Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Keys to the Game: Oklahoma Sooners

UC can get above .500 in America's toughest conference on Saturday.

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats are ready to impress a sold-out crowd on Saturday afternoon as No. 15 Oklahoma comes to town. Cincinnati can get to a 3-2 in conference play with a win, despite all the opening five games coming against ranked opponents.

Oklahoma brings a nasty defense to Clifton just like TCU did as the No. 26 team in the NET and the No. 20 team on KenPom. Cincinnati currently sits at No. 28 in the NET and No. 27 in KenPom.

Home-court advantage factors heavily into this one, as Cincinnati holds a 68.4% chance to win on ESPN's Matchup Predictor. According to Sport Reference, UC is 4-2 against Oklahoma since 1949.

When Oklahoma Has The Ball

The Sooners are another balanced team facing Cincinnati with five players averaging at least nine points per game. UC should try to force the entire outfit to trigger from outside as much as possible (34.9% from deep, 130th nationally).

Close looks near the rim are this team's bread and butter, shooting 57.6% from two-point range on the season (16th nationally). That's been a big reason they are 48th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. Guards Javian McCollum (14.9 points, four assists) and Otega Oweh (14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds) have been the biggest boosters.

Those two are the only Sooners shooting over 53% from two on at least 5.5 attempts. John Newman III and the rest of the perimeter get another top-tier test in trying to stop those shifty players. McCollum (39% on 5.9 triple tries) is the lone three-point maven to worry about on the entire team.

Oklahoma is shooting just 32.9% from deep in conference play. Possibly doubling McCollum if needed and forcing OU to hit outside shots with good ball movement is a recipe for success. Just two Sooners are 6-foot-7 or taller as they enter with a similar roster build as TCU.

Box out, box out, box out. Cincinnati cannot let another team much smaller than them win the rebounding battle by six boards as TCU did. 18 offensive rebounds isn't acceptable and it'll require sound fundamentals from every player on the floor as OU is no slouch on the glass (38 rebounds per game, 96th nationally).

When Cincinnati Has The Ball

UC could really use some layup luck on Saturday that's largely escaped them since the calendar turned to 2024. Good free throw shooting couldn't hurt either as Oklahoma's opponents have hit 75.7% of their tries this season (342nd nationally).

If Cincinnati goes 50% from the free throw line it did against TCU they are in trouble. That's how opponents have been making ends meet against the 35th-best defense on KenPom by adjusted efficiency. UC needs players at all three levels of the offense to be a threat on Saturday.

The Sooners play a fantastic defensive style with great communication that's allowing opponents to shoot 27.8% from outside (10th nationally) and 46.6% from two-point range (67th nationally). Viktor Lakhin, Jamille Reynolds, and Aziz Bandaogo establishing a force down low against this small lineup could unlock those outside looks.

For the most part, Lakhin has been great offensively this season, but Reynolds and Bandaogo have to help him against a defense this good. Those two have not shown the same consistency on that end, whether due to turnovers or just overall disappearing throughout possessions.

It's going to be very difficult for UC's guards to power their offense like Day Day Thomas and John Newman III did on Tuesday with Oweh defending the perimeter. He's right up there with Newman as one of the best defenders in the Big 12, sporting a 5.1 defensive box plus/minus (sixth in Big 12) and 1.9 steals per game (fourth in Big 12).

Junior 6-foot-6 forward Jalon Moore (9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds) is just as much of a problem for UC's wings as a stout brick wall. Good-looking layups need to fall on Saturday, there won't be many extra opportunities to capitalize on.

Prediction: 67-63 Cincinnati

A defensive war goes down at Fifth Third Arena. UC makes just five threes but puts in enough layups and shoots 70% from the free-throw line to take advantage of a sold-out home crowd.

Lakhin leads the way with 15-plus points and UC heads into a massive Big Monday showdown against Kansas at 3-2 in conference play.

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