College basketball betting highlights Memphis vs Cincinnati Thursday

No. 15 Cincinnati hosts No. 20 Memphis tonight in the Bearcats’ final home game of the season.

The Bearcats pulled away late in the first meeting to score a 69-53 win on Jan. 4, bringing an end to Memphis’ 19-game home winning streak.

The NCAA basketball lines opened with Cincy favored by 4.5 points, but it was bet up to 5.5 points by midday.

Memphis can cover the spread because the ‘Cats won the first meeting, the Tigers will be out for revenge, and have an explosive offense that is slightly better than Cincinnati’s.

Memphis scores 78.6 points per game, while the Bearcats are putting up 68.4 points this season. The Tigers come into this one on a rather high note, having won three of their last four games, including a 72-66 win over seventh-ranked Louisville last Saturday.

Cincinnati can cover the spread as well if it plays to its potential here. It’s the annual Ring of Red contest at Fifth Third Arena, and the Bearcats will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak.

Confidence from the earlier-season win over the Tigers will help Cincinnati out, as it snapped a four-game losing streak in the series. The Bearcats, who have won 19 of 29 home games against Memphis, are on a 9-4 ATS run at home right now.

For Senior Night, the Bearcats will honor the team’s three best players - seniors Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Jackson and Titus Rubles. This is the right setting for them, too, after the ‘Cats suffered back-to-back losses against Connecticut and Louisville.

The revenge angle is a cute ploy in college hoops, but Cincinnati’s defense was relentless back in January, in Memphis. Now on its own court, the rest of the Bearcats will rally around their trio of seniors, and will send them off victoriously.

Lay the home chalk here.