West Virginia vs Cincinnati: Odds, Prediction, and Best Bet for February 5

The West Virginia Mountaineers will head west to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big 12 battle on Thursday, February 5. Both teams have bona fide superstars, as Honor Huff and Baba Miller are two of the best players in the conference. Will we see plenty of thunderous dunks and wild shots from downtown in this one on ESPN2 at 7 PM Eastern?

Let’s dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our predictions and best player prop below. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Opening Odds for West Virginia vs Cincinnati

Oddsmakers are making Cincy a moderate favorite in this game, as the opening line priced the Bearcats as a 5.5-point favorite on the lookahead line on Wednesday afternoon. A small amount of money has come in on the home favorite so far to cause a few sportsbooks to move to Cincinnati -6.

The books are expecting a lower amount of scoring in this game. The opening total was 126.5, but tons of Over money has changed all of that. We’re now sitting at 128.5 at some online sportsbooks. The move to the Over is a bit shocking because both of these teams rank inside the Top 30 in points allowed.

Will the Mountaineers Put it Together on the Road?

West Virginia is a solid 14-8 on the season and 5-4 in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers have been in pretty good form, but their road struggles have been well documented. It’ll be interesting to see if West Virginia can put those past highway performances behind them to pull off an upset tonight in a rowdy Fifth Third Arena.

West Virginia’s offense has been just so-so this season. However, the ‘Neers can light it up from downtown with some level of competency at times. WVU ranks 86th in 3-point shooting percentage, which isn’t too shabby.

The offense may be a bit underwhelming, but West Virginia’s defense is one of the toughest in the land. They rank 6th in points allowed and 17th in 2-point defense. Harlan Obioha does a fabulous job of patrolling the paint, and the ‘Neers are going to need him at his best tonight.

Can the Bearcats Shake off the Blowout Loss?

Cincinnati has been struggling to find consistency all year long, as they’re just 11-11 overall and a putrid 3-6 in Big 12 play. The Bearcats have some talent, but they just can’t seem to put it all together in crunch time of games. They’re coming off a blowout loss at Houston, so it’ll be interesting to see how they respond here at home.

Cincy has plenty of depth, as four of their players average 10.1 points per game or more. Day Day Thomas leads the team in three-pointers, and he’s a great kick out option when teams decide to double Miller in the paint. Thomas also leads the team in assists with 3.7 per game.

The Bearcats’ defensive metrics are pretty stout, as they rank 28th in opponent shooting efficiency and 40th in two-point defense. Moustapha Thiam leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game, and he’ll be looking to slow down WVU’s big men with his wingspan.

Best Bet: West Virginia +6 (-110) (Fanatics) (1 Unit)

I know Cincinnati is playing with revenge in this spot, but I still couldn’t get to this big a number, even with West Virginia’s road woes. My power ratings make this game Cincy -4, so we’ll gladly take a shot here on the Mountaineers.

Honor Huff leads WV in points, and he’s hitting over 83% of his free throws so far this season. Huff has the skills to exploit Cincy’s weak areas on D. I also think that WV big man Brennan Lorient can slow down Cincy’s Baba Miller just a tad bit.

Lastly, I like that WV has a nice edge in offensive efficiency and that they’ve won 3 of their last 5. Give me the plus points, and I’m sprinkling that moneyline just a little. Good luck, my friends!