Look, I’m admittedly very intrigued by the fact that the Cincinnati Bearcats haven’t lost a game since Valentine’s Day.
This is a basketball team that is on a roll right now and could create some intriguing problems for teams in the upper tiers of the Big 12 standings, just ask the No. 8 ranked Kansas Jayhawks how much fun it can be to play this Cincinnati team right now.
And while I’m intrigued here, I really don’t love the fact that Grant McCasland and his Texas Tech Red Raiders get to face the Bearcats so soon after losing JT Toppin, the Red Raiders’ leading scorer and rebounder (and also clearly one of the most impressive players in the country) to a season-ending ACL injury.
But despite all of that, ESPN’s Matchup Predictor isn’t at all worried about the Red Raiders’ chances of coming out on top of this game against Cincinnati. Right now, Texas Tech is being given an over 80 percent chance of beating the Bearcats, even with Cincinnati’s rather impressive four-game winning streak.
ESPN Matchup Predictor gives the Texas Tech Red Raiders an 80.8 percent chance to beat the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday
It’s not exactly going to be an easy thing for Cincinnati to show up in Lubbock and to get a win. The Red Raiders might be without their best player, but Texas Tech is still 13-1 at home this season, there’s a very tangible home court advantage for the Red Raiders in United Supermarkets Arena.
Also, even with Toppin sidelined, Texas Tech is absolutely lethal from behind the three point line. The Red Raiders are making 11.4 three pointers per game and they’re making 39.2 percent of their shots from deep. There’s a good chance that the Red Raiders will continue to lean into that as an offensive identity with Toppin out.
After all, Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell are thriving from behind the three point line and they’re the two most likely leading scoring candidates for Texas Tech moving forward.
Still, Texas Tech can’t overlook Cincinnati. The Bearcats did just beat the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks by 16 points (and that game was in Lawrence, Kansas). Cincinnati has a very stout defense and they’re clamping down on folks. It’ll be interesting to see what Texas Tech can do against them and if the matchup predictor is right.