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The Houston Cougars host the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Fertitta Center this Tuesday. The Cougars are on a roll and are one of the favorites to win the NCAA Championship. In our latest NCAAB betting picks we tell you if Houston can continue their winning run and extend their lead at the top of the Big 12.
- What; 2023/24 NCAA Men’s Basketball
- Who; Houston Cougars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
- Where; Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
- When; Tuesday, February 27th 2024
- Tip-Off; 7 pm ET
Yes, the newly crowned No.1 ranked Cougars are flying at the moment, and with the Bearcats having a season to forget, it’s set to be another tough night for Cincinnati when they take to the court at the Fertitta Center.
Houston rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25 ahead of Purdue, UConn; South Florida makes its rankings debut https://t.co/Zes2QYDsdl
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2024
When you’re down on luck, you need a break. But a break certainly isn’t a road trip to face the Cougars, who are unbeaten at home this season and need a win to keep themselves ahead of Iowa State and Kansas in the race to win the Big 12.
Betting to win the Big 12
In the latest betting to win the Big 12, the best college basketball betting sites make Houston favorites to win the Conference. The Cougars are just -500 to win the Conference in the regular season, with Iowa State at +350 and Kansas at +2000.
Elsewhere in the betting to win the Big 12, Baylor and Texas Tech are both +10000, with BYU at +15000. But realistically, it looks like the betting sites see it as a straight shootout between Houston and Iowa State.
Betting to win the Men’s 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship
In the betting to win the 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship, it’s still UConn leading the way.
The Huskies were +375 last week. But after suffering a heavy defeat at Creighton, the Huskies are now at +450 to win the 2024 NCAA Championship.
After weeks of sitting behind the Purdue Boilermakers in the betting, the Cougars are now second favorites with BetOnline at +700. The Boilermakers are +800. It does vary from bookie to bookie, as MyBookie has Purdue second in the betting at +720, with Houston at +770.
Behind the leading three colleges in the betting are the North Carolina Tar Heels, Arizona, and Tennessee, all at +1400.
Houston Cougars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Match Betting
No shocks in the match odds, as the best March Madness betting sites favor a win for the home-court college. The money line is currently off the board, so the betting sites can’t be giving the Bearcats a prayer of winning this one.
Onto the handicap spread, and the Bearcats are receiving a 13.5-point advantage. To win with the spread, Cincinnati is -110. To win and cover the spread, the Cougars are -110.
The total points amount is 132.5, with over and under both at -110. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA basketball betting sites.
| Houston vs. Cincinnati |  |  |  |
| Houston | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cincinnati | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Houston (-13.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Cincinnati (+13.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 132.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 132.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Houston Cougars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats: Latest Form
The Houston Cougars sit top of the Big 12 with a Conference record of 11-3. Houston is 24-3 overall this season. At home, the record is 15-0. On the road, 5-3. They are also on a winning streak of five.
In their most recent match, the Cougars impressively defeated Baylor 82-76 at the Foster Pavilion. The Cougars did need overtime to see off the Bears. But the overtime win shows where the Cougars are currently at. They comfortably took the extra period by a 13-7 scoreline.
The win came just days after they defeated Iowa State by eight points (73-65) to take full control over the Big 12.
The Cincinnati Bearcats are 11th in the Big 12 with a Conference record of 5-9. Overall, this season, the Bearcats are 16-11. The breakdown is 12-5 at home and 4-5 on the road. They are also on a losing streak of two.
Dig a little deeper, and you will find that Cincinnati has lost four of its last five. Two of the defeats were against Houston (67-62) and Iowa State (68-59), but they were both at home.
After those back-to-back defeats, the Bearcats did manage to stop the rot with a two-point win away at UCF (76-74). But the return to winning ways was short-lived, as they have since gone on to lose 80-76 at home to Oklahoma State and, most recently, 75-57 away to TCU.
The defeat at the Horned Frogs was a really good thrashing.
Final from Ft. Worth
Bearcats 57, TCU 75
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) February 24, 2024
Houston Cougars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Picks
The Bearcats lost to the Cougars by five points when they met earlier in the month. That fixture was in Cincinnati. So, with this being in Houston, can we expect the Cougars to win by another nine or more points (on top of the five) to cover the spread?
Going by what the Bearcats produced on their last road trip, the answer would have to be yes. Losing by an 18-point margin away to TCU wasn’t great. And we can see the same thing happening when the two colleges meet at the Fertitta Center.
Our pick is for Houston to win and cover the spread.
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