WVU Basketball: Cincinnati Bearcats Preview

Opponent Preview of West Virginia’s Big 12 Home Opener vs Cincinnati BearcatsThe West Virginia Mountaineers will be back in Morgantown on Tuesday night after falling to #3 Iowa State on the road in the Big 12 opener in Ames. The 9-5 West Virginia team is yet to lose a game at home at the Hope Coliseum, and they will face an 8-6 (0-1) Cincinnati team, which will make the trip to Morgantown from the bordering Buckeye state. Let’s take a look at the Bearcats’ team as they get set to visit WVU. How They Got HereCincinnati entered Big 12 play with an 8-5 record. They have three non-conference opponents, including the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, who they beat by 17. 2 of Cincinnati’s losses came against teams that West Virginia also fell to. The Bearcats lost to Xavier by 5 and Clemson by 3. These are two teams that West Virginia lost to as part of the Charleston Classic in November. The Bearcats also fell to then-6th-ranked Louisville Cardinals in November. In a strikingly similar fashion to that of West Virginia, Cincinnati has yet to add a “resume-building” win to its portfolio. All of their wins come against mid-major and low-major programs. Like WVU, Cincinnati opened Big 12 play with a tough test when it hosted #8 Houston. Cincinnati held a 10-point lead early in the second before the Cougars put their foot on the gas and pulled out a 67-60 win on the road. Numbers to Know15Cincinnati committed 15 turnovers in the home loss to one of the nation’s top defenses in Houston. The 15 turnovers are only slightly above the season average for Cincinnati, which is averaging the most turnovers per game in the Big 12 with 13.2. 31.6In the first 2 games to open Big 12 play, WVU will have faced the league’s best and worst 3-point shooting teams. Iowa State is shooting an impressive 41.9% from downtown and made 13-of-25 in the win over WVU. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is making just 31.6% of its 3-point attempts, all while averaging the second-most attempts from beyond the arc. 74.6Through the team’s 14 games, there is only one team in the Big 12 averaging fewer points than West Virginia, and that is Cincinnati by a slim margin. WVU is averaging 74.9 points, and the Bearcats are averaging 74.6. It will be interesting to see how West Virginia’s defense plays against an offense that has struggled at times this season. Players to KnowA pair of familiar faces will be back at the Hope Coliseum on Tuesday night. Sencire Harris, who spent last season as a starter for the Mountaineers, has since taken his talents to Cincinnati, where he is averaging 6.9 points per game. The defensive-minded Junior guard shot an abysmal 11.3% from 3-point territory as a Mountaineer on nearly 2 attempts per game. College basketball journeyman Kerr Kriisa will also be suiting up for the Bearcats on Tuesday. Kriisa spent the 2023-24 season in Morgantown and is averaging 7.3 points and 3.8 assists per game this season. The Bearcats are led by 6’11 Baba Miller, who is averaging a double-double this season of 13.4 points and 11.2 rebounds to go along with 1.5 blocks. Miller spent last season at FAU, where he averaged over 11 points and 7 rebounds. Senior Day Day Thomas is a familiar face for Cincinnati, who has averaged in double-figures through his previous 2 seasons. This season, he is averaging 13 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, all of which are career highs. Although Cincinnati struggles as a team from beyond the arc, Thomas is making over 46% of his nearly 6 attempts per game. Game InformationWest Virginia will host Cincinnati on January 6th at 7PM ET on ESPN2.