Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Storylines: DePaul Blue Demons

 College Basketball Crown Week is here as Cincinnati (18-15) prepares to take on longtime rival DePaul (14-19) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 16-team event gets rolling on Monday as Cincinnati tries to move on to face the winner of UCF/Oregon State in their game Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

UC is one of the top three betting favorites to win the inaugural event and is a comfortable 9.5-point betting favorite to beat the Blue Demons at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Bart Torvik gives Cincinnati a 77% chance to win with a projected score of 73-66.

Cincinnati leads DePaul 35-15 in the all-time series, including matchups in the Great Midwest, Conference USA, and Big East. UC has won five games in a row since the last battle in 2013.

Offensive Storyline: Personnel Mismatch

Cincinnati has stayed together since the end of the season, while DePaul is breaking apart. No Bearcats have entered the transfer portal as of this writing, with every healthy Bearcat on the roster expected to be available in the pursuit of a title.

Meanwhile, four Blue Demons entered the portal, including key rotation piece Jacob Meyer. The 6-2 sophomore from Covington, Kentucky averaged 8.9 points per game this season and is DePaul's fourth-leading scorer. They are going to bring a skeleton crew to the desert and Cincinnati should be able to overwhelm them offensively in the meantime.

The Bearcats have had a few weeks to refresh since the grind of the Big 12 season ended and that should only fuel an easy win further. Tuesday sets up a brutal matchup for DePaul's defense, which does not rebound well (34.5 per game, 219th nationally) or defend the paint consistently (58.8% FG rate allowed on close twos, 88% on dunks).

There is no clear size to worry about from a full rotation, and if 6-9 transfer forward JJ Traynor doesn't play while in the portal, then the Blue Demons will have just one player over 6-7 in the game. Cincinnati should overwhelm DePaul on depth alone, even if the jump shots continue clanking.

Defensive Storyline: Glue Up Gunn

If Cincinnati can contain 6-7, 195-pound forward C.J. Gunn (12.8 points, four rebounds) on Tuesday, then this game could be over by halftime.

The versatile forward leads the Blue Demons with a 25% usage rate, guiding the offense across his 26.3 minutes per game. Cincinnati should just throw waves of depth at him on the inside and try to force him into a volume of jumpers. Gunn shoots just 43.7% from mid-range and 30.2% from outside (5.2 attempts per game) but is 65.9% from the floor on shots around the rim. Pressuring him away from the bucket is a winning strategy.

Cincinnati will have to also keep tabs on guard Isaiah Rivera (10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds) as he roams the perimeter with the best three-point shot on the team (40.9% on five shots per game). Alas, there's not much else frightening about the slimmer DePaul lineup. Those two will likely have to play heavy, heavy minutes and keep their stamina the whole time to even hold pace with UC.

The Bearcats keep their sights set on a big $300,000 first-place NIL prize by easily beating DePaul.

Prediction: 74-64 Bearcats

Season Prediction Record: 24-9