Game Preview: UC Rekindles Hardwood Rivalry Against Miami

Cincinnati men's basketball hasn't played against Miami since 2011.

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats men's basketball team is reeling after consecutive losses to close last week.

Next up is the rekindling of an old rivalry. Head coach Wes Miller and company are making the short drive north to face the Miami Redhawks (5-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Millett Hall. Cincinnati is currently ranked 76th in KenPom, while Miami trails them at No. 121. The meeting marks the 148th battle between these programs. Cincinnati (5-2) is 94-53 all-time against the Redhawks.

“Well, certainly that is how you are going to approach anything that happens," Miller said on Saturday about the team gelling early in the season. "You have success...you better learn and grow from it. You have some failures...you better learn and grow from it. Every time something happens during basketball season it is an opportunity. We’ll approach it...there is no questions about it. But I hope we don’t have to approach it with nights like these too often.”

Cincinnati played their first three-game week of the season and crashed to earth after blowing out a ranked Illinois squad 71-51. The Bearcats fell 61-59 to Monmouth on Saturday and have to play much better offensively if they want to keep up with Miami. ESPN's matchup predictor has the home team winning 61.7% of the time.

The Redhawks are one of the best offensive teams in the country five games into the season. Miami started 4-0, winning every game by double digits, but lost 79-67 to Western Illinois on Saturday. They are averaging 85.3 PPG, which ranks 18th nationwide.

Head coach Jack Owens likes to have his team play at a normal pace (185th in possessions per game) and jack up plenty of triples. Miami ranks 43rd nationally in three-point attempts per game (27.5) and 94th in three-point percentage (36.4%). That juxtaposes Cincinnati's 27th ranked three-point defense (27.5%). The deep defending was arguably Cincinnati's best defensive quality in their opening win streak.

The Bearcats strong defensive communication on the perimeter kept opponents at 25.3% from deep in their first five games, but Monmouth went 8-for-16 on Saturday, and that had a big impact in a two-point result. Cincinnati will try to get back to that high bar against Miami, and it starts by slowing down Dae Dae Grant.

The junior guard out of Lorain, Ohio, is averaging a team-high 17.8 PPG and ranks third on the squad at four APG. Grant leads the team with 7.2 three-point attempts per game, and that also ranks 70th among all D1 players.

The gunner is efficient with the deep shot, hitting at a 37.2% clip. Cut the head off the Redhawk, and Miami crumbles. The team sports a -9 point differential in games where Grant doesn't make multiple three-point shots. 

Fellow junior guard Myja White is another deep threat to watch out for. He is leading the team in three-point percentage (52.4%) on 3.5 attempts per game.

Miami isn't going to beat themselves; they take care of the basketball better than almost any team in the country (10.6% turnover rate, fifth-best nationally) in large part because of experience. Of the eight players averaging 10-plus minutes per game, all of them have played at least two seasons of college basketball. The Redhawks returned 93.4% of the minutes from last year's team.

Miami is vulnerable on the boards. The Bearcats' next opponent is a decent rebounding team on paper (38.8 RPG, 93rd nationally), but they haven't faced a group that routinely deploys three players over 6-foot-10. Elijah McNamara (6-foot-9, 207 pounds) is the only Miami player above 6-foot-8, averaging at least 10 MPG.

The real question then becomes how much will we see the only listed center on the roster? Batavia, Ohio-native Jackson Ames is playing 8.8 MPG this season while averaging 2.6 PPG and 3.2 RPG. The more UC can force Owens to play his 6-foot-11 big man, the better.

Cincinnati can force the ball into Ames's hands, drive things away from Miami's experienced guards, and force them into more turnovers. If Ames sees extended minutes, it means the Bearcats found rebounding weaknesses with their size. Crashing the boards and defending from deep should result in another victory for UC, ten years after they last played the Redhawks in a 56-47 home win.

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