Houston vs Cincinnati Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 8 (Cougars Rise to the Occasion in Fifth Third Arena)

Houston vs Cincinnati Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• No. 2 Houston (15-1, 3-0 AAC) vs. Cincinnati (11-5, 2-1 AAC)
• Date: Sunday, January 8, 2023
• Time: 3:00 PM ET
• Venue: Fifth Third Arena -- Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2022-23 college basketball season continues on Sunday with a thrilling matchup between the No. 2 Houston Cougars and Cincinnati Bearcats. Houston extended its winning streak to six games with a 87-53 win over SMU on Thursday. Freshman Jarace Walker tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati enters as a victor in five of its last six games following its 70-61 win over Wichita State on Thursday. Jeremiah Davenport came off the bench to score 22 points on an 8-of-12 shooting mark. Landers Nolley II chipped in with a solid double-double (12 points & 11 rebounds).

Houston vs Cincinnati Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: HOU: (-490) | CINCY: (+365)
• Spread: HOU: -9.5 (-110) | CINCY: +9.5 (-110)
• Total: 134.5 -- Over: (-114) | Under: (-106)

Houston enters this contest as clear road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 3 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 134.5 points, which is about average compared to Sunday's projected totals.

Houston vs Cincinnati Betting Trends

• Houston has 11 wins in 16 games against the spread this season.
• The Cougars have an ATS record of 9-4 as 9.5-point favorites or greater.
• Houston has seen seven of its 16 games go over the point total.
• Cincinnati is 11-4-0 against the spread this season.
• The Bearcats are yet to lose ATS (1-0) as a 9.5-point underdog or more this season.
• There have been eight Cincinnati games (out of 15) that went over the total this year.

Houston Rank	Houston AVG		Cincinnati AVG	Cincinnati Rank
104th	75.8	Points Scored	79	47th
1st	51	Points Allowed	68.7	175th
8th	38	Rebounds	34	111th
3rd	12.9	Off. Rebounds	9.3	138th
191st	7.4	3pt Made	8.9	49th
90th	14.8	Assists	15.5	52nd
15th	9.9	Turnovers	10.3	24th

Houston vs Cincinnati Prediction & Pick

The Cougars have shined on the road this season, allowing an average of just 54.0 points per game (No. 1 in NCAA) on a 36.0% shooting mark (No. 3 in NCAA). Combine that with the fact that the Cougars are hot on the offensive end right now and it's no wonder the Bearcats are huge underdogs.

Houston has put up an average of 82.3 points over its last three games and has logged an average of 12.7 offensive rebounds during that same span. Extra scoring opportunities will help the Cougars build an insurmountable lead against a Cincinnati defense that ranks 108th in defensive efficiency.

The Cougars have won six straight games against the Bearcats and I expect that mark to hit seven on Sunday.

Final Score Prediction: Houston: 72 | Cincinnati: 59

Houston vs Cincinnati Best Bet

This is not a rivalry that the Bearcats have thrived in as of late. Houston is an impressive 7-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last seven games against Cincinnati and has emerged victorious by at least 10 points in six of those seven games. It's been pure domination by head coach Kelvin Sampson's team.

Houston is also 5-1 ATS in its last six games against an AAC opponent, while Cincinnati is 3-7 straight up in its last 10 games against an AAC foe. The Bearcats are only 3-11 ATS in its last 14 home games on a Sunday as well. This lines up as a game in which the Cougars pull away with a big second half.

Bet: Houston Cougars -9.5 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.