Early Look at Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Odds for 1st Big 12 Season

It’s a new world for Cincinnati basketball, one that includes a pair of recent national champions, a program that spent much of last season ranked No. 1, and eight teams that reached the NCAA tournament a year ago. Forget all the talk about football — basketball is where the Bearcats’ move to the Big 12 will be most acutely felt.

Cincinnati now plays in the best and deepest league in the country, one loaded with tough games from Houston to Texas Tech to Kansas and beyond. The timing, though, is fortuitous, as coach Wes Miller’s rebuilding project showed real signs of promise in last season’s 23-13 campaign, just in time for the Bearcats to take a serious step up in class.

And yet still have the Bearcats at +5000 to win the Big 12 title, tied for 12th among the 14 teams in the league. 

Think UC can shock the world? of reaching the Final Four are an equally distant +5000. Miller has made steady progress for two seasons, and the Bearcats could be better in 2023-24—but because of the level of competition, the record might not reflect it.

Bearcats Big In The Paint

The Bearcats lost their top two scorers from last year, senior David DeJulius and one-season wonder Landers Nolley. But they return a top-notch big man in 6-11 forward Viktor Lakhin, who last season averaged 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds, striking for seven double-doubles in the process. And forward John Newman, who averaged 9.6 points as a junior, is back after suffering a meniscus tear in last year’s opener and missing the remainder of the season.

Miller will augment his returnees with several transfers including former Kentucky guard C.J. Frederick, who hit for double-figures 10 times last season on a loaded Wildcats roster. Center Aziz Bandaogo comes from Utah Valley, where he averaged 11.5 points, while guard Simas Lukosius joins the Bearcats from Butler, where he averaged 11.6 points.

The freshman class is highlighted by Jizzle James — son of former NFL star Edgerrin James — who was ranked the ninth-best point guard nationally in high school. Is that all enough to hang with the likes of Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU, Kansas, Baylor and Houston? (And Arizona, on the way in 2024?) We’ll find out beginning Nov. 6, when the Bearcats open the 2023-24 campaign against Illinois-Chicago.

At the very least, Miller has raised the competitive level of the Cincinnati program he inherited from predecessor John Brannen. The Bearcats went 23-12 against the spread last season, so they remain a viable option for sports bettors.

That begins by taking advantage of like the offer, in which new customers who bet $50 receive $250 in bonus bets guaranteed.

Other great deals for Buckeye State bettors include a offer that can earn new users up to $1,000 in bonus bets if their initial wager loses. 

Also, don’t overlook a that earns first-time customers $1,000 in second-chance bets – a $100 second-chance bet opportunity every day for your first 10 days on the site. 

After all, the Bearcats will be slugging it out with the heavyweights of the Big 12 before we know it.

Main image by Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports