The No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats are set to take on the No.11 Missouri Tigers this Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament out of the West Region.
The game is scheduled for 9:50 ET and will be played at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The game will be televised on TNT.
Here is a quick look at what each team did to get into the tournament, plus my prediction on who will win the game.
Our NCAA tournament odds have Missouri favored by one point over Cincinnati, despite the Bearcats being the higher seed in this one.
Cincinnati
If Cincinnati is going to make a run in the tournament, it will be because of their defense, which plays intense man-to-man and many times brings full-court pressure. The concern for this team is their lack of offense, averaging just 68 points a game.
The Bearcats finished with an overall record of 25-8 and were 11-7 in Big East Conference play. Cincinnati went 7-3 in their last 10 games with wins over Georgetown (twice), Louisville and Marquette. The Bearcats, however, didn't look good in their second-round Big East tournament game against Notre Dame, losing 89-51.
While you can't overlook how well this team did in conference play, they played an extremely weak non-conference schedule. The only team they played out of conference that made the tournament is Xavier, whom they beat by 20 points at home.
Missouri
When the Tigers have it going offensively, they are good enough to beat anybody. They averaged 81.4 PPG this season and really like to get out and run.
Defensively, the Tigers play to create turnover and feed their offense. Missouri will need big performances from Marcus Denmon, Phil Pressey and Ricardo Ratliffe if they are going to advance.
The Tigers got off to an amazing start to the season, going 14-1 in their first 15 games, and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the country. Missouri ended the year with an overall record of 23-10, but were just 8-8 in Big 12 play.
The Tigers come into the tournament with just one win in their last five games, over a bad Texas Tech team, but three of those losses came against teams who are in the tournament (Kansas State, Kansas, Texas A&M).
The Tigers played a much tougher non-conference schedule, with four games against teams who made it to the tournament. The Tigers went 3-1 in those games with their only loss coming in overtime against Georgetown.
My Prediction: Missouri Wins
I don't think the Bearcats will be able to keep up with the Tigers in this one. Missouri turns the ball over just under 13 times a game and are third in the country in turnover margin, which will make it even harder for Cincinnati to win with their defense.
I have a feeling the Bearcats will fall in love with the three-point shot in this game to try and keep up with the Tigers, but despite the fact that they shot the fourth-most three-pointers in Big East play, they only connected on 34 percent from downtown.
I hope you enjoy my 2011 NCAA Tournament picks, and feel free to leave a comment on who you think will win. Good luck with your 2011 NCAA Tournament contests!
Francisco Cervelli Chad Moeller Jorge Posada Lance Berkman Reegie Corona Juan Miranda
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