DePaul and South Carolina will square off in the Arizona Tip-Off at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. We continue our college basketball odds series with a DePaul-South Carolina prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Blue Demons enter the matchup at 1-2 on the season, with losses to Purdue Fort Wayne (82-74) and Long Beach State (77-73), and a victory over South Dakota (72-60). DePaul had 19 assists on 26 made baskets in the win against the Coyotes.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks remain unbeaten with three wins to start the 2023-24 campaign. South Carolina has notched victories against USC Upstate (82-53), Virginia Tech (79-77), and VMI (74-64).

Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Basketball Odds: DePaul-South Carolina Odds

DePaul: +4.5 (-112)

South Carolina: -4.5 (-108)

Over: 137.5 (-110)

Under: 137.5 (-110)

How to Watch DePaul vs. South Carolina

Time: 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT

TV: CBS Sports Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why DePaul Will Cover The Spread

The Blue Demons have a versatile roster with players who can play multiple positions, but they also have something else that could be useful against South Carolina:

A former Gamecock.

Chico Carter Jr. (11.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.0 APG) spent a couple of seasons in Columbia before transferring back in March. He was South Carolina's fourth-leading scorer a season ago and at least knows how Lamont Paris wants his teams to play on the court. He'll likely also have some added motivation to show that he made the right move.

Beyond that, it's about not allowing the Gamecocks to get easy looks at the basket. Luckily, DePaul ranks 10th nationally in blocks per game (7.0), and it's allowed Tony Stubblefield's squad to rank 61st in two-point field goal defense (42.9 percent).

South Carolina is much-improved on the offensive side of the court, so altering shots will be key to the Blue Demons' success in this matchup.

Why South Carolina Will Cover The Spread

It's early, but there's little doubt that the Gamecocks are trending up in the SEC.

The reason for that is the foursome of B.J. Mack (16.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG), Myles Stute (13.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG), Meechie Johnson (13.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG), and Ta'Lon Cooper (11.3 PPG, 5.7 APG).

While it usually takes a bit for a team to gel given the changing rosters in the transfer portal era, the chemistry is obvious with this group. Paris can slot them at different positions and mix and match rotations to get the most out of each player's skill set.

The biggest improvement has been on the perimeter, as South Carolina ranks 12th nationally in making 43.9 percent of their 3-point attempts (29-of-66). All four players have made at least five 3-pointers thus far, and that's been huge for consistency on that side of the court (74+ points in all three games).

When you add in the fact that Jacobi Wright (10.0 PPG) is contributing key minutes off the bench (22.7 MPG), the Gamecocks have a variety of ways that they can beat teams this season.

They could also take advantage of DePaul averaging 15.7 turnovers per game (304th).

Final DePaul-South Carolina Prediction & Pick

Both teams were picked last in their respective conferences in the preseason, but South Carolina appears to be the one that's the most underrated to this point.

The Gamecocks have been impressive in their first three games, and there is lots of potential with the four-man nucleus of Mack, Stute, Johnson, and Cooper.

South Carolina should notch another victory.

Final DePaul-South Carolina Prediction & Pick: South Carolina -4.5 (-110)