Ten Thoughts on the UC Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

The 2022-23 season tips off in exactly three weeks.

CINCINNATI — The 2022-23 UC men's basketball season tips off in exactly three weeks. Wes Miller's crew looks quite different from last year save for a few key returning veterans.

The second-year coach added three transfer pieces in Landers Nolley II, Kalu Ezikpe, and Rob Phinisee. An interesting non-conference slate is the first thing they'll face together.

Here are thoughts on each non-Maui Invitational game before UC starts its final AAC season.

V. Chaminade - Nov. 7

The vibes should be sky-high for the 2022-23 season opener against Chaminade, a DII school that plays at the site of the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.

UC should have no trouble waxing the Silverswords, and the game is a chance for UC fans to see all of these new veteran CBB players in action. How do the transfers mesh? Are the freshmen ready for real roles?

We'll start getting answers on Nov. 7.

V. Cleveland State - Nov. 10

The Vikings will be much better than Chaminade, but it still should be pretty quick work for the Bearcats. CSU finished 248th in the country with a -10 Bayesian Performance rating last season, despite going 20-11 and finishing first in the Horizon League.

CSU lost five of its top six scorers from last season.

V. Eastern Kentucky - Nov. 13

Another home game brings in the 10th-best team in the Atlantic Sun from last season. EKU is coming off a 211th-place BPR ranking and could spark an upset with its offense.

They made the third-most threes per game last season (11.7) and return top marksman Michael Moreno (11.7 PPG, 36% from deep on six shots per game).

@ Northern Kentucky - Nov. 16

This is UC's one true road game until they face Temple on New Year's Day.

It's also their toughest game to date facing an NKU program with multiple NCAA Tournament berths in the last five years. The Norse can stroke it from outside like Eastern Kentucky after finishing 20-12 last season.

Junior guard Marques Warrick (16.8 PPG, 35.3% from deep on 6.7 attempts) is an impact sharpshooter.

V. NJIT - Nov. 30

A nice off-ramp for the Maui Invitational, the Bearcats get to wax one of the 40 worst programs in the country.

NJIT finished 11-18 in 2021-22 as a member of America East. They should be no contest for UC after slotting 329th in BPR, including the 345th offense.

For context, Cincinnati finished 50th in total BPR following Miller's first season at the helm.

V. Bryant - Dec. 4

The Bulldogs were one of the nation's best offensive teams last year (78 PPG, 28th), but are a mystery after the exit of big-man Peter Kiss (25.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG).

Cincinnati should be favored here, but Charles Pride (17.7 PPG in 2021-22) and the rest of the Bulldogs will be ready. They finished 157th in BPR last season.

V. Xavier - Dec. 10

An afternoon affair in the Crosstown Shootout.

Outside of Maui, this is Cincinnati's toughest game in the non-conference slate as they try to break a three-game losing streak in the series. Sean Miller is back as head coach and should have his Xavier team clicking by this point in the calendar.

The Musketeers are veteran-laden with Zack Freemantle, Jack Nunge, and Adam Kunkel all returning. They lose just two of their top-six scorers from last season.

V. Miami (Ohio) - Dec. 14

Cincinnati has won 14 in a row against Miami, dating back to 1990, and that should move to 15 in the middle of December. Travis Steele went down the road from Xavier to take the Miami head coach spot.

The RedHawks finished 14-18 last year—good for the No. 258 BPR ranking and a flat putrid defense (308th defensive BPR). They get their top-two scorers back in Dae Dae Grant (17.5 PPG) and Delonte Brown (13.6 PPG) but most of the offense graduated. 

Unless center Jackson Ames takes a big step, Miami is going to struggle stopping bigger teams like UC.

V. La Salle - Dec. 17

The Explorers were a middling 11-19 as a member of the Atlantic 10 last season. 2022 could be an improvement though as less than 70% of their minutes last year came from returning players.

They return five of their top-seven scorers, including junior guard Josh Nickelberry (11.2 PPG). Some better continuity should mean more growth for a defense that finished in the top half of the country last season (164th DBPR).

V. Detroit Mercy - Dec. 21

The headliner in this matchup is Antoine Davis (23.9 PPG), who is 22nd all-time on the NCAA scoring leaderboard. If he averages 23.9 PPG or better this season he'll be the clear No. 2 scorer in NCAA history behind Pete Maravich.

As for the team itself, Detroit went 14-16 in 2021-22 under the guise of Antoine's father, Mike. 

The Titans finished 224th in BPR last season due to a terrible defense (337th DBPR). Keeping Davis under 30 points and limiting the three-point looks (10.4 team threes per game, eighth-most nationally in 2021-22) should chart a victorious path for UC.

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