After dropping the BYU game, I feel like this is a must-win game for UCF's NCAA Tournament chances. Can't be lingering around the fringes of the bubble when there will likely be conference tourney upsets.
From UCF's press release:
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
From UCF's press release:
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
- Day Day Thomas earned his first start of the season. He started the first 35 last year before breaking his foot in the NIT opener. He finished with a season-high 31 minutes. Thomas had a team-high 10 points (third game in double-figures) to go with a season-high four steals. He aveaged 10.3 ppg last season and led UC with 61 swipes. He and fellow PG Jizzle James shared the floor for the first time on Dec. 16, 2023 against Dayton. It is the only non-injury related lineup change this year.
- Cincinnati went with a much smaller lineup as Aziz Bandaogo and Arrinten Page only played a combined 21:58. Page played 3:54 in the first half but had dealt with a foot issue that held him out of practice Friday. Bandaogo’s 13 points last year at UCF remains his most in a Big 12 game.
- Hometown product Rayvon Griffith went 2-for-3 from the field for seven points over 12 minutes off the bench. He had played four minutes in Big 12 action up to that moment, and he added two assists (two all season prior) and his second 3-pointer of the year.
- Wes Miller, the former 2005 national champion at North Carolina, has won seven-straight games against Duke alumni (four against UCF and Johnny Dawkins, two versus Howard and Kenny Blakeney and this year versus Bobby Hurley and Arizona State).
- Cincinnati had four-straight games with single-digit turnovers (7.5 over that span) until its 14 on Sunday, ranking 22nd nationally at 10.0 per game.
- It’s a Florida homecoming for Jizzle James (Orlando) and Dillon Mitchell (Tampa). James’ last game coming off a no-field-goal outing was when he went for 14 on 4-of-6 deep shooting to defeat No. 22 Dayton. Mitchell had 10 rebounds on Sunday, his fourth-such game in double-figures. James’ 2.56 A/TO ratio is 50th nationally.
- The 11-for-12 outing at the foul line (91.7 percent) on Sunday was UC’s highest since going 10-for-10 in the Feb. 3 road win at No. 15 Texas Tech last year.
- Cincinnati is 11-1 when leading at the half (loss vs. Kansas) and 1-8 when trailing (win vs. Xavier), with both of those being one-point margins. The Bearcats did not allow an opponent into the 70s in non-conference play, and in the league they are 2-4 when holding opponents within the 60s or below.
