By Charles Hollister

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/12/19/2024-25_Game_Notes_vs._Dayton.pdf

CINCINNATI — Fresh off one local rivalry win on Saturday, the No. 19 Cincinnati men’s basketball team has now turned its attention to No. 22 Dayton on Friday night at the Heritage Bank Center downtown. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

THE RUNDOWN

• This marks UC’s first game as a ranked team against a ranked opponent since it beat No. 11 Houston in the 2019 AAC Championship game.
• Cincinnati is coming off an emotional rockfight on Saturday in which it defeated crosstown rival Xavier, 68-65. Both teams shot 37.9 percent, trading blows as UC led by 9 in the first half and trailed 53-46 with under eight minutes left.
• It was also Cincinnati’s lowest shooting percentage in a win since Jan. 14, 2023 at SMU. Just like after that game, Wes Miller remarked that those are the “best” wins of his career, “where it feels like you can’t score…but you still find a way to win.”
• UC also shot 73 percent from the foul line that included 19 makes, both season-highs.
• Simas Lukosius leads UC with 16.0 ppg, scoring in double-figures in all nine games. Eleven of his 14 points against Xavier came in the second half. He is still 18th nationally with a 48.3 percentage from deep.
• Jizzle James was phenomenal for the Bearcats against Xavier despite going 0-for-11, helping hold Xavier to 37.9 percent shooting and knocking down two free-throws with 13 seconds left to give UC a three-point lead. Wes Miller was effusive in his praise for the sophomore, who also had five assists for the sixth time this year.
• Dillon Mitchell recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards against the Musketeers. He is seventh nationally in field goal percentage at 69.6, has a steal in every game and is 6-for-9 from the foul line since a rough start, as well as adding a three-point repertoire as part of his development.
• Dan Skillings Jr., last year’s leading scorer at 12.9 ppg, played a season-high 26 minutes as he returned to the starting lineup. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the opener before missing the next six due to a knee injury that he sustained mid-game and did not realize till the following morning. His conditioning and game speed will continue to adjust.
• Speaking of minutes, Aziz Bandaogo played 31 on Saturday, his most as a Bearcat. UC is now 11-1 (5-0 this year) when he scores in double-figures, including 17 against Howard and 11 versus Xavier (12-of-14 from the field in that stretch). His 65.2 percent clip from the line is up 10.7 from last year.
• Cincinnati is seventh defensively in KenPom, while Dayton is 14th offensively. Villanova is the only team to shoot better than 33.3 percent from deep on UC, while Dayton’s deep shooting is 83rd at 36.4 percent.

NO POINTS, NO PROBLEM FOR JIZZLE

• Despite an 0-for-11 performance against Xavier, Jizzle James was locked in at all times, eventually sinking two major free-throws with 13 seconds left to give UC a 68-65 lead before Xavier’s final possession.
• Wes Miller was effusive in his praise of the sophomore, noting that the two watched every possession of his one-on-one together later.
• “I’m not worried about him; I’m proud of him. Sometimes you have to think about this in a different way. If you watch the tape, he didn’t change the way he played when he was 0-for-5 or 0-for-7 … but when he was 0-for-11 and got to the free-throw stipe with two big free-throws, could you tell he was 0-for-11? That speaks about him as a winner and competitor than whatever his shooting percentage was. Most players, in a game like that, that have a night where they can’t buy one, it’s going to affect the way they defend, their mindset, leadership and approach. You would not be able to tell a difference watching Jizzle play the game…I think that was one of the reasons we won the game.”

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday’s contest is a throwback matchup with the Flyers, who are the Bearcats’ third-most-played rival. Tip-off will be the 93rd meeting between the teams (one ahead of UC and Xavier), trailing only 149 to Miami (Ohio) and 100 to Louisville.
• Last year’s meeting went to the Flyers, who after a 25-24 deficit with five minutes left in the half, led 35-29 at the break and by 18 in the second half. Aziz Bandaogo had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) despite suffering a back injury on a hard foul early that he dealt with the rest of the season.
• Dayton out-shot the Bearcats 46.9 to 37.0 percent, in addition to making 20 more free-throws to provide the difference.
• That was the first since 2010, also played at Heritage Bank Center (then U.S. Bank Arena), and UC doubled UD with a 68-34 victory.
• The Bearcats have won 15 of the last 19 meetings since 1989, leading 60-32 overall.
• This is the fifth matchup between the squads in which both were ranked (1955, 1958, 2000, 2003).

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS