Tulane Green Wave vs. Cincinnati Bearcats December 29 Betting Preview

The Tulane Green Wave will travel to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats to open up conference play on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. The Bearcats are on a three-game win streak against Miami Ohio, La Salle, and Detroit Mercy. 

Tulane took care of Mississippi Valley State as they rolled to their seventh win of the season in eleven tries.

The Bearcats are now 9-4 after their three straight wins. Two of their losses have come against ranked teams, but they haven’t had a “bad loss” yet this season. 

Viktor Lakhin led the Bearcats in both points and rebounds as he accumulated an 18-point and 15-rebound double-double in the thirty minutes he played against Detroit Mercy.

Tulane got a much-needed win at home last Wednesday as they cruised to an 84-63 win. Jalen Cook added 27 points in the win to lead all scorers. Senior Jaylen Forbes added 19 points of his own. This win was huge for the Green Wave as it put them back on the right track before conference play.

Let’s look at this first matchup in the American Conference between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Tulane Green Wave.

Expected Odds

The official odds have not been released yet, but it can be expected that Cincinnati will be heavy favorites at home on Thursday. 

They have looked like the more talented team this season with a much stricter schedule up to this point.

It is tough to say what the over/under will be set at in this game, but the Bearcats average 78.9 points per game and give up 69.7 points per game. Comparatively, the Green Wave averages very similar points per game at 78.6 and gives up 0.1 more points.

Key Players To Watch For

For the Bearcats, the big man Viktor Lakhin will be the biggest determinant for how the Bearcats will fare in this one. 

He is averaging just under 13 points per game and 7.6 rebounds. His presence inside is crucial for the Bearcats as they are undersized, with Lakhin being one of their few choices to play center.

His presence inside is shown on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, as he averages 72 percent shooting from the floor and 1.2 blocks defensively. Lakhin will be a factor in this game and a big determinant of how the Bearcats will do the rest of this season.