The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Cincinnati is favored by 5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -225. The total is set at 127.5 points.
Here are my West Virginia vs. Cincinnati predictions and college basketball picks for February 2, 2025.
West Virginia vs Cincinnati Prediction
My Pick: Under 125 or Better
My West Virginia vs Cincinnati best bet is on the under, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
West Virginia vs Cincinnati Odds
| West Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 127.5 -110 / -110 | +185 |
| Cincinnati Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5 -110 | 127.5 -110 / -110 | -225 |
- West Virginia vs Cincinnati spread: Cincinnati -5
- West Virginia vs Cincinnati over/under: 127.5 points
- West Virginia vs Cincinnati moneyline: Cincinnati -225, West Virginia +185
- West Virginia vs Cincinnati best bet: Under 125 or Better
Spread
I'm passing on the spread.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm taking the under.
My Pick: Under 125 or Better
West Virginia vs Cincinnati College Basketball Betting Preview
After an incredible win over Iowa State two weeks ago, the Mountaineers looked like one of the Big 12’s best teams.
They’ve lost three straight since, dropping a home contest to Arizona State and an away game to Kansas State in the process, alongside a 14-point tough home loss to Houston.
It’s potentially a good buy-low spot on West Virginia, although you could say the same for Cincinnati. The Bearcats also have dropped three straight and are returning home from a tough two-game Utah road trip.
But the Bearcats have done nothing in conference play so far. They’re 2-7 with wins over 0-9 Colorado and 3-6 Arizona State. You can argue that their losses have been “quality” ones, although double-digit defeats to Baylor, Kansas, Texas Tech and BYU don’t give me much confidence.
That said, I’ve been quite impressed with Cincinnati’s defense, as the Bearcats rank 14th nationally in KenPom’s defensive efficiency.
They run a swarming drop-coverage scheme anchored by the monstrous 7-foot Aziz Bandaogo, but it’s extra effective with the laterally mobile and versatile Dillon Mitchell running around at the four.
Good ball-screen coverage is key against West Virginia, which runs a ball-screen-centric offense led by the phenomenal Javon Small.
On the one hand, Cincinnati should be able to cover the Small ball-screen actions while effectively denying the Mountaineers’ 3-point shots — the Bearcats’ drop-coverage scheme ranks in the top 90 nationally in 3-point rate allowed.
On the other hand, Cincinnati will funnel and invite on-ball creation, which is significant for the Mountaineers, considering their lack of secondary creators.
On the other end of the court, West Virginia also runs a drop-coverage scheme that will funnel on-ball creation into the middle of the court. That helps Cincinnati, which relies heavily on ball-screen creation from Jizzle James and Day Day Thomas because the Bearcats have no spacing or shooting.
So, we should see plenty of methodical and inefficient mid-range creation between two dribble-heavy offenses and drop-coverage defenses.
Typically, that points me toward the under.
It helps that both teams play at a snail’s pace. And most projection models make this total a tad lower than the market, including:
- KenPom: 122
- BartTorvik: 119
- Haslametrics: 119
