By Marisol Nicholson

1 27 2024

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/1/25/2023-24_MBB_Game_Notes.pdf

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team will return to Fifth Third Arena this weekend when it hosts UCF on Saturday at 7 p.m. The matchup is Cincinnati’s Coaches vs. Cancer game, with fans being asked to wear white.

THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati’s first unranked Big 12 matchup comes in its seventh contest and against a team that has beaten then-No. 3 Kansas. For the Bearcats, their last five games have been decided by 3.4 ppg.
• Dan Skillings Jr.’s team-high 16 points at Kansas puts him at 11.4 ppg on the year, up from 5.3 as a freshman last season. He is 8-for-17 from deep his last five games (47.1 percent) after shooting 27.1 percent all year prior. He has been the top road performer with 16.7 ppg in the three Big 12 games, with Simas Lukosius’ 14.3 ppg taking the home honor.
• Monday night marked the first time since Game 2 (Nov. 10 versus Detroit Mercy) that Jizzle James had multiple turnovers in a game, a remarkable run for the freshman. He did find his way to 10 points after averaging 3.0 over the previous four.
• Day Day Thomas has 20 assists to seven turnovers in his five games since a 7-turnover game at BYU. He and John Newman III are tied for the team lead with 29 steals too.
• Newman’s 11 points at KU gave him three-straight in double-figures (15.0 ppg). The 45 points mark his most for any three-game stretch in his career (3 years at Clemson, 3 at Cincinnati). He also has six steals over that time to go with a 10.0 FG% increase from his last full season.
• Cincinnati won the glass, 40-29, after losing it for the first two times all year coming in. Aziz Bandaogo’s 11 boards marked his fifth time in 11 games in double-figures. The Bearcats lead the Big 12 and rank 10th nationally with a 10.0 margin.
• UC found success in not only getting to the line, but making them with an 18-for-23 showing at Kansas (78.3 percent). It was 57 percent over the previous four games.
• Cincinnati is one of nine teams nationally to have wins with six or more lineup combinations. Furman leads with 8. Nine different Bearcats have earned nods in what has been a tough balance of NCAA transfer clearance and health.
• Eight has been Cincinnati’s magic number from beyond the arc, as it is 6-0 with that many makes (7-6 with seven or fewer). The Bearcats were 13-for-32 (40.6 percent) their first two Big 12 games and will seek that efficiency again as it awaits CJ Fredrick’s return to health.

SERIES HISTORY

• UC is 15-5 in the all-time series, with all but one of those matchups coming in the AAC. The outlier was in the Citrus Bowl Classic in 1983, and it was truly a clash of Bearcat legends. The late Chuck Machock was in his first of two years as the Knights’ head coach, with this one being their final year of Division II. The UC alum was also an assistant coach in Clifton from 1990-93 and later had a lengthy tenure on the radio team.
• Eventual UC head coach, and Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer, Bob Huggins served as an assistant on the opposing bench.
• Jamille Reynolds played his first two years at UCF (2020-22), appearing in 48 games and starting 13, all as a freshman in 2020-21.
• Cincinnati swept the season series last year, with David DeJulius’ runner with 0.2 seconds left securing a 73-71 road win in the road thriller. Ody Oguama (15 points, 7-for-7) and Kalu Ezikpe were exceptional with Viktor Lakhin missing after a game-time decision.
• The last home game, a white-out on Feb. 4, saw UC collect 16 steals for its most since 2015. DeJulius’ 19 points gave him 1,000 at Cincinnati, and Lakhin scored 18 of his 20 in the second half while Landers Nolley II scored 19 too.

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS