A lot can happen in 2,198 days. That’s how long it was between Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout victories from Mick Cronin’s last in 2018 to Wes Miller’s first Saturday afternoon.
A town fired up about a possible NCAA tournament team can turn sour when your team has dropped five straight against its biggest rival. A certain football coach in Columbus can relate, and so could University of Cincinnati basketball Coach Miller.
In front of 12,513 at Fifth Third Arena, the proverbial monkey was off Miller’s back with a three-point win.
After UC led most of the opening half of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout, Xavier’s Zach Freemantle buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 31-30 lead and gave a glare at UC great Kenyon Martin. UC then grabbed the early second-half lead, only to see Xavier snatch it back.
It would be over 15 minutes before the Bearcats would lead again. With 7:50 to go, Xavier marksman Ryan Conwell nailed a 3-pointer that put Xavier up seven, their largest lead of the game. UC would claw back and a Dan Skillings Jr. lay-up at 3:22 put the Bearcats up for good at 57-55. A game with 10 lead changes stayed in favor of the men in the new Jordan Brand “Cincy” black uniforms as the Bearcats held off the Musketeers 68-65.
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Freemantle, who had 16 first-half points, would score just one second-half bucket and miss the final attempt that might have tied the game.
“They were clearly the team that was cornered and we were clearly the team that came unglued,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said.
How crazy has it been on a 5-game Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout skid?
Since 2018, Miller is the third UC basketball coach, and the team is back in the Top 25 rankings for the first time since Mick Cronin left in 2019. Miller had been 0-for-3 in Shootouts. Dillon Mitchell responded with 11 points and 10 rebounds in his first and is sold on the product.
“Everybody talks about the whole Xavier/Cincinnati rivalry but to be a part of it and having the fans out like that pushed us to a whole another level,” Mitchell said. “We knew shots weren’t falling. We knew we were making mistakes. Digging through to the end just for the city, for us, for our brothers. If we have Fifth Third like that every game I don’t see how anyone can come in here and take a win from us.”
Said Miller, “I love it here! I found a home and I don’t want to get kicked out of my home. If we didn’t figure out a way to win this damn Crosstown Shootout, I was worried everyone was going to run my a** out of town.”
5 reactions/overreactions to UC’s 68-65 thriller over Xavier
1. Cincinnati Bearcats don’t choke at home
REACTION: It’s about time. That is valid. As I said in our Enquirer preview, there’s due, overdue and just do it. Saturday was not big on style points but no one will remember.
OVERREACTION: They almost choked. Actually, some of you tweeted me as much. Not sure if those have been deleted but if you’ve watched enough of these you know that anything is possible and leaving early might be ill-advised.
“If you walk the streets of Cincinnati 365 days a year, you’re going to hear about the Crosstown Shootout,” UC’s Miller said. “I’m glad for the next 364 I don’t have to hear people talking crap to me like they have the last three years.”
2, Somehow Jizzle James missed all of his shots in a Cincinnati Bearcats victory
REACTION: Quite honestly if you can still win a game against a top opponent when one of your better players goes 0-for-11 from the field, you’ve done OK. No one really expected Simas Lukošius to go 1-for-7 from behind the arc either, but he wound up leading UC in scoring with 14 points.
OVERREACTION: Bench him. If you’ve heard Wes Miller, he’s not worried. Plus, Day Day Thomas gave you eight points and four rebounds off the bench and James was still able to dish out a team-high five assists.
“I’ve never had a kid that was that consistent in his work ethic,” UC’s Miller said of James. “He’s been dominating our practices since the summertime. I’ve got zero worries. He won’t go 0-for-11 again.”
3. Dillon Mitchell can go shopping with his head held high
REACTION: Mitchell entered the interview room Saturday with Dan Skillings Jr. who was sporting Christmas jammie pants. Whether or not they came from Target is not known, but he had mentioned going to his neighborhood franchise when he moved to town and hearing nothing but talk of this rivalry game that was still months away.
OVERREACTION: It’s just another win. Anyone saying that is lying just as those who say they pull for both teams are fabricating the truth. This game has and always will mean something to those who attended the institutions.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘We don’t care if y’all don’t make the tournament. Just beat Xavier.’ I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I’m speechless when they say that.”
Said UC’s Miller, “I’ve had people tell me that too.”
4. Xavier’s Zach Freemantle had a chance to end both halves with a 3-pointer
REACTION: Not only did Freemantle flip momentum at halftime after UC went scoreless for over seven minutes, he had a final look to tie the game right in front of the Xavier bench. With six seconds to go the Musketeers were able to inbound the ball and get it to the 6-foot-9 grad student. He fired. He missed. Those wearing Jumpman jumped for joy.
OVERREACTION: UC did a lousy job guarding him. In the first half, that would have been accurate. But, on the whole, they kept him down in the second half and Xavier actually shot the same as UC from the field at 38%.
“I have to do a better job at keeping Zach assertive,” Xavier’s Miller said. “We have to do a better job of keeping Zach a focal point. As the game wore, it was tougher for him to get easy baskets and score.”
5. It’s on to (downtown) Cincinnati
REACTION: As jubilant as the Bearcats were with breaking their five-game skid in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout, the celebration would be limited. Friday night it’s UC and Dayton from Heritage Bank Arena, a venue infiltrated by Flyers fans last year. Dayton will be coming off a win over No. 6 Marquette. In the Maui Invitational, UD lost by just two to No. 12 North Carolina, 92-90 and beat then-No. 2 Connecticut 85-67.
OVERREACTION: Who cares? You just beat Xavier. Dayton will be formidable you won’t see a friendly environment Friday night downtown as the game wasn’t on UC’s season ticket package.
“We have a big, big-time game coming up against another elite team,” Miller said. “We can’t celebrate here. We’ve got to wake up tomorrow work harder and get better. That will be the mentality.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 reactions/overreactions from Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Xavier Saturday
