By Marisol Nicholson

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/1/8/2023-24_MBB_Game_Notes.pdf

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team will seek a 2-0 start to its Big 12 era when it hosts Texas in its conference opener on Tuesday night (7 p.m.). The game also features a stripe-out for fans, with color arrangements here.

THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati trailed 31-24 at the break, and 10 at one point in the first half, but took the lead for good at 10:54 and ran away from No. 12 BYU, 71-60. The Cougars entered the night as the nation’s leader in scoring (90.4 ppg) and rebounding (+13.8) before the Bearcats held them to a season-low and won the glass by 9.
• UC claimed itss highest-ranked win since taking down No. 12 Houston in the 2019 AAC title game. A win Tuesday would mark its first time with consecutive ranked wins since the 2012 Big East Tournament.
• UC overcame a season-high 19 turnovers, including a first half that featured seven field goals and 13 turnovers. The defense, however, forced 18 itself and stifled BYU to 32.8 percent shooting. The Cougars’ previous season-low was 40.9, and they missed 16 of their final 19 shots on Saturday.
• Aziz Bandaogo came off the bench and collected his third-straight double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs). He was a game-time decision after missing the last 3 games due to a back injury. The last Bearcat with such a double-double streak was AAC Defensive Player of the Year Tre Scott, with four in February 2020.
• Jizzle James scored 10 of UC’s 14 points over the game-deciding run, finishing with 12. The freshman was also a second-half catalyst in the road Howard win and scored a season-high 19 points at Xavier.
• James committed six turnovers in his first two games but has only nine over the last 12. His 80.6 FT% leads the team as well.
• Dan Skillings Jr. made his first-career start and answered the bell with the Bearcats’ first points, finishing with 10. UC is 12-0 when the sophomore scores in double-figures, including 8-0 this year. He cites defense as what drives his offense, and this year he has seen major boosts in both (5.3 to 11.1 ppg, 3.3 to 6.5 rpg).
• Skillings’ last three games: 16.3 ppg and 55.8 FG%, up from 5.4 and 26.5 percent over the previous five.
• Viktor Lakhin’s 17 points, including 2-of-3 deep shooting, marked his fourth-straight game in double-figures.
• Cincinnati has won the boards in every game and ranks second nationally behind Arizona. In addition to trailing by 7 at the break to BYU, it was also down 8 then to Evansville in its non-conference finale.
• UC is 10-1 when scoring 70 points or more. Conversely, its only two losses were the two times it allowed 80-plus.

SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati has claimed both all-time meetings, with each of those coming in the NCAA Tournament.
• The first, in 1963, marked UC’s fifth-straight Final Four. The Bearcats’ quest for a three-peat title ended with Loyola Chicago’s upset in the championship.
• The second time came in the 2012 First Round, an eventual Sweet 16 run for the Bearcats. UC led 16-2 to start and 31-17 at the break, withstanding Texas’ rally for a 65-59 win.
• Yancy Gates set the tone in Nashville with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

CINCINNATI’S DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Bandaogo’s run should also remind others that he posted 17 at Utah Valley last year en route to WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Player (Opponent, Date) Pts Rebs
Viktor Lakhin (EWU, 11/12) 26 11
Viktor Lakhin (NKU, 11/19) 14 14
Aziz Bandaogo (Bryant, 12/12) 12 17
Aziz Bandaogo (Dayton, 12/16) 10 12
Dan Skillings Jr. (Stetson, 12/22) 29 10
Aziz Bandaogo (BYU, 1/6) 12 11

COURTESY CINCINNATI ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS