Three Man Weave: Bearcats Bully Evansville in Season Opener

UC won 65-43 in the first game of the Wes Miller era.

Fans returned in force to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, and they saw a 65-43 defensive domination from the Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team. Head coach Wes Miller preached an identity built around newfound energy this offseason, and practiced it in their first game.

His team flashed great team defense and layed the breadcrumbs for a squad that could shock some analysts in 2021. Evansville is no world-beater, but UC handled business as nine-point home favorites.

The Bearcats trailed 13-10 early in the first half but left no doubt who the stronger team was heading into halftime. Here's the Three Man Weave from a clinical season opener for UC.

Defense Stifles Purple Aces

Mick Cronin hung his hat on defense for over a decade at UC, and that mentality returned in the first game of the Wes Miller Era. The Bearcats held Evansville to 25.9% shooting from the field and felt in control on that end from inbound to shot attempt each time down.

The defensive rotations stood out the most from a heavy-man defense strategy. Miller brought more length and athleticism from the transfer portal with him to an already athletic UC roster. The Bearcats notched six blocks and forced 15 Purple Aces turnovers.

"I liked how we guarded tonight," said Miller postgame. "You look down and 25% from the field. 26% from three. They're a really good offensive team and they really shoot it and I thought our ball screen defense to guard pick-and-pops was pretty good for the most part."

Evansville finished 22nd nationally last season in three-point field goal percentage (37.7%). Cincinnati held them to 26.9% on Tuesday, with only two Evansville players making multiple triples.

There weren't any clear weak links, and Viktor Lahkin stood out above the rest protecting the cup. After missing all of last season with an injury, the 6-foot-11 sophomore looks healthy and hungry. He filled up the box score with seven points, seven rebounds, one block, and two steals on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor.

Lahkin and other key bench forces, like Ody Oguama and Mason Madsen, all helped play a part in the victory. The Bearcats totaled 36 bench points on the night—narrowly edging their 2020-21 34-point high mark.

Madsen and Davenport Downtown Demolition

Mason Madsen and Jeremiah Davenport came ready to put on a show for the 10,000-plus fans in attendance on Tuesday.

The duo each went 3-of-8 from the field, with every shot taken from deep. Davenport finished with a team-high 11 points and 8 rebounds. The junior also added a block to his totals.

Madsen finished with nine points, five rebounds, and one assist. The sophomore checked in off the bench while UC faced the 13-10 deficit and helped ignite an 18-1 run. All it took was a pair of three-pointers and an ensuing explosion from the crowd at Fifth Third Arena.

"It's like anything, you just get in a little rhythm," Madsen said after the game. "Obviously, it was only a matter of time before everyone got going on. I don't know if I'd credit that to me making a shot."

The Bearcats are undefeated in games where Madsen hits three-plus triples (3-0).

Free Throw Jitters Strike Early

Not much went wrong in the Bearcats season debut, except for the trips to the charity stripe. UC finished 8-of-17 from the line with no player making more than two freebies.

Chalk it up to game one jitters in front of a massive home crowd, but the Bearcats struggled mightily with this aspect of the game throughout 2020-21. Cincinnati ranked 317th in free throw percentage last season (47.1%).

If this team wants to make noise in AAC play, they have to find a way to tighten the screws at the line during this non-conference slate. They didn't have a lot of bites at the apple in 2020-21. UC ranked 219th in free throw attempts per 100 possessions last season (17.3).

Showing more aggression around the basket and punishing bad switches can help the Bearcats take more trips to the free-throw line and bag some extra free points along the way.

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