At the onset, the Cincinnati Bearcats were ranked in the Top 25 and climbed as high as 14th. But then, College Basketball odds reality of a new and expanded Big 12 conference took over. Now in his fourth season, Wes Miller was expected to lead the Bearcats to the Big Dance. Instead, Cincinnati languished with a losing conference record for the third time in the past four years. Miller is catching heat and faces doubts about his tenure. Since Mick Cronin left for UCLA in 2019 after his ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the Bearcats have not recovered.
2025 College Basketball Crown: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. DePaul Blue Demons
| Date and Time: | Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 3 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV |
| TV Coverage: | FS1 |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depaul | +9½ -110 | 140 -115 | +360 |  |
| Cincinnati | -9½ -110 | 140 -105 | -450 | |
| ||||
Cincinnati Bearcats Team Overview
Late on Cincinnati has covered two of its previous six games and has gone over the offshore betting total in three of its last five outings. Jizzle James is first among Cincinnati scorers with 12.8 points per game.
Overall, the Cincinnati Bearcats are 18-15 straight up, 13-16-2 against the spread, and 10-21 over/under the total. Cincinnati has national metrics of 274th for scoring offense, 161st for field goal percentage, 275th for 3-point field goal percentage, 341st for free throw percentage, and 187th for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Cincinnati is 24th for scoring defense, 109th for field goal percentage permitted, 107th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 85th for defensive rebounding.
Namely, Joshua Jefferson had 19 points, Dishon Jackson added 10 points and 15 rebounds. Hence, Iowa State leaned on its big men to beat Cincinnati 76-56 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. Tamin Lipsey scored 16 before leaving late with an apparent groin injury. Meanwhile, Milan Momcilovic had 13 for the No. 5 seed Cyclones.
Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert returned from a muscle strain that had kept him out of three of the past five games. Including a win over Kansas State to end the regular season. He had three points in 11 first-half minutes. However, he did not play after halftime. His availability, along with Lipsey’s status, loomed important as the Cyclones chased another Big 12 title.
Additionally, Jizzle James led the No. 13 seed Bearcats with 17 points, but he missed his final six shots,. In turn that helped allow Iowa State to finish the game on an 11-0 run. Josh Reed added 10 points, and Day Day Thomas finished with nine.
DePaul Blue Demons Team Overview
Late on, DePaul has covered six of its previous nine games. DePaul has gone over the college basketball odds total in four of its last six outings. First among DePaul scorers is CJ Gunn with 12.8 points per game.
Overall, the DePaul Blue Demons are 14-19 straight up, 14-16-1 against the spread, and 18-13 over/under the total. DePaul has national metrics of 219th for scoring offense, 197th for field goal percentage, 163rd for 3-point field goal percentage, 228th for free throw percentage, and 211th for offensive rebounding. Defensively, DePaul is 245th for scoring defense, 273rd for field goal percentage permitted, 277th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 249th for defensive rebounding.
Cincinnati vs. DePaul SBG Free Picks
In this situation, Cincinnati is the far superior team.
Cincinnati vs. DePaul SBG Best Bet: Cincinnati Bearcats.