Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Storylines: Howard Bison

UC won this game on the road last season.

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Aziz Bandaogo (55) grabs a rebound over Alabama State Hornets guard Jalen Keago (10) in the first half of the NCAA basketball game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Wes Miller's Cincinnati Bearcats (6-1) team is looking to bounce back from its first loss on Sunday at home against the Howard Bison (3-5). The game tips off at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Getting the offense back on track after a 60-point outing would be ideal against one of the 30-worst scoring defense teams in the country (79.3 PPG allowed by Howard). Cincinnati enters this game ranked 14th on KenPom, while Howard is 274th nationally.

UC is projected to win 98.9% of the time on ESPN's Matchup Predictor.

"I thought they had a nice game plan," Wes Miller said about the offense at Villanova after Tuesday's loss. "They came out and changed defenses early, switching ball screens on the first possession that surprised us a little bit. We saw a littleof that on tape with (Eric) Dixon, but not with the two centers unless it was a late switch. I thought that forced us into a lot of isolated, one-on-one situations that stagnated us. We didn't handle that well but give them credit for that. I didn't like us defensively in the first half at all. I didn't think we carried over our game plan in the things we value."

Cincinnati is 3-0 all-time against Howard, most recently playing them on the road last season.

Offensive Storyline: Skillings Boost

Cincinnati shouldn't need Dan Skillings Jr. to win this game, but getting him back a game before the Crosstown Shootout would be a massive development. Miller's comments above and the lack of motion and killer instinct on offense Tuesday left Cincinnati yearning for one more offensive star to ease the burden on Jizzle James and Simas Lukošius.

Howard is a horrific defense that won't present nearly the same type of connected, varied defensive schemes Villanova did. Howard enters this game ranked 321st nationally on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency,  and is ranked 343rd nationally in field goal rate allowed (47.8%). 

Cincinnati should be able to swing the ball at will, attack the rim against another small mid-major lineup, and post 80-plus points again at home. Doing it with Skillings getting 8-12 minutes like Day Day Thomas in his first game back this season would be a huge setup for next Saturday.

He should help Cincinnati get extra chances at the free throw line, a staple of this leaky Howard defense after UC shot 11 free throws against Villanova (UC is averaging 13.3 FT attempts per game, 355th nationally). The Bison are giving up 23.3 FT attempts per game (325th nationally)

Skillings has played in one game this season and took four free throws as an aggressive driver. It would be the biggest story of the day if Cincinnati can get Skillings back out there with a game under his belt and a full week to ramp up for the biggest outing of the season. A game he's played poorly in the first two times (two points, six rebounds in 23 minutes last year against Xavier, no points, two rebounds in six minutes two years ago).

Defensive Storyline: Bounceback Bandaogo

Aziz Bandaogo is coming off his worst game of the season against Villanova with three points, five rebounds, and no blocks for the first time in any 2024-25 outing. Still, he's been stellar outside of that hiccup on Tuesday, especially on defense.

He should be able to swallow up a Howard lineup with just one rotation player over 6-6 feet tall in the mix. The seven-footer is top-20 nationally in defensive rating (19th), and block rate (14th), and is 12th among Big 12 players in Player Efficiency Rating (24.7). Getting him back comfortable down low and in a blocking rhythm will be crucial for next weekend's big contest and Howard presents a nice profile to build confidence—they only shoot 50.5% (237th) from two-point land, have been blocked 3.6 times per game (259th).

Howard is a much better three-point shooting team (37.5% from deep, 54th nationally). Making the game plan pretty straightforward: close out hard on the outside—and funnel those drives down to Swatdaogo (2.4 blocks per game).

Anything close to strong execution on that front should result in a UC win, and a vintage rim protection day from Bandaogo would make it a no-doubt victory.

Prediction: 87-67 Bearcats

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