintas Center at 6:30 ET on Saturday, December 9th.

WHY BET THE XAVIER MUSKETEERS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 74-68 in favor of the Musketeers.
• Not only will Xavier pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -1.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 153 points, and we like the under with a projected 142 points.

Will the Bearcats Pull Through as the Away Underdog?

Today, Cincinnati will face Xavier in their eighth game of the season. So far this year, Cincinnati is undefeated with a 7-0 record. In their most recent three road games, which includes last year, Cincinnati has a record of 2-1. As of now, Cincinnati has a 3-3 record against the spread for the season. In their previous five games, the team is 3-2 vs. the spread.

After seven games, Cincinnati has an over/under record of 4-2-0, with their games averaging a combined 150.8 points per game so far. The Bearcats have seen their last five games conclude with a collective average of 156 points per game and an over/under record of 4-1.

Cincinnati’s offense had a good outing, putting up 86 points against Howard. They achieved a 48.5% field goal percentage and went 17/21 from the free-throw line. The top scorer for the Bearcats was Viktor Lakhin with 19 points, while Daniel Skillings also added 16 to the scoreboard.

Currently, the Bearcats’ defense holds the 51st rank in the nation, allowing 65.0 points per game. So far, the Cincinnati defense is giving up an average of 5.9 offensive rebounds per game and are turning teams over 8.6 times per game (254th).

Can the Musketeers Hold Strong at Home?

Xavier is getting ready for their 10th game of the season and currently has a record of 4-5. In away games, the Musketeers have a record of 1-2, while they are 3-2 when playing at home. Xavier’s ATS record is sitting above .500, standing at 5-3. So far this season, they have gone 2-1 against the spread on the road, and 3-2 when playing at home.

Up to this point, games involving Xavier have had an average of 143 points per game, with the average over/under line set at 145.1 points. Their over/under record is 3-5-0. The Musketeers’ last five games have culminated with an average of 147 points per game and an over/under record of 3-2.

Compared to their season average of 75.6 points per game, Xavier struggled in their previous game. Against Houston, the Musketeers scored 60 points while finishing with a field goal percentage of 32.7%. The team’s top scorer is Quincy Olivari, who enters today’s matchup with an average of 16.1, while Desmond Claude also carries a PPG average of 16.1 into the game.

Coming into today’s game, the Xavier defense is giving up an average of 70.1 points per contest. In their previous game vs. Houston, the Cougars finished with a field goal percentage of 32% and a total of 66 points vs. Xavier.