Detroit Mercy Titans vs. Cincinnati Bearcats December 21 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will host the Detroit Mercy Titans on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Bearcats are 8-4 and are on a nice two-game win streak after their narrow loss to rival Xavier Musketeers a week ago. 

The Titans are 5-7 in their first twelve games and will have another rough test on the road against the Bearcats on Wednesday.

Five Bearcats were in double figures in their last game, which was a 78-60 win against Lasalle. Viktor Lakhin led all scorers with 17 points. Jeremiah Davenport was able to lead the team with his intensity on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds in the contest.

The Titans lost a close one against Eastern Michigan last week with a score of 79-77. Antoine Davi had 30 points in 38 minutes. Gerald Liddell and Anthony Oliver II were also in double figures in this game. 

The Titans are on a two-game losing streak but were able to take down an American Athletic Conference opponent, Tulsa, on December 7 by a score of 76-72.

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Expected Odds

I expected the Bearcats to be heavy favorites in this one against an underperforming Detroit Mercy team, and they are, as they will enter this game as -14 point favorites. 

The Titans have lost some close games this year but haven’t faced many teams with the talent that the Bearcats bring to the table. Cincinnati, on the other hand, has been tested quite a bit throughout the early parts of this season. Although their results are not too successful in these games, the Bearcats will be prepared for this game on Wednesday night.

Keys To The Game

The main question for the Bearcats is whether they can continue to pile on the points as they have been able to do all season. Unlike the Bearcats of the Mick Cronin era, they have given up some tenacity on the defensive end by focusing more on the offensive side of the ball. 

This is translating to making them the 31st most prolific offense in the country, averaging 79.5 points per game.

David DeJulius is leading all scorers with 17.2 points per game while shooting 43 percent from three and 50 percent from the floor. Big man, Viktor Lakhin, is crucial to the success of the Bearcats because of his shot-altering ability to protect the basket. 

The Bearcats have a lot of seasons to go to figure out how to drive success with their team, but they need to turn the tide if they want to be in the tournament conversation again.

Senior Antoine Davis is the leader of this team and it shows as he leads the country in points per game with 24.8. Gerald Liddell will be a handful for Lahkin and the Bearcats down low as he is averaging 18.4 points and 14 .6 rebounds, despite his height of 6’8”. To win this game, the Titans will need to have big games from their two-star players.