The Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to Houston, Texas to face the #1-ranked Houston Cougars at the Fertitta Center with the game scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday evening and will air on ESPN 2.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are tied with the UCF Knights for 11^th place in the Big 12 Conference with a conference record of 5-9 and an overall record of 16-11 while having lost four of their last five games and are on a two-game losing streak following Saturday’s 57-75 loss on the road against the TCU Horned Frogs. 

Offensively, Cincinnati ranks 122^nd in scoring this season in college basketball with an average of 75.62 points per game while also being an above-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 67.65 points per game which ranks 66^th in college basketball. 

Dan Skillings Jr. has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in scoring and rebounds with an average of 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. The Cincinnati Bearcats will look to end their two-game losing streak when they travel to face the #1-ranked Houston Cougars.

The Houston Cougars enter this game ranked 1^st in the AP Poll and 1^st in the Coaches Poll with an overall record of 24-3 while being in 1^st place in the Big 12 Conference with a conference record of 11-3 and are on a five-game winning streak following Saturday’s 82-76 win in overtime on the road against the Baylor Bears. The success of the Cougars this season can be attributed to their defensive play as they are allowing the fewest points per game in college basketball with an average of 55.35 points allowed per game. 

Offensively, Houston has been a slightly above-average team as they are averaging 74.19 points per game which is more than the national average of 73.76 points per game. The Houston Cougars will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday evening.

WagerWeb has the Houston Cougars listed as 13.5-point favorites at home against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday evening. Houston has won the last ten games while having won by an average margin of 18.6 points per game over the last ten and 10.67 points per game over the last three meetings. The Cougars have covered the spread in eight of the last ten while the Bearcats have covered the spread in two of the previous three games in the series. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats are 13-14 ATS overall, 5-4 ATS on the road, 6-2 ATS as an underdog, and 8-6 ATS in conference games this season while the Houston Cougars are 13-12-2 ATS overall, 9-4-2 ATS at home, 13-12-2 ATS as a favorite, and 6-7-1 ATS in conference games on the year.

Houston is ranked 1^st in college basketball while Cincinnati has a losing record in conference play. The Cougars have been the dominant team in the series, winning the last ten meetings against the Bearcats while having covered the spread in eight of the last ten games and have been the better team at covering the spread this season with a record of 13-12-2 ATS overall and 9-4-2 ATS at home while the Bearcats are 13-14 ATS overall and 5-4 ATS on the road which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with Houston Cougars when they host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday evening.