The East Carolina Pirates (10-7, 1-3 American) and Cincinnati Bearcats (11-6, 2-2) tussle Wednesday. The contest at Fifth Third Arena will tip off at 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
East Carolina has won 3 straight against the spread (ATS) and is 12-5 ATS for the season. The Pirates are 0-5 straight up but 3-2 ATS in their last 5 meetings with the Bearcats.
Cincinnati was a 9.5-point underdog in its last game, Sunday vs. No. 1 Houston, but failed to cover in a 72-59 loss. The 59 points marked the fewest for the up-tempo Bearcats since Nov. 22. Cincinnati is 9-2 at home this season and is 8-1 ATS on home hardwood since Nov. 13.
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East Carolina at Cincinnati odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: East Carolina +390 (bet $100 to win $390) | Cincinnati -575 (bet $575 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): East Carolina +9.5 (+100) | Cincinnati -9.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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East Carolina at Cincinnati picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 76, East Carolina 64
Moneyline
The moneyline on Cincinnati (-575) is too steep to make it a good wager.
PASS.
Against the spread
East Carolina beat Quad 2 Wichita State on the road (79-69, Dec. 31), but that performance stands out as an analytics outlier. Shooting, turnovers and offensive rebounds were lined up in a way that ECU just doesn’t pull off normally. Overall, the Pirates are 1-3 on the road.
The Bearcats are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games against teams with a losing road record and are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS loss.
Cincinnati is solid at both ends of the floor. UC has played teams leaning toward better offensive performances, and the Bearcats have been trending toward better defensive play of late.
TAKE CINCINNATI -9.5 (-120).
Over/Under
Mixed signals here, with an above-average pace, a strong UC defense and few spiral factors in play. PASS.
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