Both Cincinnati and Wichita State have had far-from-ideal stretches since the fall and each will look to take out their frustrations on the other on Sunday.
Wichita State moved on from coach Gregg Marshall weeks before the season started due to allegations and reports of mistreatment of players and others within the program.
Cincinnati’s woes are more on-court as the team is off to a rocky 3-6 start, but the Bearcats are coming off their best performance of the season, a road win over SMU, led by guard Jeremiah Davenport’s 18 points and 10 rebounds. That victory ended a five-game skid in which three of the losses were by five points or fewer and the other two came at the hands of SEC teams.
Though Wichita State is 6-3, two of those wins have come against non-Division I teams. In games against D-I competition, the Shockers rank 296th in the country in field goal shooting percentage.
Wichita State also is at a disadvantage on the boards, ranking 248th in the country in rebound rate. Cincinnati ranks 98th in this category and has five players pulling in more than four rebounds per game.
The raw records do not tell the entire story in this matchup, and with the Bearcats halting their losing streak coming into this showdown, this game figures to be closer than many may think.
The play: Cincinnati, +2.5