Recap: Cincinnati 87 Oklahoma State 68

After losing their final three games of the regular season to Houston, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State, Tuesday's rematch against Oklahoma State in the first round of the  Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament provided an opportunity for Wes Miller's team to once again hit the reset button as they head into the final stage of their 2024-25 season.

 

Following Saturday's 78-67 loss at Oklahoma State, Wes Miller mentioned his team's lack of consistency when it came to effort, but noted that they had consistency been a resilient group who bounced back after facing adversity.

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/ Big 12 Conference)

 

 

Miller's comments proved to be true as Cincinnati opened the Big 12 Tournament with a dominating 87-68 win over the Cowboys. 

 

"Thought our guys played with great effort tonight and great activity," Miller stated following their win. " You know, we got our hands on a lot of balls and I think that's why you see the high steal numbers. I thought we had good pop."

 

" Then you look down at the (stat) lines.  I think when you play with great effort, you play with great energy, you give yourself a chance to do other things on the offensive end and you look down and a bunch of guys had some really good nights."

 

 (Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

Day Day Thomas paced the Bearcats with a game-high 21 points, converting 7-of-12 from the field, as well as 5-of-6 free throws. 

 

Thomas also finished with six of UC's 18 steals as the Bearcats forced the Cowboys into 24 turnovers. The 18 steals by UC marked the third highest total in program history.

 

" I think when our team is aggressive, active, and confident we play our best basketball," Miller said. "I thought early in the game offensively, we were really aggressive....I liked the confidence and the aggressiveness.  When our team is active, they're confident and aggressive and they play their best basketball, and I thought we had that from a lot of guys tonight."

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

Dillon Mitchell recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds as UC won the rebounding battle 40-36.

 

 

Josh Reed keyed the Bearcats' 38-26 halftime lead, scoring 15 first-half points and a career-high 19 points for the game. Reed was 8-of-12 from the floor, while also connecting on 2-of-3 attempts from deep.

 

 

"I thought he got back to playing the way he's been playing, confidently, making plays.  I
 thought his cutting off the ball in the first half was a separator for us," Miller explained.

 

 

While Reed was the key for the Bearcats during the first half, it was Dan Skillings' production off the bench during the second half that allowed UC to pull away and put Oklahoma State away. 

 

" Dan has been consistent in coming into the game and giving us great energy and great pop, and I thought he did that again tonight." Miller said.  "And all of the sudden on the fast break there the game opens up for him above the rim.  I thought a lot of guys contributed tonight and I thought, again, it started with the little stuff."

 

Skillings scored all 13 of his points during the second half, finishing 6-of-13 from the field on five dunks and a layup. Skillings activity and aggressiveness around the rim heavily contributed to UC outscoring OSU 48-24 in points in the paint. 

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/ Big 12 Conference)

 

UC made all 10 of their dunk attempts and finished 10-of-17 on layups.

 

"We were just sharing the ball well, having fun, playing as a team.  You know, taking advantage of every match-up we had and just playing freely, playing confident," UC forward Josh Reed explained.

 

Despite making just 6-of-23 three-point attempts, UC still finished 48% from the field and made 15-of-20 free throws.

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

 

With the win, UC will now advance to the second round where they will meet fifth-seed Iowa State. 

 

 

" I haven't had a chance to dive into that one yet because we were so concerned about this one," Miller said when asked about the next game. " This is a one-game tournament.  We have a couple of assistants and guys that have been working hard on the next game,
 so I don't know if I'm prepared to answer that yet. But as soon as I'm done with you guys the next thing I will do is start working on Iowa State."

 

 

Iowa State defeated UC February 15th in Ames, 81-70, as the Bearcats were outscored by 11 in the second half after battling to a 39-39 tie during the first half. 

 

 

"As a team we've been talking about (effort and activity) a lot, just focusing on the next
 game, focusing on coming back and getting better the next day," Reed explained. "And like Coach was saying, just take it one game at a time and go from there."

 

 

Key Stat:

 

Defensively, UC limited OSU leading scorer Bryce Thompson to six points, while also holding Abou Ousmane to four points. Ousmane led OSU in scoring against UC on Saturday with 24 points. Ousmane battled foul trouble during the first half and fouled out after picking up a technical foul with 14:07 remaining in the second half.

 

"I tell you what, I think our guys were aware of the game he had and they were -- I could tell in practice yesterday the way they were talking, we were going through their stuff that they were very attentive," Miller explained.  "Because they understood what happened in Stillwater.  I thought they were geared up.  The other thing, he gets in foul trouble early and that probably affects it, too, so it always, kind of goes both ways, but we did a much better job on him today than we did in Stillwater."

 

 

Postgame Video: Wes Miller, Josh Reed