Cincinnati at East Carolina odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Wednesday’s Cincinnati at East Carolina odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Cincinnati Bearcats (17-9, 8-5 AAC) and East Carolina Pirates (12-12, 3-8) meet Wednesday at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Cincinnati vs. East Carolina game odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Bearcats topped USF on Saturday 84-65 as a 9.5-point favorite as the Over cashed Saturday. Cincinnati has struggled on the road, however, going just 3-4 SU this season, and 4-6 SU if you include neutral-floor games.

The Pirates nipped SMU at home by a 77-72 count as a 2-point underdog, just 1 of 2 wins in the last 9 games while going 2-5 ATS in the last 7 contests.

Cincinnati routed East Carolina 83-55 on Jan. 11 as a 10-point home favorite as the Under cashed.

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Cincinnati at East Carolina odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:08 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Cincinnati -500 (bet $500 to win $100) | East Carolina +305 (bet $100 to win $350)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Cincinnati -9.5 (-110) | East Carolina +9.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 141.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)

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Cincinnati at East Carolina picks and predictions

Prediction

Cincinnati 74, East Carolina 68

Moneyline

PASS. Simply, Cincinnati is way too expensive.

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Against the spread

EAST CAROLINA +9.5 (-110) should be able to keep it within single digits against Cincinnati, a team which has been just so-so on the road this season.

The Bearcats are just 4-10-1 ATS in the last 15 road games against teams with a winning home mark. On the flip side, the Pirates are 11-5 ATS in the last 16 home games, while going 7-3 ATS in the last 10 against teams with a winning overall mark.

Over/Under

OVER 141.5 (-105) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at best.

The Over is 3-1-1 in the last 5 games for the Bearcats. The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 games at Minges for the Pirates, while going 4-1 in the previous 5 home outings against teams with a losing road record.

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AAC Tournament: East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The No. 9 seed East Carolina Pirates (15-14) will face the eighth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats (17-14) in the American Athletic Conference first round at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

The Bearcats have several bad conference losses this season. They lost to Tulsa and South Florida, the bottom two teams in the AAC. However, they oddly also have wins that showcase their upset potential. They beat then-No. 15 Illinois in November and routed AAC regular-season runner-up SMU by 17 in early January.

Cincinnati beat ECU by 8 at home and by 1 on the road this season but was 0-2 against the spread (ATS) in those games.

East Carolina finished 6-11 in conference play, just behind Cincinnati (7-11). The Pirates are 16-13 ATS but just 2-7 straight up (SU) on the road and 1-3 (SU) in neutral settings.

ECU lost to Davidson and Oklahoma earlier in the season and was destroyed by Houston 79-36. ECU is led by 6-foot-5 G Tristen Newton, who is averaging 17.4 points and 5.0 assists per game.

See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports

East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:53 p.m. ET.

  • Money line: East Carolina +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Cincinnati -230 (bet $230 to win $100)
  • Against the spread: East Carolina +4.5 (-102) | Cincinnati -4.5 (-122)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 136.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)

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East Carolina vs. Cincinnati odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Cincinnati 68, East Carolina 65

Money line

PASS.

I like Cincinnati to win, having taken down ECU in both regular-season matchups, but at -230, I’d rather look to the points for value in this AAC battle.

Against the spread

LEAN to EAST CAROLINA +4.5 (-102).

Cincinnati was a conference-worst 6-11-1 ATS in AAC games. On the season, it was just 10-17-3 ATS.

Both times against East Carolina, Cincinnati failed to cover. The Pirates are also coming in with more confidence, having covered 4 of their last 5 outings overall. Cincinnati is just 1-4 ATS entering this matchup.

Six-foot-9 F Vance Jackson, an Arkansas transfer for ECU, averaged 30.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two games against UC. Jackson and Newton seem to have the greater offensive upside.

I’d prefer to side with the team with more scoring options as Cincinnati’s team strengths are in its defense and depth. Having the more talented scorers should help ECU keep it close and cover yet again.

Over/Under

LEAN to the UNDER 136.5 (-112).

Both teams are strong defensively. Cincinnati ranks 25th in opponents’ field-goal percentage. ECU has held its opponents to 43.3% from the field this season as well.

In the season matchups, the Bearcats won 79-71 and 60-59. In the first matchup, Cincinnati shot 47% from the field and ECU shot 45% from deep.

Assuming there could be some nervous jitters as well, I’d expect this matchup to be more similar to the second meeting given both teams’ defensive strength.

Cincinnati was 14-16 O/U this season. ECU was 15-14 O/U.

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Cincinnati at East Carolina odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Friday’s Cincinnati Bearcats at East Carolina Pirates odds and lines, with college football expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats (11-0, 7-0 AAC) and East Carolina Pirates (7-4, 5-2) tussle in a Friday contest in Greenville, N.C. The regular-season finale at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Below, we look at the Cincinnati vs. East Carolina odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.

Cincinnati sports a top-10 defense in terms of yards (305.2 per game) and points allowed (16.0). UC has allowed more than 21 points just once in its last eight games. That Bearcats defense figures to be tested by the Pirates offense, which ranks 26th in total yards (446.9 per game) and 22nd in passing yards (274.6 per game).

The Pirates cranked out 405 passing yards in last Saturday’s 38-35 win over Navy. It was East Carolina’s second straight game by a slim margin – it won at Memphis 30-29 in overtime Nov. 13. ECU has had its share of close shaves this season with seven games decided by one score, going 4-3 in those contests.

Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Cincinnati at East Carolina odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 3:20 p.m. ET.

  • Money line: Cincinnati -600 (bet $600 to win $100) | East Carolina +420 (bet $100 to win $420)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Cincinnati -14.5 (-105) | East Carolina +14.5 (-115)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 57.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)

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Cincinnati at East odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Cincinnati 34, East Carolina 20

Money line

The Bearcats took last year’s game 55-17 and have won three straight against the Pirates. But ECU has played well of late, and three of the Pirates’ four losses have been by one score. By a razor-thin margin, East Carolina is a lukewarm value against the spread. Avoid the extra juice and PASS on the money line.

Against the spread

The Bearcats are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games on grass. The Pirates are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games as underdogs. The home team is 5-0 ATS in the last five games of this series. Plus, ECU is 8-1 ATS across its last nine games against winning teams.

East Carolina has a capable enough – and improving of late – offense. UC is a steady, stay-ahead-of-the-chains group on that side of the ball, while ECU relies more on big plays.

Last year’s meeting included the Pirates being a minus-3 in turnovers and the Bearcats scoring three short-field touchdowns. Look for ECU to be in a closer battle this year.

The half-point tacked onto the 14 is significant. BACK THE PIRATES +14.5 (-115).

Over/Under

The weather forecast calls for a breezy afternoon in Greenville, and as much as the Bearcats may want to style-point this game into four-score territory, the run games and ECU trying for some keep-away figure to tilt this final into the low-50s.

BACK THE UNDER 57.5 (-112).

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