UCF 2/5 7:00 CBS Sports Network

[BearKatz]

Good Win! Hopefully it's not a little too late!

We could use 6 in a row! Give the Cats some Tournament Hopes!

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

And what value is CJ Fredricks...?
He can't score
He can't rebound
He can't defend
So why play him? It's 5 against 4 with CJ on the floor!

I agree. He offers very little on the court.

[longtimefan]

So Huggs came in the UC locker room before the came, wearing a Cincinnati shirt. He’s already in the HOF, but I’m convinced if KMart didn’t break his leg against Saint Louis, Huggs would have his NCAA championship. Anyway, good to see him in good graces with the program again.

[leeraymond]

The team played fast and loose tonight. UC turned UCF over 16 times and had 9 steals. Most importantly, UC hit some shots tonight and out-scored UCF in the paint 56 to 46. UC shot 58.5% for the game.

You know, any win in the BIG XII is a good win. Hopefully, UC can play fast and loose for the rest of the season. UC gave up 83 points and still won. Four guys scored in double figures. If UC can have 4 guys scoring in double figures for the rest of the season, that may be one of the keys to getting wins.

First Quad 1 win.

[leo from jersey]

Again this was fun watching. The only real concern was why didn't Rayvon see the court in the second half. Yes the game was tight, but he needs development. He played 3 minutes and had 2 rebounds. That is an area where the team needs help.

[London 'Cat]

Again this was fun watching. The only real concern was why didn't Rayvon see the court in the second half. Yes the game was tight, but he needs development. He played 3 minutes and had 2 rebounds. That is an area where the team needs help.

I think the college game is too fast for Rayon at this stage of his career. He needs more experience for sure which will help slow the game down for him. He'll get there it just may take some more time.

An impressive offensive performance last night by the 'Cats. The defense needs some work because the 'Cats are not going to shoot over 50% in every game and they allowed 80+ points last night. I'm interested to read sedz' analytic review of the game. But it was fun to watch.

[zykarious]

I think the college game is too fast for Rayon at this stage of his career. He needs more experience for sure which will help slow the game down for him. He'll get there it just may take some more time.

An impressive offensive performance last night by the 'Cats. The defense needs some work because the 'Cats are not going to shoot over 50% in every game and they allowed 80+ points last night. I'm interested to read sedz' analytic review of the game. But it was fun to watch.

I think Rayvon's biggest issue getting on the floor is Josh Reed. They play essentially the same position (hybrid 3/4) and bring the same traits (energy, defense, rebounding). Reed is older and more polished, so he generally gets most of the minutes.

With Fredrick healthy enough to play again and a fast paced game, it made sense to play two guards as much as possible. One could argue that Simas should have his minutes cut in favor of Rayvon, considering Simas can't make anything and is a poor defender and rebounder. But Wes seems to think Simas's ball handling, passing and stretching the defense still makes him worthy of the minutes.

[leo from jersey]

I think Rayvon's biggest issue getting on the floor is Josh Reed. They play essentially the same position (hybrid 3/4) and bring the same traits (energy, defense, rebounding). Reed is older and more polished, so he generally gets most of the minutes.

With Fredrick healthy enough to play again and a fast paced game, it made sense to play two guards as much as possible. One could argue that Simas should have his minutes cut in favor of Rayvon, considering Simas can't make anything and is a poor defender and rebounder. But Wes seems to think Simas's ball handling, passing and stretching the defense still makes him worthy of the minutes.

SL did bring the ball up a lot last night. I doubt if the Cats will get into the NCAA tourney unless they win the BIG12. As much as I want to see victories, I want to see them develop both Rayvon and Tyler B. I don't want to see them hit the portal when they are just starting out.

[GoBearcats31]

Going through the box score
- Aziz had a nice game...that tempo probably suits him better (versus slowing it down and expecting him to back down a guy)
- Dillon obviously was fun and thankfully wasn't hurt; hopefully does not swell up -- that type of game at home could really get the crowd going
- Simas had a clean 3 to start the second but remains in a funk; at least is a decoy/can spready the D
- Jizzle had a nice stat line/impacted the game despite 18 mins due to foul trouble (can we get his dad some AirPods?)
- Day Day obviously set the tone in the first half and they won because of him
- Arrinten may be in the dog house? If Aziz and Dillon are playing well, don't need him I guess (only came in briefly with Dillon in locker room)
- Tyler had a couple threes and beat the shot clock with a nice two...4/11 from three in his last three; three fouls in 12 minutes not great
- Dan was up and down but in his current form, 17 minutes seems appropriate and 8 points and 3 rebounds isn't too bad (had a timely three)
- Josh had 0 points, 4 fouls (but also a steal and a block) in 10 minutes
- Rayvon as pointed out above had two rebounds in three minutes; you'd like to see him grab a few of Josh's minutes if that is what we are getting
- C.J. had one rebound and no other stats in 13 minutes but a +6 in the plus minus

Really liked freshman big Moustapha Thiam, who had 14 points and 8 rebounds last night -- unfortunately for UCF, that's the type of player who will be poached away ($)

[zykarious]

