By Skip Coopersmith

2 13 2024

GAME NOTES:

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/2/12/2023-24_MBB_Game_Notes.pdf

CINCINNATI — The homestand continues for the Cincinnati men’s basketball team on Tuesday night, this time hosting another ranked opponent in Iowa State at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

As a celebration of Saturday’s 12,715 sellout crowd, the largest in Fifth Third Arena’s post-renovation era (since 2018-19), Cincinnati is selling its limited remaining upper-deck tickets for $12.71 here. Fans are asked to arrive early due to high traffic. One benefit is $5 Cincy Light beer and $3 pretzels and hot dogs up to 30 minutes before tip-off.

THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati withstood an early 13-point deficit to lead at the half (6:03 in all), but the No. 5 Cougars made tough, contested shots in crunch time to walk away with the 67-62 win. UH also shot 27.3 percent in the first half and 50 in the second. Cincinnati was 17-0 entering the day allowing under 40 FG% the last two years.
• Houston made a statement on the boards early with an 11-1 advantage to start the game, finishing as the third team all year to beat the Bearcats on the boards. With only five turnovers and eight more offensive boards than its hosts, Houston got 18 more shot attempts in the narrow game.
• The Cougars’ 18.8 percent clip from deep was their season-low, as well as UC’s best-such defense since the opener. Still, the five-point loss is the widest margin it has had in any Big 12 defeat.
• One bright spot has been the Bearcats’ consistency with its opponents’ top scorer the past two games. John Newman III held Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs to 5-of-19 shooting in that major road win, and Day Day Thomas, as well as freshman Jizzle James, combined to hold Houston’s Jamal Shead to 6-of-25 from the field. Shead is one of the 10 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the nation’s top point guard.
• James, with no turnovers in 3 games, has been an major spark off the bench, and his 20 minutes against Houston were his most in Big 12 play. He also had 10 points at Kansas, 12 at BYU and a career-high 19 at Xavier. He is also leading the team with a 78.0 free-throw percentage.
• Newman earned his first double-double since 2019-20 with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Since a 2-for-10 shooting stretch early in Big 12 play, he is shooting 57.6 percent and averaging 13.4 ppg over the last seven.
• Newman, one of three Bearcats with NCAA Tourney experience, is also producing career-highs in scoring (10.0 ppg), shooting (51.5 percent), 3-pointers (36.0 percent), rebounds (5.5) and steals (32).
• Other positive steps included the return of CJ Fredrick to the fold, a much-needed extra deep-shooting option in the home stretch. Cincinnati was also averaging 13.5 turnovers the previous four games before committing only eight against Houston, a positive step.
• Cincinnati is shooting 36.6 percent from deep in wins and 25.8 percent in losses, with its two-highest Big 12 games being over 40 percent against BYU and Texas to begin play. Viktor Lakhin (13.4 ppg on 56.3 percent in wins, 7.1 ppg and 35.4 percent in defeat) plays a pivotal role as well.

• Jacob Evans’ two free-throws with 20.1 seconds left in overtime gave Cincinnati a win in Ames during the teams’ last meeting, in 2016.
• The UC win snapped Iowa State’s 37-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents, the third-longest such streak in the country.
• Of the six prior meetings, all came during Cincinnati NCAA Tournament years.

TOP CROWDS AND TOP-10 TEAMS

• Cincinnati’s game against No. 5 Houston drew 12,715 fans, the largest in the post-Fifth Third Arena renovation era (which began in 2018-19). The largest in the arena’s overall history, since 1989, is 13,176.
• With Iowa State reaching No. 10 in the AP poll, Tuesday’s game against the Cyclones marks the first time UC has played consecutive top-10 opponents since 2009-10, and it is the first time with back-to-back top-10 teams at home since 1988-89, the Bearcats’ final year at the now-demolished Cincinnati Gardens.

KELVIN SAMPSON ON JIZZLE JAMES

• Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, of 19 NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Final Fours over his illustrous career, spoke highly of the Bearcat rookie.
• “He doesn’t look like a freshman, does he? He’s a big, strong guard with great quickness. I like his game a lot, and he’s only gonna get better. Jizzle James, I just like saying his name. I would never call him Edgerrin James, Jr. We’ve played against some real good guards here, and one of the best I ever went against was (former Cincinnati All-American) Steve Logan.”

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS