Recap: Kansas State 70 Cincinnati 67

The Big 12 gauntlet began Monday night as Cincinnati closed out 2024 with a 70-67 loss at Kansas State to open conference play. 

(Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)

Kansas State had won three straight home games against ranked opponents coming into Monday night's game and extended that streak to four games as the home team forced the Bearcats into 15 turnovers, while converting 16-of-20 attempts at the free throw line.

One of the primary reasons for Cincinnati starting the season 10-1, their best non-conference record since 2012-13, was the consistency of their defense.

The Bearcats entered Monday night's game rated fifth in Kenpom's defensive efficiency, ninth nationally in allowing 58.5 ppg, 10th nationally in allowing just 27.5 percent from beyond the arc, and an 11-game streak of allowing under 70 points.

Kansas State entered Monday night on a three-game losing streak and looking to gain some momentum after finishing with a 6-5 record during non-conference play.

Coleman Hawkins scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, making 3-of-5 from deep to lead the Wildcats.

Other double figure scorers for KState included Dug McDaniel (17 points) and David N'Guessen (13 points, 7 rebounds).

"They did a nice job at making us uncomfortable offensively," said Miller following the game. "We turned it over 15 times, which frustrates me a lot, but you always have to give the opponent some credit for that...you look down at the nights Coleman Hawkins and Dug McDaniel had, they're pretty special for them. We'll be frustrated watching the film, but hats off to those guys."

Dan Skillings led Cincinnati with 18 points, finishing 3-of-5 from three. 

(Photo Credit: Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)

Dillon Mitchell contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds as UC won the rebounding battle 36-30. Aziz Bandaogo was just short of a double-double, finishing with 9 points, 9 rebounds.

Jizzle James was the only other Bearcat to reach double figures, scoring 11 points to go with four rebounds, four assists.

UC finished 47% from the field and made 7-of-19 from three but allowed the Wildcats to shoot 52% from the field in the second half, after limiting Jerome Tang's team to a 37% first half showing.

The Wildcats were outrebounded 36-30 but scored 15 points off the Bearcat turnovers.

With the loss, Cincinnati falls to 10-2 (0-1 Big 12), while Kansas State improves to 7-5 (1-0 Big 12)

"We didn't play to our identity tonight and that's the part maybe I'm most frustrated with," said Miller. 

 

Game Recap:

The Wildcats showed great intensity at both ends of the floor and took advantage of a 1-for-6 shooting start by the Bearcats, jumping out to a 12-3 lead following Dug McDaniels' three at 14:24 of the first half.

Cincinnati answered with a 6-0 run over the next 1:22 and trailed 14-9 with 11:51 remaining in the first half.

Day Day Thomas, Simas Lukosius, and Jizzle James all scored at the rim during the UC run. 

Trailing 18-12, Dillon Mitchell drained his second three of the first half. Jizzle James scored on the next UC possession to cut the KSU lead to 18-17 at 6:44 in the first half.

 

 Dug McDaniel (9) and Coleman Hawkins (7) combined for 16 of the Wildcats' first 18 points as Cincinnati was forced into six turnovers over the first 13 minutes of the first half. 

(AP Photo: Charlie Riedel)

Simas Lukosius' layup with 4:39 left in the half ended an over three-minute field goal drought and would be followed by seven straight points from Dan Skillings.

Skillings' three-pointer at 2:34 gave the Bearcats their first lead of the game, 27-26.

That lead would be short lived as Coleman Hawkins answered with a three at the other end and then scored on the following KState possession as well to put the Wildcats up 31-27 with :42 seconds remaining in the half.

Cincinnati made 48% of their first half field goals, while limiting KState to 37% from the field, but eight turnovers by the Bearcats led to 11 points by the Wildcats, which would prove to be the biggest difference in the first 20 minutes. 

Jizzle James' jumper at :13 seconds would be the final basket of the half, as KState led 31-29 at the half.

James would tie the score at 31 on UC's first possession of the second half but three turnovers and four straight misses from the field would key a 6-0 KSU run over 1:25 as the Wildcats led 37-31 at 16:37 of the second half.

Kansas State extended their lead to 43-34 following three's by Brendan Hausen and CJ Jones on consecutive possessions. The Wildcats made five straight field goal attempts to help extend their lead to nine.

Dan Skillings three-pointer cut the K-State lead to 43-37 with 14:37 remaining in the game. 

Despite KState starting the second half 7-of-11 from the field, the Bearcats trailed by four, 47-43, following a Day Day Thomas basket with 11:45 left to play. 

Another three by Coleman Hawkins would extend the KState lead to 52-45 with 9:55 left on the clock.

The Bearcats battled back to tie the score at 56 with 5:31 remaining on a Dillon Mitchell layup but Mitchell was called for a foul on the next possession, leading to a three point play by KState's David N'Guessen.

With KState leading 63-61 with under a minute remaining, Max Jones put a dagger in the heart of the Bearcats, hitting a tough floater over Dillon Mitchell to put the home team back up four with :46 seconds on the clock.

After Aziz Bandaogo cut the KSU lead to two with :27 seconds left, Coleman Hawkins was sent to the line with :23 seconds left.

Hawkins missed the second free throw after making the first, but would be bailed out by Max Jones as he tipped the rebound out to CJ Jones, leading to two more free throws for the home team.

Dillon Mitchell scored the final basket of the game with a tip in with :01 second on the clock.

 

Key Stats/Notes:

- It was an underwhelming performance by the Bearcats' leading scorer, Simas Lukosius. The senior wing was limited to four points in 31 minutes and missed both of his three-point attempts. Lukosius scored with 4:39 remaining in the first half to cut the KSU lead to 22-20, but would not score the rest of the game. UC will have to get more production out of Simas if they are going to have the type of the season they think they are capable of.

 

- Day Day Thomas came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Thomas had two opportunities in the final two minutes with the Bearcats trailing 63-59, but missed a three and layup. Thomas did finish with three assists to just one turnover.

 

- Cincinnati starters combined for 12 turnovers. The Bearcats entered Monday night fourth nationally, averaging just 8.6 turnovers per game. Unforced errors, bad passes, and not finishing in transition all contributed to this loss.

 

- Conner Hickman returned from a foot injury after sitting out against Grambling State, but was limited to zero points in 14 minutes. Arrinten Page and Tyler Betsey were also held scoreless in limited action. UC will have to get more production from their bench to win in tough road environments within the Big 12.

 

- The free throw disparity was noticeable. K-State finished 16-of-20, while UC made just 4-of-7 attempts. The Bearcats finished with 16 fouls, compared to just eight for the home team. 

 

- Kansas State turned the ball over 11 times but did a good job limiting UC to just eight points off of those miscues.

 

Final Thoughts

UC has now lost their two toughest true road games on their schedule and struggled to defend the opposing team's best player. 

"I think we have a team that's good enough defensively to cover good players and good teams," said Miller. 

This was a game UC had multiple opportunities to take control of, but simply couldn't get over the hump, consistently turning the ball over in key situations. UC won the rebounding battle but KState's seven offensive rebounds all came during key moments of the game and led to second chance points.

"I thought our group showed some character to dig back in it and tie the game and then we just couldn't sustain it enough to turn the corner."

 

UC led for just :24 seconds and finished 13-of-20 on lay ups.

Wes Miller's team will have to find a way to play better in games like this if they are going to be a serious factor within the conference race.

 

Up Next:

Arizona at Fifth Third Arena

Saturday 2:30 pm