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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Cincinnati-Utah prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Cincinnati-Utah.
The Tuesday schedule in college basketball includes this game in the Big 12 Conference. This is a battle between two teams which have been roughed up by the Big 12. Neither the Cincinnati Bearcats nor the Utah Utes are in position to make the NCAA Tournament. These teams have both struggled at the offensive end of the court, and they need to get much better scorers next season on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.
Cincinnati's Wes Miller and Utah's Craig Smith were both reasonably praised by college basketball commentators when they were hired by their current employers. Miller was seen as a rising star after a successful tenure at UNC Greensboro. Craig Smith had a successful run at Utah State. Fans at these two schools had reason to be happy when they hired these coaches. Yet, we are always reminded that just because a hire looks great on paper, that doesn't mean it will turn into results. Sometimes, the right move — the move which makes total sense — still doesn't deliver actual progress. Miller and Smith have fundamentally fallen short this season. They need talent upgrades and a general infusion of offense next season. The idea that either of these teams can get on a big enough — and long enough — roll to make the NCAA Tournament is hard to take seriously, even though we still haven't hit the month of February. It is very difficult to see how these two squads will find enough offense to win enough Big 12 games and mount a serious push toward the bubble.
Cincinnati began its two-game state-of-Utah road trip on Saturday by going to Provo to face BYU. UC was completely dominated, scoring only 52 points in a blowout loss. This is what has to be frustrating Cincinnati basketball fans right now: Everyone can see that the offense is atrocious, and yet the coaching staff is unable to make fixes to solve the problem. Whether this is a talent issue or a coaching issue, the bottom line is that Wes Miller is falling well short of the expected standard in Cincinnati. That has to change soon.
Utah just got handled this past weekend at home by Baylor. The Utes scored just 61 points and were never particularly close to the Bears. As bad as that 61-point offensive performance was, Utah was completely smothered a few days earlier when it managed only 36 points against Houston.
Cincinnati and Utah: two mediocre teams, two bad offenses, two seasons going nowhere. Let's see which team steps up in a game which is priced by the markets as a true toss-up.
Here are the Cincinnati-Utah College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Cincinnati-Utah Odds
Cincinnati: +1.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -110
Utah: -1.5 (-102)
Moneyline: -110
Over: 138.5 (-110)
Under: 138.5 (-110)
How to Watch Cincinnati vs Utah
Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
TV: CBS Sports Network
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Why Cincinnati Will Cover The Spread/Win
Cincinnati's offense simply cannot get any worse at this point, and Utah's offense is not playing well at all.
Why Utah Will Cover The Spread/Win
Utah's offense, one would think, is bound to make at least a slight improvement in this game after an awful week last week. Cincinnati's offense has been worse for a longer period of time.
Final Cincinnati-Utah Prediction & Pick
We usually take sides in these picks (when we recommend an actual pick), but this is a spot for a total. Two bad offenses going up against each other should create an ugly game which goes under the total. At 138.5, the market is expecting a game in the high 60s. These two teams figure to play a game in the low-to-mid 60s. If this is a 68-67 game, the under cashes. That seems way too good to pass up.
Final Cincinnati-Utah Prediction & Pick: Under 138.5