Oklahoma 3/5 8:00 ESPN+

[Lobot]

Off to Norman for our one and only trip to OU for what will probably be a very long time.

Oklahoma comes in at 7-9 in conference and 19-10 overall. They've lost four of their last five but almost took down Houston in Norman on Saturday. They only beat OK St by two in Bedlam but you throw the records out in that game like you do for UC and X. They are still well balanced team led by McCollum and Oweh with Jalon Moore in the paint.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...stats/_/id/201

[GoBearcats31]

ESPN+ Mark Neely / Fran Fraschilla

[GoBearcats31]

Player to watch is Simas Lukosius. Simas has hit 3 3's in his last four games (3/4 OSU, 3/6 TCU, 3/6 Houston, 3/8 Kansas State). And he had a game-high 17 points in Oklahoma's 69-65 win at UC in January.

[sedz]

Newman was the best player on the floor in the first matchup, posting a game high 4.4 net points. He scored 14 points on only 9 shots to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Simas took 14 shots but had zero assists. Skillings had the worst game, scoring only a single point in 18 minutes.

We did a good job defending the rim, holding them under 50% there as Vik blocked 5 shots. Both teams shot about the same (45% vs 44% effective field goals). We got outrebounded but won the turnover battle, so number of shots put up was about even (59 vs 58). The main problem was free throws. We only made 64% while Oklahoma converted 89%.

We've got to be aware that Darthard is a one dimensional shooter. He puts up 4 threes a game but has only scored 10 times at the rim all season. Can't fall for jab steps or pump fakes.

And if big man John Hugley is playing, we need to be aware of his shooting from the perimeter, where he makes 39%. He made one in the first game. But he missed the last 5 games, so not sure if he will play tomorrow. Freshman Luke Northweather has filled those minutes as the reserve 5. He will also step out and shoot the three.

[Carthage World]

Newman was the best player on the floor in the first matchup, posting a game high 4.4 net points. He scored 14 points on only 9 shots to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Simas took 14 shots but had zero assists. Skillings had the worst game, scoring only a single point in 18 minutes.

We did a good job defending the rim, holding them under 50% there as Vik blocked 5 shots. Both teams shot about the same (45% vs 44% effective field goals). We got outrebounded but won the turnover battle, so number of shots put up was about even (59 vs 58). The main problem was free throws. We only made 64% while Oklahoma converted 89%.

We've got to be aware that Darthard is a one dimensional shooter. He puts up 4 threes a game but has only scored 10 times at the rim all season. Can't fall for jab steps or pump fakes.

And if big man John Hugley is playing, we need to be aware of his shooting from the perimeter, where he makes 39%. He made one in the first game. But he missed the last 5 games, so not sure if he will play tomorrow. Freshman Luke Northweather has filled those minutes as the reserve 5. He will also step out and shoot the three.

I was snooping around on Twitter and it doesn't appear as if Hugley will be back for this game.

[GoBearcats31]

Morning #s

NET - Oklahoma 41, UC 45
KenPom - Oklahoma 37, UC 47
Torvik - Oklahoma 37, UC 48

Sooners favored by 5.5 points.

[leeraymond]

UC should be in desperation mode right now. This is a REVENGE game. This is a big game for both teams, however it is a bigger game for UC than for Oklahoma. For UC this represents a quad 1 game. A win here for UC keeps its bubble hopes alive. Up until Miller, except for Tony Yates, every UC coach that that I have watched was pretty good at routinely beating other coaches in the conference. For instance, although it took Cronin about 4 years to put together a really decent team, about time he played every team 3 or 4 times in the BIG East, he had beaten every team at least once (I am going from memory here). Miller has played some coaches 4 to 8 times and still has not beaten them. That really is a problem for a coach that is fighting to prove himself on a big stage. I am sure the UC administration has also taken note of that fact. As a coach, one of the worse things is to lose two and three times to the same team in a season. Miller has got to step-it-up tonight and the players as well. This is a PRIDE game for UC. You do not want Oklahoma to beat you twice in the regular season. However, with Miller, it is a strong possibility. You all know it.

This is a BIG game for Cincinnati. I hope that they play like it and get the MUCH NEEDED win. THIS IS REVENGE.

[sedz]

Miller has played some coaches 4 to 8 times and still has not beaten them. That really is a problem for a coach that is fighting to prove himself on a big stage. I am sure the UC administration has also taken note of that fact

Who are you referring to other than Kelvin Sampson?

This reminds me of how people wanted Cronin fired when he lost to UConn in three straight conference tournaments. Fans latch onto some specific negative criteria and act like that's the minimum threshold we must clear. I (and I'm sure the administration) couldn't care less if we lose every game to some teams over a decade (other than Xavier) as long as we are consistently in the tournament. That's the goal. We're not there yet. This game will have very little impact. It will boost our tourney odds from like 1% to 2%.

[London 'Cat]

Who are you referring to other than Kelvin Sampson?

This reminds me of how people wanted Cronin fired when he lost to UConn in three straight conference tournaments. Fans latch onto some specific negative criteria and act like that's the minimum threshold we must clear. I (and I'm sure the administration) couldn't care less if we lose every game to some teams over a decade (other than Xavier) as long as we are consistently in the tournament. That's the goal. We're not there yet. This game will have very little impact. It will boost our tourney odds from like 1% to 2%.

I agree with sedz here. The ‘Cats need to win the BigXII tournament to get to the NCAA tournament. Beating OK will not move the needle enough to make a material difference.

[Lobot]

I'm holding out minimal hope we can win out in the regular season and take at least one in the tournament and see where we're at. A loss tonight and it's probably time to eat your feelings in a bathtub of Skyline.

[red_n_black_attack]

I agree with sedz here. The ‘Cats need to win the BigXII tournament to get tithe NCAA tournament. Beating OK will not move the needle enough to make a material difference.

Winning today and Saturday against WVU could mean a bye in the earliest part of the Big 12 bracket. K St is more likely to lose to both Kansas and ISU. Oklahoma could lose to us and at Texass Saturday. Lose to Oklahoma and there is no shot of that bye, finishing 9th in a conference expected to get 10 bids, plus one less game to make run in Big 12 tourney feasible.

Beat the Sooners!! It won't help get us in the Tourney, but it gives us a better chance to make a run in Kansas City.

[sedz]

Yeah, I want to win every game. I'm not trying to say this game doesn't matter, just that it's no more important than any other game. It's not more important than the game we just won or the three losses before that. 8-10 in conference at least gives us a shot if we get a couple big upsets in KC. 9-9 probably would have had us on the right side of the bubble. Unfortunately those two bad losses aren't going anywhere, and even a win tonight only gets us to 4-9 in Q1. None of this should affect how the team plays. Our guys should be fighting to win every game no matter what the circumstances.

[D.A.H.]

tonite is more important, because they've played themselves onto / near the bubble. if they win, saturday becomes more inportant. its about timing - uc is running out of it and needs to get it done now

[GoBearcats31]

Viktor Lakhin might be in a boot? See @bearcatbunch on X/Twitter.

[sedz]

If Vik and Dan are both out, maybe Ody will finally get some decent playing time. Oklahoma isn't very big though, with 6'7 Jalon Moore and 6'6 Rivaldo Soares mostly manning the 4 spot. So we could probably get away with a 4 guard lineup if the guards get in there and rebound.