West Virginia Mountaineers vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 3/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The Cincinnati Bearcats (17-13) will go up against the West Virginia Mountaineers (9-21) at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday.

The West Virginia Mountaineers faced TCU and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 93-81 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Mountaineers ended up with 15 and TCU accounted for 25 personal fouls. They converted 11 of their 23 attempts from three-point range. TCU finished shooting 84.6% from the charity stripe by making 22 of their 26 shots. In addition, TCU snagged 28 rebounds (6 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. TCU earned 18 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. With regard to defense, West Virginia allowed their opponent to shoot 55.6% from the floor on 30 out of 54 shooting. They also dished out 16 assists in this contest as well as forcing 12 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In regard to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 27 with 7 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Mountaineers buried 19 of their 34 attempts for a percentage of 55.9%. West Virginia wrapped up the game with a 56.9% FG percentage (29 out of 51) and buried 4 out of their 14 shots from distance.

Jesse Edwards is a player who came through for the matchup. He was able to score 36 points on 15 of 19 shooting. He played 36 mins and collected 13 rebounds. He went 78.9% from the field and also totaled 2 dimes.

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West Virginia comes into this game with a mark of 9-21 for the campaign. They are averaging 69.8 points per outing (287th in the nation) while hitting 42.7% from the field. The Mountaineers are hitting 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (215 of 626) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, West Virginia is pulling in 34.2 boards per game and has racked up 391 assists on the campaign, which is 196th in college basketball in terms of passing. They are turning it over 12.7 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 15.2 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Mountaineers are able to force 10.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.4 fouls. They give up 34.8% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 291st in Division 1 in opponents points per game (75.9). The Mountaineers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 44.1% (813 of 1,843) and they concede 35.8 boards per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 329th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 455 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats took a defeat with a final score of 74-71 when they played Oklahoma. The Bearcats recorded 22 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in the matchup. They gave up possession 12 times, while getting 11 steals for the contest. Oklahoma was called for 16 fouls in this game which took the Bearcats to the free throw line for 11 tries. They were able to convert 9 of those for a clip of 81.8%. With respect to three-point shots, Cincinnati knocked down 6 of their 29 attempts (20.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Bearcats walked away from this one shooting 28 out of 71 from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.4%. The Bearcats allowed Oklahoma to bury 20 out of their 55 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 36.4% for the matchup. They shot 40.0% from downtown via 6 out of 15 and ended up shooting 28 out of 34 at the charity stripe (82.4%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Cincinnati allowed Oklahoma to collect 32 overall (8 offensive).

Jizzle James pitched in for the Bearcats in this contest. He tallied 16 points in his 28 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist for this contest. He converted 7 of 14 in the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and added 1 rebound.

Cincinnati has a mark of 17-13 for the season. The Bearcats are committing 15.3 personal fouls per game and they go 68.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 14.6 times per contest (98th in Division 1) and they turn it over 12.3 times per game. Cincinnati has scored 2,227 pts for the season (74.2 per contest) and they pull in 39.8 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bearcats are connecting on 44.0% from the floor, which ranks them 228th in college basketball.

The Bearcats on the defensive side of the court are 78th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 68.2. They are forcing 12.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the field (75th in Division 1). The Cincinnati defense allows 33.4% on three-point shots (198 of 592) and their opposition knocks down 75.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 12.7 assists and 31.8 boards per game, which ranks them 168th and 29th in college basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cincinnati

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