Game Preview: UC Takes on Illinois in Hall of Fame Classic

The Bearcats are searching for they first 5-0 start since 2017.

CINCINNATI — A four-game homestand turned out to be the best on-ramp possible for Wes Miller's opening stretch as the Bearcats men's basketball coach. Cincinnati is 4-0 and has plenty to work with heading into a week where the competition steps up, starting Monday night against No. 14 Illinois.

Tip off of the Hall Of Fame Classic is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Kansas City, Missouri, and the game is airing on ESPNEWS. Illinois owns a 3-1 all-time series advantage over UC. Cincinnati sits at No. 96 in KenPom, while Illinois is No. 6.

The Fighting Illini are again one of the top teams in the country under fifth-year head coach Brad Underwood. They suffered a shocking 67-66 loss to Marquette a week ago but have had a week to lick their wounds, while the Bearcats played two games over that time.

Illinois enters the game as nine-point favorites, and ESPN's matchup predictor projects them to win 89.3% of the time. Cincinnati is seeking its first Big Ten victory since beating Penn State 71-50 in 2016. Underwood's crew has been without their top player in Kofi Cockburn to start the season due to a suspension, and it's made them operate similarly to UC.

Illinois has 10 players seeing at least 10 minutes of playing time per game, while Cincinnati has 10 players averaging between 13 and 25 minutes. Seniors like Jacob Grandison, Trent Frazier, and Da'Monte Williams have combined to score 41% of all Fighting Illini points this season.

Frazier—a fifth-year veteran—is filling the scoring void Ayo Dosumus left when he entered the 2021 NBA Draft. He leads the team with 17.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and a team-high two steals per game. Grandison is hot on his heels at 15 PPG and 5.3 RPG, although neither ping the offense into efficient sets.

That role is reserved for 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard Andre Curbelo. The sophomore is averaging 9.5 PPG, six RPG, and five APG. slowing him down is crucial if the Bearcats want to have a chance in this game. The Golden eagles held him to just 4-for-18 from the field and three assists last Monday.

The 6-foot-10, 200-pound Coleman Hawkins is an adept rebounder and scorer from all three levels of the floor. Hawkins leads the team with 9.3 RPG and scores 14.3 PPG.

These are two of the soundest defensive teams in the country and are currently right next to each other in the national rankings. Cincinnati is 18th, allowing 55.5 PPG, while Illinois is 20th, allowing 55.7 PPG.

Both have used their depth, rotation communication, and rebounding to anchor their defenses. Illinois is leaning heavily into that final factor, they are leading all D1 teams in rebounds per game (50.3), and that's without Cockburn, who averages 9.1 rebounds across 62 career games.

Just like the minutes, there is no single Illini player for UC to key in on—six Illinois players average at least 4.5 RPG. Cincinnati is a sound rebounding team in their own right, ranking 53rd (40.5 RPG), but Underwood's crew has a clear advantage on that front.

UC can mitigate that factor a tad by continuing to take care of the basketball. Mikey Saunders, David Dejulius, and the rest of the Bearcats are sporting a judicial 1.95 A/TO ratio this season. That elite mark ranks ninth nationally; it's been a big factor in the Bearcats controlling the tempo and flow of every game so far this season.

Illinois is struggling with turnovers early on in the season, sitting 259th in A/TO ratio (0.741). The Fighting Illini have to stomp out the sloppiness— they are coughing up 19.3 turnovers per game—which ranks 346th in the country.

Turnover issues aren't likely to be fixed against the Bearcats. They sit at 98th in forced turnover rate (18.5%) and can bring waves of athletic length at the Illini. Cincinnati is making a big step up in competition this week—more hounding defense would go a long way towards pulling the upset.

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