Preview Paw Prints: NJIT

Cincinnati is undefeated at Fifth Third Arena this season.

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CINCINNATI — Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats (4-3) are back at home for the rest of their non-conference slate and get a nice tune-up opportunity against NJIT (1-5).

UC avoided complete disaster by salvaging a 1-2 record in the Maui Invitational, but that one win came against lowly Louisville (now 0-6 in 2022). They made a blistering 17 threes against Arizona, but still lost by nine and got crushed by Ohio State 81-53. It was the biggest point differential loss of the Miller era.

Cincinnati likely needs to win out in the non-conference schedule as ESPN BPI favorites in every non-AAC game remaining except the Crosstown Shootout (Xavier 50.5% favorite) next week.

Against NJIT, ESPN has them winning 93% of the time. The Bearcats are ranked 74th on KenPom, with NJIT sitting at 334th. The Highlanders have played 100 opponents in their history, and Cincinnati is now the 101st.

Let's dive into some relevant UC basketball topics ahead of Wednesday's 7 p.m. tip-off.

Frontcourt Fog

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One of the two biggest issues keeping UC around .500 right now is how thin the frontcourt is. Viktor Lakhin is averaging career highs in scoring (11 PPG), rebounding (6.7 RPG), and blocks (1.1 BPG), but he's the only reliable option near the rim.

Cincinnati has to find a way to get Kalu Ezikpe going this week ahead of Xavier, their toughest home test, until No. 1 ranked Houston comes to town. The Old Dominion transfer has been lost so far this season, averaging career lows in literally every statistical category including FG% (40%), and FT% (37.5%).

He's visibly thinking too much on the court and playing in his own head watching on my game rewinds this season. It's caused UC to tap into Ody Oguama (2.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.4 APG) more often to little avail. Someone has to step up more to complement Lakhin or the big Russian needs to get more playing time (18.6 MPG, sixth on the roster).

Miller is smartly limiting the wear and tear on his young, talented big man, and it makes sense given his injury history. What doesn't make sense is how Ezikpe went from leading the team in scoring during their Purdue scrimmage to just 15 total points in 64 minutes this season.

Free Throw Problems

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The Bearcats are living and dying by jump shots right now, and the sustainability was evident across their first two Maui defeats. They posted a 60.3% true shooting rate against Arizona, then cratered to 44.8% against OSU.

The similar shooting mark in both games? Free throws.

Cincinnati shot 67.7% against Arizona and 60% in the 28-point loss to the Buckeyes. 

Their free throw rates were strikingly similar in both games (21.4%, 28.8%).

The Bearcats have to get to the line more and make those shots when they do earn them. Relying on jump shots at this rate isn't going to work against top-tier defensive teams and will cause polar results, as we've seen already. 

Lakhin (44% FT) is the only player taking three or more foul shots a game, and he's struggling badly from the stripe. Guys like David DeJulius (17 total FT attempts) and Landers Nolley (16 total attempts) have to get to the line more. That's the quickest way for the offense to get easier on a team ranked 241st nationally in FT attempts (241st) and 291st in FT% (65.6%).

NJIT's One-Man Band

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The Highlanders are one of the worst teams in the country and boast a putrid offense (60.2 PPG, 352nd nationally). The only guy UC needs to worry about in this game is forward Miles Coleman (17.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.8 APG).

He shoots nearly half his shots from outside (39 threes to 40 twos attempted) and hits them at a high clip (43.6%, 68th nationally). Keeping him from exploding on the outside will ensure a blowout at Fifth Third Arena. Coleman is a non-factor everywhere else on the court (15-of-40 on two-point FGs).

Easy buckets probably won't be offered up much in transition against NJIT. They rank 334th in adjusted tempo, and opposing teams are only shooting 56 times per game (113th). Cincinnati has a path to free throw success in this game that could help shift their season and keep the Highlanders at bay. 

NJIT allows 18.2 FT attempts per game (209th), and opposing teams are shooting 73.4% from the charity stripe (273rd).

The game tips off on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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