
UConn vs DePaul Prediction 1/29/25 College Basketball Picks Today
DePaul (10-11) vs. UConn (14-6)
January 29, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: UConn -14.5; Over/Under:
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The DePaul Blue Demons and the UConn Huskies meet Wednesday in college basketball action from XL Center. Here’s a UConn vs DePaul prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UConn vs DePaul pick.
DePaul Blue Demons Betting Preview
The Blue Demons kicked off the season on a great run, and they were riding high by the end of November. Since then, however, the wins have been few and hard to come by as DePaul has slipped below .500 again. The Demons took victories over Southern Indiana, Prairie View, Mercer, Duquesne, Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois, and Valparaiso in succession during a hot start over their first seven outings. A 2-4 run came next with wins over Wichita State and Loyola Maryland alongside losses to Texas Tech, Providence, St. John’s, and Northwestern. Since then it’s been a rough 1-7 run over the last eight games. The lone win in that time was over Georgetown. Otherwise, it’s been losses to UConn, Villanova, Seton Hall, Xavier, Marquette, Creighton, and Butler in that time. The result has been a 10-11 overall record for the Blue Demons through the first 21 outings of the 2024-25 season so far.
Back on Saturday versus Butler, the Blue Demons went into the second half with a 40-33 deficit. DePaul didn’t end up getting any closer than that, falling further behind on a 46-36 run the rest of the way during an 86-69 defeat. NJ Benson was the team’s leading scorer in the losing effort, posting 20 points with nine rebounds in a near double-double. CJ Gunn added 16 points with four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Conor Enright added 12 points with six assists, two rebounds, and two steals in 36 minutes of work as well.
UConn Huskies Betting Preview
Over on the UConn side, they’ve had an odd season thus far. The Huskies posted a losing streak on neutral courts back in November and they’ve been sketchy in the win column lately. Other than that it’s been smooth sailing, though. UConn took out Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, Le Moyne, and East Texas A&M in their first four games, then fell in succession versus Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton. A nice win streak ensued over Maryland Eastern Shore, Baylor, Texas, Gonzaga, Xavier, Butler, DePaul, and Providence. From there, however, it’s been a 2-3 stretch over the last five games for the Huskies. The wins were over Georgetown and Butler. Otherwise, it was losses to Villanova, Creighton, and Xavier in that time, giving UConn a 14-6 overall run through 20 games this season.
Matched up against Xavier over the weekend, the Huskies held a slim 41-40 edge going into the locker room. Xavier came back with a 36-31 second half, however, giving UConn a 76-72 loss in the end. Topping the team with a double-double in the losing effort was Solo Ball with 20 points, 11 rebounds and one assist. Aidan Mahaney came off the bench for 14 points with three boards, three assists and three turnovers, while both Samson Johnson (four rebounds; five blocks) and Hassan Diarra (five rebounds; four assists) scored 12 points each.
Why the Connecticut Huskies will win
- DePaul has lost each of its last 17 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Connecticut has won each of its last 16 games at XL Center.
- Connecticut has won the first half in each of its last six games against DePaul.
Why the DePaul Blue Demons will win
- The road team has won four of DePaul’s last five games.
- The road team has won the first half in seven of Connecticut’s last nine games.
UConn vs DePaul Prediction
I’ll lean toward UConn, but I’m probably avoiding this one. The Huskies have once again run into some issues in the win column lately, and they’re coming off another defeat via a pretty decent (but not great) Xavier team. UConn shot 47.3 percent from the field in that one and won the rebounding battle 35-28. That said, the Huskies also coughed up 13 turnovers for 22 Musketeers points. UConn has been pretty erratic on the scoreboard during this 2-3 run as well. They’ve been below 69 points in three of those five games.
The last time these teams met up back on New Year’s Day, the Huskies secured an 81-68 road victory. UConn had turnover trouble in that one as well (13 for 12 points), so they’ll need to focus on ball security this time. I still like the Huskies here, but I’m not enthusiastic about it.