The DePaul Blue Demons take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the College Basketball Crown. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1.
Cincinnati is favored by 9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -470. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here are my DePaul vs. Cincinnati predictions and college basketball picks for April 1, 2025.
DePaul vs Cincinnati Prediction
My Pick: Cincinnati -9.5 (Play to -10)
My DePaul vs Cincinnati best bet is on the Bearcats spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, find the best lines using our live NCAAB odds page.
DePaul vs Cincinnati Odds
| DePaul Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -112 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | +360 |
| Cincinnati Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -108 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | -470 |
- DePaul vs Cincinnati spread: Cincinnati -9.5
- DePaul vs Cincinnati over/under: 140.5 points
- DePaul vs Cincinnati moneyline: Cincinnati -470, DePaul +360
- DePaul vs Cincinnati best bet: Cincinnati -9.5 (Play to -10)
Spread
I'm laying the points with Cincinnati up to -10.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm passing on the over/under.
My Pick: Cincinnati -9.5 (Play to -10)
DePaul vs Cincinnati College Basketball Betting Preview
Under normal circumstances, I like the schematic matchup for Cincinnati.
DePaul’s attack-and-kick offense doesn’t work well against good drop-coverage defenses that force on-ball dribble creation while staying glued to catch-and-shoot guys off the wings.
Unfortunately for the Blue Demons, Cincinnati runs one of the Big 12’s better drop-coverage schemes, as the Bearcats viciously deny catch-and-shoot opportunities (five unguarded attempts allowed per game, ninth nationally, per Synergy) while funneling creation toward athletic rangy defensive anchors Dillon Mitchell and Aziz Bandaogo.
On the other end of the court, Cincinnati lives and dies with the dribble, running a ball-screen centric offense behind point guard Jizzle James.
DePaul runs a much less effective drop-coverage scheme, which not only funnels on-ball dribble creation but is also hopeless against it. The Blue Demons are brutal at the point of attack (.90 PPP allowed, 350th nationally, per Synergy), and I expect James and company to dribble-create to their heart’s content.
However, this game isn’t being played under normal circumstances.
Instead, the transfer portal has already wreaked havoc on Chris Holtmann’s squad.
Guards Conor Enright and Jacob Meyer have had spotty availability for a while, but both are now in the portal and entirely unavailable.
Stretch five David Skogman is still out for the year with an injury. Backup guard David Thomas and wing JJ Traynor are also in the portal, and it’s unclear if either will play in the Crown.
While the Blue Demons will be severely shorthanded, every critical rotation player should be available for the Bearcats.
While I’m scared of laying nearly double digits with Cincinnati’s offense, the Bearcats did start to score more efficiently in the latter half of the season, and EvanMiya’s model projects them as an 11.5-point favorite over DePaul when taking into account injuries and portal activity.
