The Cincinnati Bearcats are firing on all cylinders right now after winning the American Athletic Conference tournament and face a Round of 64 matchup with Georgia State in their NCAA Tournament opener. Georgia State has traditionally been a poor straight-up wager as an underdog, as the Panthers are 6-24 SU in their past 30 games as dogs.
Sportsbook opened the Bearcats as 14-point favorites with a total of 130.
- The total has gone OVER in seven of Georgia State’s last 10 games against teams with winning records.
- Cincinnati is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games against teams with winning records.
- Cincinnati is 15-6 ATS in its last 21 games as a favorite of 14.5 or less.
The second-seeded Bearcats are riding a seven-game winning streak after edging Houston 56-55 in Sunday’s conference title game to give the program back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time in school history. Cincy’s stifling defense has allowed only 57.1 points per game on the year, ranking second in the nation behind only Virginia. The Bearcats limited 23 of their opponents on the year to less than 40 percent shooting from the field.
No. 15 seed Georgia State captured its second Sun Belt Conference title in the past four seasons by topping Texas-Arlington 74-61 on Sunday. After losing four of five late in the year, the Panthers enter the NCAA Tournament on a four-game winning streak. Georgia State is limiting opponents to 39.3 percent shooting in 2017-18.
UNDERs are the norm when the Bearcats hit the floor of late. In Cincinnati's last five, the UNDER is 4-1.
Georgia State Panthers vs Cincinnati Bearcats Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Cincinnati Bearcats currently sport a 30-4 record overall in NCAA basketball action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 18-15 ATS. The Georgia State Panthers are 24-10 and 19-11 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Bearcats produce a 13-20 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Panthers have gone 16-14 against the totals betting line.
The power rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Bearcats rated this week at No. 2 and the Panthers sitting at No. 62.
Statistical Matchup
The game also pits Cincinnati's No. 125-ranked offense, averaging 74.47 PPG, against a Georgia State defense that ranks No. 44 at 67.29 PPG. The Bearcats' field-goal percentage has averaged 45.28% so far, less than the Panthers marksmen have achieved on the year, 46.26% per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Panthers got 27 points from D'Marcus Simonds as Georgia State ran past Texas-Arlington 74-61 on Sunday at Lakefront Arena.
Houston was victimized for 20 points and 12 rebounds by Gary Clark as the Bearcats bested the Cougars 56-55 in college basketball action on Sunday.
