Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/4 7:00 ESPN+

[Lobot]

Time to tip off the season on Monday. It's always hard to scout smaller schools especially when no one's played a game that counts yet. If KenPom is any indication, we will not have an issue here. Pine Bluff is 355 out of 364 in the ratings. The Golden Lions were 8th in the SWAC last season. Here's last season's stats. I honestly do not know how many of these guys are back for this year.

UAPB is an HBCU that funds it's program through buy games and as such they are playing 14 of their 1st 18 games on the road. They do not have an extended homestand until Jan 25, 2025.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...tats/_/id/2029

[bearcatbret]

The under 60-percent free throw stat worries me. Games could come down to knocking these down. Cincinnati Rolls to 109-54 Win on Opening Night - University of Cincinnati Athletics

[KevMan1976]

I think Wes is trying to use Mitchell in a way that he's not historically been used. As a ball handler and play maker, rather than as a finisher at the rim. He did not look ready to take on that new role, time will tell how he manages it in the future. The good news is that even if all he brings on offense is finishing at the rim, plus an occasion straight line drive finish he's still a big net plus given his defense and rebounding. If he doesn't show more as a ball handler/shooter by the time we start facing good teams, I assume Wes will give him a redefined role.

I believe you are spot on here. Someone was talking about it during the game (Terry maybe??). Said that's precisely what the coaching staff is asking of Mitchell, pushing him out of his comfort zone, taking on new responsibilities. Sounded like once he gets settled in, they expect him to be a key component going forward.

Overall, this team appears to have more in the way of sheer talent and potential than I've seen from this ball club in quite some time.

Excited to see how things develop. Go Bearcats!

[leeraymond]

What will the defense do this season? Last night, the defense was dominating. UC held APB to 54 points on 33.9% shooting for the game and held them to 26.3% from the 3-point line. Cincinnati really locked APB down on defense in the second half; holding APB to 29.6% overall and 11.1% from three. UC also outrebounded APB by 23; 48 to 25. UC also turned APB over 17 times to 9.

The UC defensive rotations were pretty good last night in the late 1st half and the entire 2nd half. UC gave APB very few open looks. If UC can continue to play dominating defense through-out the season, I really like its chances. However, one game does NOT a season makes (fancy language). Let's see what happens when UC gets to Georgia Tech, Villanova, Xavier, and Dayton in the non-conference. So far, so good from what I saw last night. I hope that the team can continue to play dominating defense.

[zykarious]

i know that this will be really old school, but, Mitchell looked extremely nervous / anxious - like he was trying to do too much every time he touched the ball - once he settles in, he'll be fine

I think Wes is trying to use Mitchell in a way that he's not historically been used. As a ball handler and play maker, rather than as a finisher at the rim. He did not look ready to take on that new role, time will tell how he manages it in the future. The good news is that even if all he brings on offense is finishing at the rim, plus an occasion straight line drive finish he's still a big net plus given his defense and rebounding. If he doesn't show more as a ball handler/shooter by the time we start facing good teams, I assume Wes will give him a redefined role.

[D.A.H.]

Simas takes statistical player of the game with 8.8 net points and 22.1 BPM. Second was Hickman with 6.5 net points.

Mitchell turned in the worst performance with negative 4.4 net points. He was 5 for 11 from the field, 0 for 2 from the stripe, and had two turnovers. He's got a lot of potential but needs to make better decisions.

i know that this will be really old school, but, Mitchell looked extremely nervous / anxious - like he was trying to do too much every time he touched the ball - once he settles in, he'll be fine

[Carthage World]

I was totally surprised when Dzellat took the floor in the last minute. I thought the team was still trying to get him eligible to play. Does anyone have an update on Dzellat's eligibility?

Wes talked about him a bit during the post-game presser.

He was originally only cleared to practice and was supposed to redshirt. McKinley's injury led to the staff looking into Dzellat's situation more, and after finding out some new information, they filed a waiver for immediate eligibility and it got approved.

Wes said Dzellat arrived knowing very little English and that Aziz has been translating for him during practices, but that he's also made great strides (with English and basketball) over the past few weeks.

[sedz]

This is just my opinion, I may be wrong, fell free to correct me, but Fredrick looked like a deer in the headlights (especially on defense) when he was in the floor.

The numbers support your opinion. CJ had a negative defensive BPM in this game. Only Rayvon was worse.

[sedz]

Simas takes statistical player of the game with 8.8 net points and 22.1 BPM. Second was Hickman with 6.5 net points.

Mitchell turned in the worst performance with negative 4.4 net points. He was 5 for 11 from the field, 0 for 2 from the stripe, and had two turnovers. He's got a lot of potential but needs to make better decisions.

[cpawstoney]

This was my first time seeing the team in action in the arena. Here are my thoughts:

Bandaogo is much more polished this year and will give us good minutes down low. Page will give him some relief if he can stay out of foul trouble.

Mitchell needs to stay away from forcing the ball to score on offense like he did early in the game. Mitchell started having success scoring in the second half when he made himself available down low under the basket. Whether he scores or not, Mitchell brings a lot to the team on defense and will disruptive to opposing teams.

Jizzle James is back with his explosiveness and will be the team leader at point guard. Look for Conner Hickman to give him relief at that position during the game. He has a different style than Jizzle but can score when needed and plays strong defensively.

Skillings is clearly our most potent weapon on both offensive and defense. Dan was first to a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. When he is on the floor the team has a second team leader.

When the ball is falling for Lukosius we will be hard to beat. He was 3-5 from three point range with a team high of twenty points. Even when Simas has an off night shooting he will help the team with his defensive play.

In the limited minutes logged by both Betsy and Griffith they both demonstrated a nice stroke and could help the team when it needs an offensive boost.

This is just my opinion, I may be wrong, fell free to correct me, but Fredrick looked like a deer in the headlights (especially on defense) when he was in the floor. His play appeared tentative. I didn't watch Reed on defense but I saw nothing positive or negative during his playing time.

Oh yea, the big guys still haven't figured out how to make free throws..

I was totally surprised when Dzellat took the floor in the last minute. I thought the team was still trying to get him eligible to play. Does anyone have an update on Dzellat's eligibility?

Overall the team has taken a huge step forward from last year in talent, play and effort. I was happy to see Miller on the sideline still coaching the team like the game was on the line even after we were up forty points. I'm looking forward to successful season.

[red_n_black_attack]

A dominant win against an opponent a team like UC should dominate. Don’t read much into this as APB is ranked ~350 of ~360 teams. UC did what was expected - took APB to the woodshed.

I'm excited for this win because the offense was efficient from almost any distance. Recent BEarcat teams have not had so many prolific scorers, and our number of open/contested made three's has me feeling giddy for this team. Yeah it was the #350 team, but given how tough we played nearly every Big 12 Team last year, a few missed/made 3's would've been the difference.

[Lobot]

The ESPN predictor for this game had UAPB at at 1% chance of wining going into the game. I tweeted it earlier because I've just never seen that, ever.

[London 'Cat]

A dominant win against an opponent a team like UC should dominate. Don’t read much into this as APB is ranked ~350 of ~360 teams. UC did what was expected - took APB to the woodshed.

[BearKatz]

Very pleased with what I saw tonight!

[Rufus]

In an interview with Wes Miller it was ask about keeping so many players happy and his response was it's a good problem to have. But in this climate of transferring it's not a good problem to have if your not keeping everyone happy. That's my long winded way of saying I'm glad Rayvon got in and even got some points.