College Hoops Picks ATS, Feb. 26: WVU Mountaineers at Cincinnati Bearcats
West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2, 19-8) at Cincinnati Bearcats (7-7, 17-10)
Thursday, Feb. 26—7 p.m. EST on ESPN
Preview
Two bubble teams face off during Judgement Week when West Virginia travels to Cincinnati on Thursday. Both programs have been very successful at times and fallen short at others.
The Mountaineers are currently on a three-game win streak, which started with a win over Villanova and was followed up with a victory over Notre Dame. They faced Rutgers most recently.
The Bearcats have been less successful recently, but their opposition has been a little bit tougher. They have lost their past two games, but those have been against Pittsburgh and Louisville.
The Bearcats are lead by junior guard Deonta Vaughn, who is averaging a team-high 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. Matching Vaughn in the backcourt for the Mountaineers is Alex Ruoff, a senior who is averaging 16.1 points and is also leading West Virginia in assists (3.6) and steals (1.9) per game.
The frontcourt is going to provide an interesting matchup as well—the Mountaineers feature Da'Sean Butler (18.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and the Bearcats have Yancy Gates (10.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG).
These two matchups should be good ones to watch—especially as we get ready for the end of regular season play and the start of the Big East Tournament.
By The Numbers
| Record | Conf | ATS | RPI | SOS | PF | PA | |
| West Virginia | 19-8 | 10-2 | 13-10 | 14 | 10 | 73.3 | 61.4 |
| Cincinnati | 17-10 | 7-7 | 8-10-1 | 55 | 23 | 69.6 | 65.6 |
| FG% | D. FG% | 3P% | D. 3P% | FT% | RPG | SPG | APG | TPG | |
| West Virginia | 43.4 | 41.8 | 32.8 | 27.3 | 67.7 | 41.3 | 7.3 | 15.1 | 12.2 |
| Cincinnati | 43.1 | 41.6 | 34.8 | 33.1 | 67.8 | 41.1 | 5.9 | 14.8 | 14.1 |
Stat Leaders
| West Virginia | Cincinnati | |
| PPG | D. Butler - 18.1 | D. Vaughn - 15.5 |
| A. Ruoff - 16.1 | Y. Gates - 10.4 | |
| D. Bryant - 9.6 | M. Williams - 9.9 | |
| RPG | D. Ebanks - 6.9 | Y. Gates - 5.9 |
| APG | A. Ruoff - 3.6 | D. Vaughn - 4.7 |
| SPG | A. Ruoff - 1.9 | D. Vaughn - 1.4 |
| BPG | W. Smith - 1.6 | Y. Gates - 0.9 |
Prediction
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