Posted at 2:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

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WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV

West Virginia +145 over Cincinnati

Streaming: Big 12/ESPN+

7:00 PM EST. The Mountaineers of West Virginia are finally firing on all cylinders as they are as healthy as they have been all season and figure to have their full complement of weapons to attack with here. The Mountaineers are just 7-13, but injuries derailed their season and impacted their standing greatly. That said, West Virginia now figures to be a pesky out for those in the Big 12 looking to make a run at the NCAA Tournament.

Losing to a sub-.500 team is going to look bad on paper, but the Mountaineers are better than their record would have you believe, and they are going to be a very “good” loss that is going to resonate as a “bad” loss for those that fall to them the rest of the way. Winning in Morgantown is always difficult, and the Mountaineers have already knocked off a pair of quality programs in Texas (#35) and Kansas (#15) at home this season. That 91-85 win over the Jayhawks has been lost because West Virginia has since lost two straight to Oklahoma State and Central Florida, but those losses came on the road.

On the other hand, the Bearcats of Cincinnati are coming off a win over Central Florida, who they beat 68-57 on Saturday. A win is a win, but it's worth noting the Bearcats had to overcome a slow start and a 12-point halftime deficit to storm back and win that game. Cincinnati is in its first season in the Big 12, and it is 3-4 thus far, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that head coach Wes Miller scheduled his team to play a weak non-conference schedule that ranked just 298-of-362 graded schools in the nation. The Bearcats have padded their wins total with cupcakes like UI-Chicago (197), Detroit Mercy (358), Northern Kentucky (193), Howard (267), Florida Gulf Coast (266), Bryant (163), Merrimack (200), Stetson (207), and Evansville (227). Once the Bearcats ran into anyone of quality, they lost. That includes defeats to Xavier, Dayton, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Cincinnati is not battle-tested and they are paying for it dearly now that Big 12 play has begun. Mountaineers outright is the call.

Sherwood

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