NCAAB: QUEEN CITY SHOWDOWN
Unless you live in the ‘Queen City’ of Cincinnati, you probably don’t understand the depth of the rivalry between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the #10 Xavier Musketeers.
Tip-off is set for 8 pm ET Saturday and you can get the latest odds here.
This year’s edition of the series figures to get heated with Xavier expected to be a small road favorite. Be sure to check the Betting Trends page before confirming your wagers to see where your fellow bettors are placing their action.
The Crosstown Shootout is an annual basketball game held between Cincinnati (6-1, 2-1 ATS) and Xavier (8-0, 3-4 ATS) dating back to 1927.
Xavier is once again considered the favorite in the Atlantic-10, thanks to a powerful front line led by 6’8 Derrick Brown, 6’6 C.J. Anderson and 6’9 Jason Love. All have good moves around the basket and can step away to nail short jumps shots.
The Musketeers are pleased to have freshman point guard Terrell Holloway back, whose been out with a stress fracture that occurred in their Memphis upset. Coach Sean Miller has made this a reload, not rebuild program in a short time and Xavier is 36-15 ATS in road games when they attempt 10 or more free throws than their opponents.
When coach Mick Cronin took the Cincinnati job, his team was low on talent and experience. In his second season, more experience was evident, though short on ability. In Year Three, Cronin has the most talent on the Cincinnati campus since Bob Huggins was prowling the sidelines, but precious little experience.
Cronin’s early season plan was to have 10 players averaging 10 minutes a game or more and his one stud, guard Deonta Vaughn playing more than 30 a game. This has helped the Bearcats to a good start and could pay dividends in Big East play later.
Most people don’t know this is one of the bitterest city rivalries in college basketball. Cincinnati has won this game 45 times while Xavier 27. The Musketeers are 3-1-1 ATS on the road of late in this series, with Cincy 15-6 ATS as an underdog.
Two years ago in Cincinnati, the Bearcats upset Xavier as a five-point underdog at home and they are backed by this system this week.
Play On – Home underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points (CINCINNATI) – good offensive rebounding team – averaging >=13/game on the season, in December games. (50-21 since 1997.) (70.4%, +26.9 units. Rating = 2*)
