As a sharpshooting guard at Cal Poly from 1993 to 1995, David Dineen was money from the 3-point line. Last year, Dineen was the sharpest handicapper in the Circa College Hoops Challenge, a VSiN-produced contest that is returning for the third consecutive season.

A field of 15 contestants will compete in a college basketball contest that begins this weekend and extends to the NCAA championship game on April 7. The contest consists of 10 rounds and each handicapper will submit a total of 50 plays against the spread.

 

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Dineen, who resides in Reno, posted a 25-15 ATS record to top last year’s 12-handicapper field. Also headlining this year’s event is VSiN contributor Will Hill, the 2023 contest champion.

“I’m here to compete and hopefully not embarrass myself,” Dineen said.

Circa owner Derek Stevens is awarding a Stadium Swim cabana with a $1,000 credit or a Barry’s dinner comp worth $1,000 to the contest winner, who also receives a trophy. The runner-up contestant receives a $200 gift card to Dom Demarco’s Pizzeria in Las Vegas.

The contestants’ plays will be announced on the VSiN PrimeTime show, VSiN Saturday morning show, via VSiN Pro emails and VSiN.com.

The complete contest rules:

Circa College Hoops Challenge 2025

Fifteen handicappers compete in a college basketball contest with prizes awarded by Circa Resort & Casino.

When: Friday, February 14 through Monday, April 7 (10 rounds, 50 plays)

Where: VSIN studio at the Circa sportsbook. The contestants’ plays will be announced on the VSiN PrimeTime show, VSiN Saturday morning show, via VSiN Pro emails and VSiN.com

Contest format and plays: College basketball full-game sides and totals. Contestants are invited by VSiN and no entry fee is required.

Only Circa Sports lines will be used for the entire contest.

  • Four regular-season contest weeks (February 15, 22 and March 1, 8) with five plays per contestant per week for the Saturday schedule.
  • NCAA Tournament Round 1 (Wednesday, March 19 show) with 12 plays per contestant for the Thursday and Friday first-round games.
  • NCAA Tournament Round 2 (plays announced on Tim Murray’s morning show on Saturday, March 22) with six plays per contestant for the Saturday and Sunday second-round games.
  • NCAA Round 3 (Wednesday, March 26 show) with six plays per contestant for the Thursday and Friday Sweet 16 games.
  • NCAA Round 4 (plays announced on Tim Murray’s morning show on Saturday, March 29) with three plays per contestant for the Saturday and Sunday Elite Eight games.
  • NCAA Round 5 (plays announced on the VSiN PrimeTime show on Friday, April 4) with two plays per contestant for the Saturday Final Four games.
  • NCAA Final Round (plays announced Monday morning via the VSiN Pro email) with one play per contestant for the NCAA championship game April 7.

Each contestant will make a total of 50 plays from NCAA regular-season and NCAA Tournament games only. A winning play is worth one point and a push is worth a half-point.

Best Bets: In each round, the contestants designate one play as a Best Bet, which is worth 1.5 points if it wins. Any contestant failing to designate a Best Bet will get a zero for the BB record in that round.

If any game is canceled or postponed, it’s graded to be worth a half-point; a postponed game must be played within two days of the originally scheduled date or is graded to be worth a half-point.

Tiebreakers: Pick the Final Four teams (one point per correct team) and national champion (three points for correct team) and submit the tiebreaker picks for the Wednesday, March 19 show. If two or more contestants remain tied after the NCAA championship game, the Best Bet record will serve as the next tiebreaker; if a tie still exists, the contestant with the most winning plays in the contest prevails.

Lines and pick deadlines: Use the Circa Sports lines posted on VSIN.com. All contestants are using the same lines.

For the first four regular-season rounds of the contest, plays must be submitted by 10 p.m. PT on Friday nights.

Prize structure: Circa owner Derek Stevens is awarding a Stadium Swim cabana with a $1,000 credit or a Barry’s dinner comp worth $1,000 to the contest winner, who also receives a trophy. The runner-up contestant receives a $200 gift card to Dom Demarco’s Pizzeria in Las Vegas.

The 15-handicapper field

  • Ron Boyles, professional bettor from Pittsburgh
  • Bobby “Buckets” Brubeck, professional bettor from Austin, Texas @brubuckets
  • David Dineen, former college basketball player at Cal Poly, 2024 contest champion @david_dineen775
  • Eli Hershkovich, TheLines.com handicapper from Chicago @EliHershkovich
  • Will Hill, VSiN contributor, 2023 contest champion @NotTheeWillHill
  • Chris Macero, professional bettor from San Diego @RealGadge
  • Aaron Moore, VSiN contributor, sports media professor @pubrelationprof 
  • Tim Murray, VSiN host @1TimMurray
  • Greg “Hoops” Peterson, VSiN host @GUnit_81
  • Wes Reynolds, VSiN host @WesReynolds1
  • Jim Root, professional handicapper from Chicago @2ndChancePoints
  • Paul Stone, professional handicapper from Texas @paulstonesports 
  • Ken Thomson, Las Vegas radio host and handicapper @kenthomson87
  • Jonathan Von Tobel, VSiN host @meJVT
  • Matt Youmans, VSiN host @mattyoumans247

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