Cincinnati coach Wes Miller, Thomas, Clemson’s Brownell on Tigers win
Cincinnati Bearcats coach Wes Miller, Day DayThomas, Clemson’s Brownell on Tigers win over UC in Greenville
- The Cincinnati Bearcats face Lipscomb in their final non-conference game before starting Big 12 play.
- Coach Wes Miller may change the starting lineup after a second-half rally against Clemson featured a different rotation.
Looking for a post-Christmas non-conference win, the Cincinnati Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena Monday, Dec. 29 to face Lipscomb.
It’s the final tune-up before the Big 12 schedule, which features five Top 25 teams and two more receiving votes, begins. Win or lose, it will be the first season head coach Wes Miller’s squad enters Big 12 play with fewer than 10 wins.
Of their Quad 1 opportunities which are greatly valued by the NCAA selection committee, the Bearcats are 0-3. All of the losses came in “neutral site” games vs. Louisville at Heritage Bank Center and against Georgia in Atlanta and against Clemson Dec. 21 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Buy Cincinnati Bearcats tickets
“Of the four Power Four games we’ve lost (Xavier included), we’ve had a chance to win every single one of them,” Miller said. “There’s been an opportunity or second-half lead in every single one of them with opportunities to win. It’s frustrating we haven’t won more of them.”
Miller compared Clemson’s physical play to that of a Big 12 or Big Ten team rather than an ACC squad.
Cincinnati Bearcats lineup changes?
We won’t know for sure until a few minutes before the Lipscomb game, but based on UC’s frantic second-half comeback against Clemson, there could be new starters, new rotations or both. Day Day Thomas played 34 minutes and Baba Miller played 30. Jizzle James didn’t play for nearly the first seven minutes, then played 29 minutes from there. Sencire Harris played 28 minutes after not playing the first five.
When Wes Miller saw Thomas, James, Harris, Miller and Thiam rally the Bearcats from a game-high deficit of 27 points (38-11) to 38-18 at halftime, he reinserted the group to start the second half.
Shon Abaev hit UC’s first points of the game with a 3-pointer at 13:39 and that was it for him in the scorebook. He played 14 minutes and just three in the second half. Kerr Kriisa played nine first-half minutes and his day was done.
“You start to assimilate a player like Jizzle back into the team, there’s just a gravity he has on the floor,” Miller said. “He’s done a tremendous job of doing it with grace and being so humble. There’s a presence he has on the floor and that’s going to certainly affect rotations and lineups. There’s no way around it as we move into league play here.”
Advice from Roy Williams?
Miller’s college coach from North Carolina Roy Williams was in attendance and spoke to him before he entered the media room after the Clemson game.
“It’s been a hard three or four weeks for Cincinnati basketball,” Miller said. “There’s no way around that. We’ll get back to work as coaches. We’re not going to take a dang break. Sometimes you have to put things in perspective. Most of my family lives in North Carolina, I’ve got family and friends down here and my college coach, other than my parents, the most important man in my life. I’m a pretty lucky guy, even though it hasn’t felt that way for the last three or four weeks.”
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Lipscomb
1. Cincinnati Bearcats must dig hole for opponent, not themselves
Pack the shovels and bury the opponent early in the game. Then, don’t get complacent like Clemson almost did against the Bearcats.
The Bearcats made any fans who came to Greenville think about enjoying the 60-degree weather outside rather than watching the clobbering inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena. It was 14-0 before Abaev got UC on the board at 13:39, then 23-3 when Thomas had the next bucket at 9:04. With 6:49 left in the half, UC was being paddled 30-5 and at 3:01 it was 38-11.
It’s likely many TVs were shut off and even more likely that many were shocked to find UC in a one-possession game later. Just imagine if they had only trailed by 10 at halftime.
2. DO NOT underestimate Lipscomb
The Bison have the same record as the Bearcats. A common opponent is Western Carolina, a team UC beat in the season opener 94-63 and Lipscomb beat 83-62 in November. More telling is their Dec. 16 game at Cameron Indoor Stadium against No. 3 Duke. The Blue Devils only led by three at halftime before going on to win 97-73.
The last thing this program needs is “Eastern Michigan II,” arguably UC’s worst loss this season. And, for the record, Lipscomb had a better NCAA NET ranking than UC heading into Christmas.
3. Cincinnati Bearcats must hope good health is around corner
Though redshirt freshman Tyler McKinley dressed and warmed up, he did not play against Clemson’s physical post presence. Without him, UC still outrebounded the Tigers 36-27 with Halvine Dzellat as the first big man off the bench, getting five rebounds in 14 minutes. Miller admitted McKinley would have helped.
“Not having him against a team like this is very difficult,” Miller said post-Clemson. “He’s the most physical player we have. It’s a big blow. Things happen and you’ve just got to figure it out.”
The absence of Jalen Haynes, who has been out since a preseason injury, has also hurt the Bearcats. If he were to return, it would be a major addition to the post play.
Tip: Monday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW
Series: UC leads 3-0 (Bearcats last won Dec. 2, 2020, 67-55)
Lipscomb Bison scouting report
Record: 7-5
Coach: Kevin Carroll (first season 7-5, overall 128-140)
Offense: 83.3 ppg
Defense: 74.6 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Grant Asman (F, 6’11”, 14.7 ppg)
Mateo Esmeraldo (G, 6’1″, 11.7 ppg)
Titas Sarginnas (F, 6’4″, 10 ppg)
Charlie Williams (C, 6’10”, 9.6 ppg)
Or Ashkenazi (F, 6’5″, 3.6 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 7-5
Coach: Wes Miller (89-64, fifth season; 274-199 overall)
Offense: 74.7 ppg
Defense: 65.8 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 13.3 ppg)
Kerr Kriisa (G, 6’3″, 7.6 ppg) OR Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 13 ppg)
Shon Abaev (G, 6’8″, 11.6 ppg) OR Sencire Harris (G, 6’4″, 7.3 ppg)
Baba Miller (F, 6’11”, 13.9 ppg)
Moustapha Thiam (C, 7’2″, 10.3 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats, Lipscomb Bison to watch
Lipscomb’s 6-foot-11 Grant Asman tops them in scoring and rebounding with 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while hitting 43% of his 3-pointers. Lipscomb brings guards Ross Candelino and Ethan Duncan,who combine to average just over 20 points a game, off the bench.
UC’s Baba Miller had seven points and seven boards against Clemson, but had just one point and a rebound at halftime. Miller has six double-doubles this season, one more than he had at Florida Atlantic all of last season. Obviously, UC plays differently when Jizzle James is in, so you can expect his role to increase.
Rankings
KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 73, Lipscomb is No. 133
NCAA NET: Lipscomb is No. 108, Cincinnati is No. 110
