Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Continues Winning Ways on The Road Against Georgia Tech

The Bearcats swept this home-and-home series.

Cincinnati Bearcats guard-forward Simas Lukošius (41), Cincinnati Bearcats forward Aziz Bandaogo (55), Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23), Northern Kentucky Norse forward Keeyan Itejere (40) and Northern Kentucky Norse forward LJ Wells (5) compete for the ball in the second half of the NCAA basketball game at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky., on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The winning continued for Cincinnati powered by a team-wide offensive showcase 81-58 over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Dillon Mitchell (14 points, 11 rebounds) led the efficiency with a powerful day on both ends for the Bearcats in his first double-double at Cincinnati. Tyler Betsey (six points, five rebounds) highlighted the shooting offensively and is now shooting 9-16 from deep as a freshman.

The Bearcats trailed for one possession and then never faced another deficit against a team hovering near the top 100 nationally in analytic metrics. UC passed a pair of road tests with flying colors this week.

Mitchell Movin'

Mitchell was the best player on the floor when he graced it Saturday. The energy around the rim, especially rebounding was a major boost to Cincinnati and continues to be the rebounding lifeline without Dan Skillings Jr. in the lineup. The forward owned his rebounding chances on both sides of the floor.

His activity in transition and on defense stifled GT all afternoon and led to a mass of Yellow Jacket turnovers (12 TOs) to go with some thundering slams from him on the other end. In the half-court, Mitchell funneled entry passes well and flashed his strong handle on back-to-the-basket chances.

Mitchell hasn't shown to be a major threat with his jump shot just yet this season (he did hit his first three of the season on Saturday), but his overwhelming energy has made that moot. Cincinnati didn't play amazing defense on Saturday, but Dillon Mitchell had a nice impact of any Bearcat on that end (one block, one steal).

Paint Production

The Bearcats worked a size advantage on the inside to wonderful effect on Saturday. Mitchell had much to do with that to go with production from Simas Lukošius (12 points), Connor Hickman (14 points, five rebounds), and more.

UC found small gaps in the middle of Tech's defense and took full advantage. Mix in some strong rotations outside for shots and Cincinnati had a field day offensively. Hickman deserves a lot of credit for connecting those possessions in his best game at Cincinnati.

He's a perfect example of why depth is so important and can pop up with impact at any time. Hickman had a 33% mark from deep before this game and went scorched earth mode shooting and passing (6-8 shooting).

He had the nastiest dime of the game with a no-look pass to Aziz Bandaogo (eight points, six rebounds) for a score. The amount of ballhandling and playmaking UC can access across its backcourt is hard to match across the country.

Cincinnati had four players in double figures scoring for the fifth consecutive game to start the season.

Big Men Struggles

Cincinnati's frontcourt had up-and-down moments on Saturday, in more instances it can work on amidst a stellar start to the season. Bandaogo didn't play very aggressively in the game and has to start finding more rebounds in his minutes (4.3 rebounds per game this season).

He has been out of position a few too many times and could be a monstrous rebounder with a few tweaks here and there. The center still had a solid game, but it wasn't close to his best possible production. Free throws weren't an issue for Aziz (4-4 FTs), or anyone else accept Mitchell (1-4 FTS)

Cincinnati went 8-12 from the line overall, which will help their 331st-ranked percentage mark entering this game. Arrinten Page (four points, fouled out) didn't take a free throw and played even more erratically than Bandaogo. That happens with freshmen and the fouls are a learning moment moving forward.

Still, none of the frontcourt issues mattered, with Mitchell & Co. lifting the ship easily. Cincinnati is now 4-1 against the betting spread this season and is one bucket from being 5-0. They are outperforming even the sharpest projections and showing how much depth and continuity can jolt a team at the start of a season.

Next up is Alabama State at home on Nov. 28.

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