By Stretch Jenkinson

1 19 2024

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/1/18/2023-24_MBB_Game_Notes.pdf

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team is seeking its second-straight ranked victory Saturday when it hosts Oklahoma at 1 p.m. in front of a sold-out Fifth Third Arena.

THE RUNDOWN

• The Bearcats are playing their fifth-straight ranked opponent, their longest streak since taking on six in a row in 1993-94 as part of the Great Midwest Conference. A win over the Sooners would mark their first time with ranked victories in consecutive games since the 2012 Big East Tournament (13 Georgetown, 2 Syracuse).
• TCU started 9-for-10 from the field, but Cincinnati hung tough even with an 11-point deficit at 7:33 in the first half to eventually lead early in the second. TCU still regained a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left.
• The victory marked UC’s 12th-straight in overtime over a ranked opponent (which began in 1994 against Marquette), the longest nationally (per ESPN Stats and Info).
• Day Day Thomas’ career-high 21 points against TCU has him averaging 18.0 over the last two games, up from 3.5 ppg over his first two in the Big 12. With six assists and three steals, he maintained his team lead in each.
• Dan Skillings Jr.’s acrobatic, reverse left-handed layup with 22 seconds left in OT proved to be the game-winner. All three of his career starts have come in Big 12 play (and against ranked teams), averaging 15.7 ppg in that trio that included 24 at No. 14 Baylor.
• Aziz Bandaogo, who missed the Baylor game, came off the bench and played 27 minutes before fouling out at the end of regulation. His six points and six rebounds carried mileage with a team-leading plus-12.
• John Newman III, whose widely-known defensive prowess held TCU leading scorer Emanuel Miller to 5-of-14 shooting, scored a UC-career-high 20 points that included 2-of-3 from deep. His top-3 scoring games as a Bearcat have come against TCU and Xavier (twice).
• Jizzle James buckled down on Tuesday despite having his first game all year without a made field goal, producing four assists in only 12 minutes, including a deep alley-oop from the wing to Bandaogo. He has only 11 turnovers in his last 15 games (after six in the first two).
• Cincinnati’s 50 paint points against the Frogs marked their most since Dec. 9, as well as their fourth game with 50-plus. The Bearcats also improved to 10-1 when getting more free-throw attempts than its opponent.
• UC is shooting 39.1 percent from deep at home, including 39.4 percent in the two-such Big 12 contests. The Bearcats are also 10-1 when getting more foul shots than its opponent.

SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati is 4-2 against the Sooners, winning each of the last four. The most recent matchup came in downtown Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center in 2011, completing a neutral home-and-home series.
• Oklahoma guard La’Tre Darthard was teammates with Aziz Bandaogo at Utah Valley last year, playing against the Bearcats in an NIT matchup.

CARDIAC CATS’ COMEBACKS
The overtime win over No. 19 TCU marked Cincinnati’s sixth under Wes Miller in which it came back from 10-plus points to win. Three of those were against ranked teams.

Game (Year) Largest Deficit (Half)
vs. No. 14 Illinois (2021-22) – 15 (11:56 in 1)
at Wichita State (2021-22) – 10 (8:50 in 1)
vs. Temple (2022-23) – 10 (13:15 in 1)
Evansville (2023-24) – 10 (19:44 in 2)
at No. 12 BYU (2023-24) – 10 (19:43 in 2)
No. 19 TCU (2023-24) – 11 (7:33 in 1)

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS