Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Wichita State Shockers January 5 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will look to rebound after a loss to American Athletic Conference foe Temple on Thursday evening when they take on the Wichita State Shockers in another conference matchup. Thursday’s matchup features two teams that are looking to right the ship as both are struggling with consistency this season. 

Isaac Brown’s Shockers enter the game with a 7-7 record overall and have yet to notch a victory in two league games. 

They have struggled since mid-December, losing three of their last four contests, with the lone victory coming against lowly Texas Southern. Wichita’s most recent effort ended with a loss to the East Carolina Pirates by a final tally of 79-69 on their home court. The Shockers were favored by six points heading into the game.

Wichita State is led by two upperclassmen in Craig Porter and Jakwon Walton. Porter, a 6’2 guard in his third season with the program, leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game. Coach Brown’s second-leading scorer is former Georgia Bulldog Jakwon Walton. 

The 6’7 forward averaged just 5.9 minutes per game in two seasons (nine games) with Georgia but is now playing over 31 minutes per game for the Shockers. His 11.7 points are second on the team, while his 6.5 rebounds per contest lead the team.

The Bearcats enter the game with a respectable overall record of 10-5 on the season, but they lack a quality win thus far. 

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Coach Miller’s most notable victory this season came against Tulane just last week. In the loss column, the losses to Northern Kentucky and Temple appear to be trending in a bad direction. The loss to the Norse is particularly harmful as NKU ranks just 218th in the nation, according to Ken Pomeroy. 

Cincinnati is led by a handful of seniors this season in a well-distributed offensive attack. Coach Miller deploys five co-conspirators that average at least 9.4 points per game, led by fifth-year senior David Dejulius’ 16.1 points per contest. 

Former Top-75 recruit Landers Nolley also now rests his head in Ohio, having transferred from Memphis in the offseason. Nolley, a scoring wing, is currently second on the team in points at 15., while shooting a career-high 42.9 percent from deep. 

The Bearcats are currently the best team in the AAC against the spread at 10-4 on the season, while the Shockers are third worst at 6-7-1. 

The Shockers have covered in just three of their nine home games this season, underperforming the spread by an average of 3.6 points per game. Cincinnati has yet to cover in a true road game in two attempts and are underperforming the number by 16 points per ballgame. 

Despite disappointing results thus far, the Bearcats appear to have an extreme edge from a talent perspective. They are likely benefitting from previous road experiences when it comes to the anticipated margin in this matchup.