UC’s Wes Miller, James, Reed, BYU’s Young, Saunders on UC win 2/8
UC coach Wes Miller, Jizzle James, Josh Reed, BYU’s Kevin Young, Richie Saunders on UC win at Fifth Third Arena
Fresh off a payback win over BYU Saturday, the Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball squad gets another chance to exact revenge when they entertain the Utah Utes Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena.
While UC was clawing back from a halftime deficit to beat the Cougars by 18, Utah was losing in Morgantown to West Virginia 72-61. On Jan. 28, Utah spoiled UC’s Mountain time two-game road swing with a 69-66 win on Wes Miller’s birthday.
Now UC can return the favor as BYU and Utah trade places. The Cougars will be in Morgantown and the Utes will make their way to Corryville.
Return of Madsen twins to UC
Utah shooting guard Gabe Madsen scored seven consecutive points in Salt Lake City Jan. 28 to hold off the Bearcats after UC had tied the game late. In 2020-21 he was a Bearcat under John Brannen but opted out at the end of 2020 (the COVID-19 year) after just two games.
His twin Mason Madsen stayed for Brannen’s last season and the first under Wes Miller before transferring to Boston College for the next two seasons. Both are fifth-year seniors with Mason transferring to Utah to play again with Gabe. He last appeared at Fifth Third Arena for UC on Feb. 26, 2022, scoring eight points in a 56-54 loss to USF.
“Mason played for Wes and has nothing but good things to say about him,” Gabe Madsen said after Utah last beat the Bearcats.
Can Cincinnati Bearcats win 3 in a row in Big 12?
Technically, UC has yet to win three consecutive Big 12 games during the regular season. A win Tuesday would be the first time. However, last season they closed the regular campaign beating West Virginia on Senior Day 92-56 then defeated them three days later in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, 90-85. They followed that with a 72-52 win over Kansas for three in a row, before falling in the quarterfinals to Baylor March 14.
“It will only mean something to me because it’s the next game and I want to win the next game,” Miller said of a possible three-game Big 12 win streak. “My job as our leader is to focus on the things we can control. Right now, all we can control is our preparation for Utah on Tuesday. When neat little streaks and breakthroughs happen, that’s great. I haven’t thought about it and that will be the last time I think about that kind of crap. I just want to try and win the next game.”
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to win vs. Utah Utes
1. UC must continue the loose, carefree positivity that’s resulted in 2 straight wins
Wes Miller is tired of talking about how a dodgeball game sparked a new outlook after their West Virginia loss, but he brought it up first on his post-game radio show after the UCF win. It has turned out to be a brilliant maneuver as the Bearcats have had back-to-back games of 80 points or more. They are 8-0 when they light up the scoreboard with 80-plus.
“I get it, people want to read about stories and narratives,” Miller said. “The only thing dodgeball did was just give us a day to get away from all the stuff that’s been going on. It gave us a chance to go be kids, including the coaching staff, and realize if we have fun like we’re kids, we’ll play better. We’re not a damn dodgeball team.”
2. Cincinnati Bearcats must win Windex index
The Bearcats pounded BYU on the glass Saturday 32-17, outrebounding the Cougars 24-8 in the second half. But, Utah’s starters range from 6-foot-6 to 7-foot-1 and the Utes dominated the boards in Salt Lake City 41-23 a couple weeks back. UC is 8-4 this season when they outrebound an opponent and historically under Wes Miller they’re 60-19.
3. Cincinnati Bearcats must make turnovers count
In their last game, UC coaxed the Utes into 19 turnovers, while committing just six of its own. Unfortunately, that disparity only resulted in 21 points. Saturday vs. BYU they turned 12 Cougars turnovers into 24 points. Utah also won in bench points 21-20. Saturday Miller played 11 Bearcats. The most effective in terms of plus/minus was Dan Skillings Jr. with a score of 19. Skillings had eight points, five rebounds an assist and a steal in 21 minutes on the floor.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Utah Utes
Tip: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW
Series: UC leads 3-2 (Utah won 69-66 Jan. 28 in Salt Lake City)
Utah Utes scouting report
Record: 13-10 (5-7 Big 12)
Coach: Craig Smith (fourth season, 63-60)
Offense: 75.4 ppg
Defense: 70.2 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Jake Wehlin (F, 6’10”, 6.2 ppg)
Mike Sharavjamts (G, 6’9″, 6.8 ppg)
Gabe Madsen (G, 6’6″, 14.7 ppg)
Ezra Ausar (F, 6’8″, 11.1 ppg)
Lawson Lovering (C, 7’1″, 8.6 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 14-9 (4-8 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 77-52, overall 262-187)
Offense: 71. 6 ppg
Defense: 64 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 11.5 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 11.1 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 10.5 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 8.1 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 7.9 ppg)
Players to watch
While Gabe Madsen is Utah’s top scorer at 14.7 per game, Keanu Dawes hurt UC off the bench with a 12-point, nine-rebound night in their last skirmish in Salt Lake City. Dawes also just had 14 points and 11 rebounds in their loss at West Virginia. Dawes is a 6-foot-9 forward from Houston who played at Rice last season. Mason Madsen is Utah’s top 3-point shooter at 39%, but he didn’t play vs. UC Jan. 28.
Day Day Thomas has had 35 points and 10 assists in UC’s last two wins with Jizzle James scoring 39 points with seven assists. The two playmaking guards have made it work in consecutive games since Thomas returned to the starting lineup.
“It helps take the pressure off one another,” James said of playing with Thomas. “I’ve been glad that it happened and I’ve seen improvement in our offense. We just have to keep it going. (We’re) 2-0 lately, but we’re not going to dwell on it. On to the next one.”
Rankings
KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 53, Utah No. 85
NCAA NET: Cincinnati is No. 50, Utah No. 79
