The Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team flew home from Stillwater Saturday after falling to Oklahoma State for their third straight Big 12 loss. After getting NCAA tournament at-large bid consideration by beating Baylor Feb. 25, the Bearcats have yet to win in March.
Saturday, UC looked as lackluster as it did against Kansas State on Senior Night, getting down 18 points in the first half. The Oklahoma State lead was shaved to eight by halftime, then with 4:31 remaining, Simas Lukošius nailed a corner 3-pointer to get UC within a point at 66-65.
Unfortunately, they would not score until a garbage-time dunk by Dan Skillings Jr. in the final seconds, losing 78-67. Oklahoma State finished on a 12-2 run. Jizzle James led UC with 17 points, but had just two in the second half. Skillings showed some of his old flare with 15 points, four assists, two steals and a block but somehow couldn’t find a rebound in over 27 minutes of court time.
“We have to make sure we bring whatever it was that we ate or whatever it was that we did before the game to Kansas City,” Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz said. “I thought we did a much better job on Jizzle James in the second half. I thought defensively we were there as he was shooting more. We had more sense of urgency in guarding him and we did a better job keeping him in front of us.”
UC coach Wes Miller more subdued in Oklahoma State press conference
After a postgame blow-up Wednesday when the Bearcats offered up a disappointing effort on Senior Night vs. Kansas State, Miller was much more composed after Saturday’s loss. Perhaps his most recent vote of confidence from Athletic Director John Cunningham played a part. The bottom line is he’ll have roughly a day to prepare for the same team that led the Bearcats for over 34 minutes of the game at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“Consistency has not been where we need it to be,” Miller said. “But, resilience has been consistent. It might not always happen right away when I want it to happen, but I haven’t seen them give in completely. It’s not a group of guys that are low-character that aren’t going to respond.”
Miller pointed to UC starting Big 12 play at 2-8 before winning five of the next seven. But, since the 7-10 league mark after the Baylor win, the Bearcats have lost one game as an underdog (Houston) and two as a favorite (Kansas State and Oklahoma State).
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 tournament
1. UC Bearcats must not dig an early hole
There were five lead changes in Saturday’s game with Oklahoma State, all in the first half. UC’s last lead came on a Tyler Betsey 3-pointer that put them up 12-10 less than seven minutes into the game. Nine minutes later, the Bearcats were down 18 points on the road, which rarely results in victory. They cut the lead to eight points at halftime, but again, they’ve only won twice this season when trailing at halftime (Xavier and BYU, both at Fifth Third Arena).
Momentum briefly swayed when UC got within a point, but four-minute scoring droughts can haunt and the Bearcats couldn’t finish making them 1-14 in games where they’re behind with five minutes to play.
2. Stopping Oklahoma State’s Ousmane should be UC priority
Cowboys big man Abou Ousmane played large on his Senior Night, even though it was his lone season at Oklahoma State. To add insult to injury, Ousmane had 10 points and 11 rebounds in last season’s Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout when Xavier beat the Bearcats at Cintas Center. There’s apparently a personal rivalry between Ousmane and Bandaogo dating back to a tie-up in that game Dec. 9, 2023. Ousmane outfought Bandaogo for a loose ball in front of the Xavier student section.
“I know Aziz kind of personally so I was going to have a good game against him to be honest,” Ousmane said.
Bandaogo credited Ousmane afterward but Miller deflected any references to the previous meeting between the two pivots in Cincinnati.
“All I care about is us playing well,” Miller said. “He played very well. I’m not pleased with how we defended him.”
3. UC Bearcats must leave best players in game
Miller religiously has played a deep rotation all season with anywhere from nine to 11 Bearcats getting in the game. At times, the pattern has worked but sometimes a “hot” player has had to take a seat. Given TV timeout time, some coaches, like Baylor’s Scott Drew, think that’s enough time for a player to catch their wind. There is no right answer, but in a “win or go home” scenario, the hottest hands should stay on the floor. Not one Bearcat has averaged 30 minutes of playing time this season with Jizzle James leading at 27.1.
Postseason TV breaks tend to be longer. There are 25 Big 12 players averaging 30 minutes or more per game. Big 12 No. 1 seed Houston has three players on that list and most of the upper echelon teams have multiple players averaging 30 minutes or more.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Tip: 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday (T-Mobile Center 18,000)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/ 700WLW
Series: Oklahoma State leads 5-2 (Cowboys won Saturday, 78-67)
Oklahoma State scouting report
Record: 15-16 (7-13 Big 12)
Coach: Steve Lutz (first year, 15-16)
Offense: 72.7 ppg
Defense: 76.2 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Bryce Thompson (G, 6’6″, 12.4 ppg)
Arturo Dean (G, 5’11”, 7.5 ppg)
Abou Ousmane (F, 6’10”, 12. 5 ppg)
Jamyron Keller (G, 6’3″, 5.2 ppg)
Robert Jennings II (F, 6’7″, 5.5 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 17-14 (7-13 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 80-57, overall 265-192)
Offense: 70.5 ppg
Defense: 65.3 ppg
Projected starting lineup
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 12.9 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 9.5 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 9.4 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 7.7 ppg)
Josh Reed (F, 6’7″, 4.2 ppg)
OR
Dan Skillings Jr. (G-F, 6’6″, 9.2 ppg)
Players to watch
Ousmane obviously should be a target for UC after shooting 50% from the field with 24 points, eight boards and a plus/minus tally of 21 for the Cowboys Saturday. At 245 pounds, he outweighs every Bearcat. He was Xavier’s leading rebounder last season and played for North Texas when they won the NIT championship, so he brings a veteran, savvy court presence that must be matched.
For UC, Dan Skillings Jr. returned to double figures (15) for the first time in six games and it was his best Big 12 effort since the first three conference games when he had 18 against Kansas State, Arizona and Baylor. Skillings hasn’t started since Jan. 28, but Miller sent him to the floor after halftime Saturday. The Dan Skillings Jr. of last year’s Big 12 tournament would certainly be welcome.
“I thought he was playing well, with a lot of pop,” Miller said. “His play was impactful. We decided to make a change to get some energy in that starting lineup. I thought he played better basketball for sure.”
Rankings
KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 57, Oklahoma State No. 96
NCAA.NET: Cincinnati is No. 50, Oklahoma State No. 94
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can Cincinnati Bearcats basketball win rematch vs. Oklahoma State?
