The East Carolina Pirates (6-3, 3-2 AAC) meet the Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2, 4-1) Friday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Pirates locked up bowl eligibility Oct. 28 with a 27-24 win at BYU as 3-point underdogs as the Under connected. It was East Carolina’s 3rd consecutive win, and the Pirates have improved to 6-3 ATS in 9 games overall.
The Bearcats racked up a 20-10 win against Navy Saturday, although it failed to cover for the 4th consecutive outing. Cincinnati is just 2-6-1 ATS in 9 games overall this season, and it is 1-2 ATS in 3 games at home vs. FBS opponents. The Under has cashed in 5 in a row for Cincinnati, too.
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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 Wednesday at 7:44 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): East Carolina +160 (bet $100 to win $160) | Cincinnati -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Against the spread: East Carolina +4 (-110) | Cincinnati -4 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 52 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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East Carolina at Cincinnati picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 31, East Carolina 24
Moneyline
Cincinnati (-200) will cost you 2 times your potential return, and that’s just too expensive against a 6-win East Carolina team playing with a lot of confidence. The Pirates just went on the road and topped BYU, and they look to carry over the momentum here. This will be a one-score game.
PASS.
Against the spread
Go lightly on CINCINNATI -4 (-110), mostly because it is at home.
The Bearcats have won and covered 2 of 3 games against FBS foes at Nippert Stadium. In addition, Cincinnati is an impressive 6-0 ATS in the past 6 meetings at home against ECU and is 9-3 ATS in the past 12 meetings overall. The home team is also 5-1 ATS in the past 6 meetings, too.
In addition, the Pirates are strong in the pass game, but that’s the strength of the Bearcats defense. Toss in the fact the forecast calls for 11-16 mph winds, and that will hinder the ECU pass game, too.
Over/Under
OVER 52 (-110) is the lean here, but it’s only worth a half-unit play.
The Over has cashed in 11 of the past 16 games against winning teams for East Carolina while hitting in 10 of its previous 13 appearances on a Friday.
The Over is also 4-1 in the past 5 meetings in this series. This won’t be a shootout, but it will find a way to get across the finish line.
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