Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Cincinnati Bearcats: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/1/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, OH
Where to watch: ESPN+

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Cincinnati -16.5 
FanDuel: Cincinnati -16.5 
BetMGM: Cincinnati -16.5 
Caesars: Cincinnati -16 

Season record
Tulsa: 5-15 (1-8 AAC)
Cincinnati: 14-8 (5-4 AAC)

We’re nearing the halfway mark of the college basketball season and it’s been quite the ride so far. Will Rogers is going hard in the last 30 days with a 16-10-1 run, while Kyle Hunter has also had a strong run of form as of late at 28-24-0 (+$1,700). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the second half. Trust us, you want to know.

Tulsa - Cincinnati preview, prediction and analysis


Recent form
Tulsa: lost 14 of 17; lost 80-68 vs. Memphis
Cincinnati: lost two straight; lost 75-69 at No. 3 Houston

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane enter February on a slide. They’ve lost 14 of 17 since starting the season 2-1, which I get is not the best barometer for anything but they did beat Loyola Chicago which I get that it’s not 2018 anymore, but when you see a TikTok the other day of Loyola Chicago and you reminisce on that 2018 run, you’re going to absolutely believe that any win over the Ramblers and Sister Jean is worthy of conversation. Anyway, back to the struggling Hurricane. They’re coming off an 80-68 loss to the Memphis Tigers at home on Sunday. If not for a win over Tulane on Jan. 21, they’d be riding a 10-game losing streak entering this game. Tim Dalger led the way with 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting, while Sam Griffin had 15 points as the only two players to reach double figures in scoring.

Tulsa hasn’t even been good on the spread, to be honest. They’ve gone just 2-6-2 ATS in their last 10 with the only covers against Tulane and Wichita State, which of course the Tulane game was their only win. This is a program that averages a not-so-nice 69.3 points per game and is near giving up 77. That’s been a formula for disaster all year and there’s no stopping it.

The Cincinnati Bearcats have dropped two in a row after winning four of five and are trying to avoid a three-game losing streak, which almost makes sense that it can happen considering how bad Tulsa is right now. Sometimes it’s just a matter of putting the team against another team and going out and playing like a team. That sounds like some Friday Night Lights stuff right there. Cincinnati is coming off a 75-69 loss to No. 3 Houston in which the Bearcats led 43-36 at halftime. But that’s why the Cougars are a top team in the country and the Bearcats are not. Landers Nolley II led the way with 24 points and six rebounds, while Viktor Lakhin had 15 points and three blocks.

Cincinnati is 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 with alternating wins and losses ATS in the last eight. They’re a very weird team in that they have the talent to make a deep postseason run, but there’s really no certainty given the fact that they can’t be trusted against those top-tier teams. They have a long way to go before getting to that mark.

Prediction

Cincinnati has won eight of the last 10 meetings but Tulsa has covered in half of those. It wouldn’t be a complete shock to see Tulsa come close to covering because this game is likely to be in the double digits, but Cincinnati won’t let this opportunity slip. Cincinnati 74, Tulsa 64

Betting trends


Tulsa is 5-16 ATS as a road underdog the last 3 seasons.

Tulsa is 0-10 ATS after 2 straight games with 9 or less offensive rebounds this season.

Tulsa is 11-24 ATS after losing 4 or 5 of their last 6 games the past 3 seasons.

Cincinnati is 8-2 ATS as a home favorite this season.

Cincinnati is 6-1 ATS off a loss this season.

Projected starting lineup


Tulsa:
PG: Sam Griffin
SG: Anthony Pritchard
SF: B.B. Knight
PF: Tim Dalger
C: Bryant Selebangue

Cincinnati:
PG: David DeJulius
SG: Mika Adams-Woods
SF: Landers Nolley II
PF: Ody Oguama
C: Viktor Lakhin

Injury report

Tulsa:
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson (undisclosed, questionable) Nikita Konstantynovskyi (lower body, out)

Cincinnati: Landers Nolley II (knee, questionable), John Newman III (knee, out)

Statistical leaders

Tulsa:
Points: Sam Griffin -- 15.8
Rebounds: Bryant Selebangue -- 9.3
Assists: Anthony Pritchard -- 4.3

Cincinnati:
Points: Landers Nolley II -- 15.9
Rebounds: Viktor Lakhin -- 7.4
Assists: David DeJulius -- 4.5

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Tulsa Golden Hurricane - Cincinnati Bearcats prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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