Going through the box score
- Aziz had a nice game...that tempo probably suits him better (versus slowing it down and expecting him to back down a guy)
- Dillon obviously was fun and thankfully wasn't hurt; hopefully does not swell up -- that type of game at home could really get the crowd going
- Simas had a clean 3 to start the second but remains in a funk; at least is a decoy/can spready the D
- Jizzle had a nice stat line/impacted the game despite 18 mins due to foul trouble (can we get his dad some AirPods?)
- Day Day obviously set the tone in the first half and they won because of him
- Arrinten may be in the dog house? If Aziz and Dillon are playing well, don't need him I guess (only came in briefly with Dillon in locker room)
- Tyler had a couple threes and beat the shot clock with a nice two...4/11 from three in his last three; three fouls in 12 minutes not great
- Dan was up and down but in his current form, 17 minutes seems appropriate and 8 points and 3 rebounds isn't too bad (had a timely three)
- Josh had 0 points, 4 fouls (but also a steal and a block) in 10 minutes
- Rayvon as pointed out above had two rebounds in three minutes; you'd like to see him grab a few of Josh's minutes if that is what we are getting
- C.J. had one rebound and no other stats in 13 minutes but a +6 in the plus minus

Really liked freshman big Moustapha Thiam, who had 14 points and 8 rebounds last night -- unfortunately for UCF, that's the type of player who will be poached away ($)

Reed is a guy who's stats don't typically reflect his contributions. He brings the effort rebounding, but often focuses almost entirely on boxing out, trusting teammates to grab the ball. I think it's a mix of him recognizing his own lack of athleticism relative to the other guys and because he's usually guarding a bigger guy. Rayvon is more of a Skillings type rebounder, using his athleticism to get to balls and fight through box outs, which is something we can really use at times.

Page I think has been benched in favor of playing small and also because he's one of the guys who has huge issues with giving the effort of boxing out and rebounding. If he starts giving 100% all the time, he should make it back in the rotation.

[sedz]

We finally had a good offensive game in conference, scoring 1.23 points per possession. We scored 44 points at the rim and even converted a solid 11 of 18 from midrange. 67% from inside the arc. The defense was pretty good too, holding a top half offense to 1.1 points per possession on their own floor. Before the game I said keeping them off the stripe was key, and we ended up with a higher free throw rate than UCF. Hall led them in scoring as expected but we turned him into a negative impact player - he posted a team worst negative 2.4 net points. He turned it over 6 times and needed 18 shots to score 17 points from the field.

Day Day was player of the game, putting up 4.1 net points and a team best 7.0 offensive BPM. He was 4 of 5 at the rim, 4 of 8 from midrange, 1 of 2 from three, and added 6 assists and just one turnover. Aziz was just behind with 3.9 net points. He went 7 of 8 from the floor and added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Jizzle was our best player during his time on the floor, posting a 12.7 BPM in 18 minutes thanks to a game best 8.1 defensive BPM. Mitchell and Betsey also had good games.

Reed had the worst performance with negative 3.3 net points in just 10 minutes. He had 4 fouls and zero positive offensive statistics. Skillings was next worst, turning it over three times and posting a negative 1.4 defensive BPM. Fredrick and Simas also had bad games.

The knocks on our team's effort and toughness will probably pause now even though we just got outrebounded by 12 and gave up the most points of the season. The key was facing an opponent that attacks with an open game. We responded with the same style. UCF dictated the pace - that's exactly how they want to play. There were 76 possessions - the first time we've seen over 70 since the season opener against Pine Bluff. It's normal for UCF though - they've played at least 76 in more than half of their conference games including each of their last 3. All our worst games were played at a slow pace - our five slowest games were Villanova, Baylor, Kansas, BYU, and West Virginia - each uncompetitive losses with 62 or fewer possessions. Our best games - Georgia Tech, Xavier, Colorado, and UCF - had at least 70 possessions. The difference is stark. Somehow we have to find a way to assert that style in the rest of our games and not let opponents dictate the pace. We have a roster that's built for tempo.

[GoBearcats31]

UC head-to-head in the Big 12:

Arizona 0-1
Arizona State 1-0
Baylor 0-3
BYU 1-1
Colorado 1-0
Houston 0-2
Iowa State 0-1
Kansas 1-2
Kansas State 1-1
Oklahoma State 0-1
TCU 1-1
Texas Tech 1-1
UCF 3-0
Utah 0-1
WVU 2-2

Former members:
Oklahoma 0-2
Texas 0-1

[bearcatbret]

Praise from the home boys: Thomas' 18 First-Half Points Sets Tone in 93-83 Win at UCF - University of Cincinnati Athletics

[DesertFog]

So what's up with Huggs and UC? He attends the WVU game and the CF game. BTW, I think an annoucement of his attendance in Cincy should have been made on the PA at halftime. Would at least have given the fans something to cheer about.

[BearKatz]

Again this was fun watching. The only real concern was why didn't Rayvon see the court in the second half. Yes the game was tight, but he needs development. He played 3 minutes and had 2 rebounds. That is an area where the team needs help.

Good question! I would have put Rayvon on the floor last night over Reed. Because the style of play fast paced, Rayvon would have flourished.

And why CJ Fredricks keeps seeing playing time is beyond me! As I said earlier, he offers abosolutely nothing at this point!