4* Big East SMASH

Marquette vs. Cincinnati, 02/29/2012 19:00 EDT, Score: 61 - 72

Point Spread: -1/-107 Cincinnati

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Win

4* Big East SMASH (ESPN2) on Cincinnati -1
Motivated by a 1-point loss at South Florida and with an embarrassing 17-point loss at Marquette earlier this month also stoking the fire, expect Cincy to come out on top tonight.

I believe odds makers are tipping their hand here by favoring unranked Cincy against 7th-ranked Marquette. The Bearcats have been terrific at home all season. They have won their last 4 at home by an average of 8.0 points.

If you're going to pick a day to back the Bearcats, Wednesday has been the day. Under coach Cronin, Cincy is 31-13 ATS in Wednesday games, winning them by an average score of 69.1 to 63.0. This stat is too good to ignore and says a lot about the early week preparation of Cronin.

It's also worth noting that the Bearcats are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600. Take Cincy.