By Henry Rawn

3 5 2025

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2025/3/4/2024-25_Game_Notes_vs._K-State.pdf

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team will look to close its home campaign on a high note when it hosts Kansas State for Senior Night at 7 p.m.

THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati is honoring four players (CJ Fredrick, CJ Anthony, Simas Lukosius and Aziz Bandaogo) pregame, in addition to two managers, Jacob Barabini and Chris Pacheco.
• UC has won its last two home finales in dominating fashion. David DeJulius scored a career-high 30 points, kissing the floor on his way out of the game, to cap a 97-74 win over SMU in 2023. The Bearcats crushed West Virginia, 92-56, the following year.
• The Bearcats came up short at Big 12 champion and No. 4 Houston on Saturday afternoon, leading 10-2 but falling behind for good after the Cougars’ ensuing 20-4 run. UC committed a modest 11 turnovers and out-rebounded physical Houston, but did not get its first free-throw attempt until 5:51 left in the game.
• Cincinnati moved seven spots to No. 40 in the NET after Saturday’s game, the highest of any team in the top-60. The Bearcats finished 39th last year after entering Selection Sunday 37th.
• Day Day Thomas (19) and Jizzle James (18) combined for their third-most points in a game this season, trailing only at Iowa State (Feb. 15) and home against BYU (Feb. 8).
• Thomas’ 19 points were one off a season-high, and he was 8-for-12 from the field. It was his sixth-straight game in double-figures, the best streak of his career. He was limited to 19 minutes due to brutal foul trouble, and yet was +11 against the Cougars.
• James has 18 points in each of his last three games. He is averaging 19.5 ppg on 47.2 percent shooting over the second half of leaguer play after 8.4 and 34.0, respectively, over the first 10. Saturday also marked his 11th game this year with five or more assists. His 42.9 FG% is second among guards in the Big 12.
• Lukosius was the hero in last year’s home game against Kansas State with his top-of-the-key 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds. Of his last three games, 21 of his 22 shot attempts have been from deep.
• UC has remained efficient in the turnover department (9.9 per game, 27th nationally). Josh Reed, a starter over the last four games, has not committed one in his last five, which spans 144 minutes.
• The Bearcats are 15-1 when trailing at the half (only loss: Kansas) and 2-11 when tied or trailing (wins against Xavier and BYU). Fifteen of their 17 wins have also come when holding its opponent to 69 or fewer points.
• Dillon Mitchell is seventh nationally among most impactful defenders, per EvanMiya, which “accounts for box stats as well as impact on team performance while on the floor.” His 57 dunks are also eighth nationally.

SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati leads the all-time series 8-2, with the first seven of those coming from 1958-68.
• K-State got the best of No. 16 Cincinnati on Dec. 30 in the Big 12 opener. Dan Skillings had a season-high 18 points, the first of three-straight such performances, but UC committed a season-high 15 turnovers. Aziz Bandaogo’s tip-in with 1:09 left had UC within 63-61.
• Last year’s lone meeting, a 74-72 win for Cincinnati that had major bubble implications for both teams, saw Simas Lukosius hit the winning three-pointer as he curled around a screen with 9.9 seconds left and let it go from the top of the key.
• Cincinnati led by as much as 13 with 15 minutes left before K-State’s Tylor Perry scored 17 of his 26 pooints in the second half. The other big takeaway was UC winning the turnover battle 19-6, which led to a 29-6 point differential in scoring off turnovers.
• The other modern, pre-Big 12 meeting came in the 2017 NCAA Tournament First Round, a 75-61 win for the Bearcats.
• Cincinnati shot 62.8 percent, including making its first 10 shots, in that 2017 meeting, a school NCAA Tourney record. Troy Caupain led all scorers with 23 points, while Kyle Washington and Gary Clark followed with 16 and 15, respectively.
• Oscar Robertson posted one of his 10 triple-doubles against the Wildcats in the 1959 NCAA Tournament (24 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists).
• The 1961 meeting, played at Allen Fieldhouse, was an Elite Eight victory for the Bearcats en route to their first of consecutive national titles.

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS