Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Falls On The Road Against Iowa State

The all-time series is now tied at 4-4

Feb 13, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jizzle James (2) dribbles against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats did what they normally do in the Wes Miller era against great teams and lost to Iowa State 81-70 on Saturday afternoon.

Things were tied 39-39 at the break thanks to a great outing from Jizzle James (25 points, two assists), but the Cyclones overwhelmed them on the boards (37-19) and at the free throw line (26-30, most free throws UC's allowed this season) to continue their dominance at home over the past two seasons.

Cincinnati is now 4-4 all-time against Iowa State and still does not have a win over a top-35 team in the NET rankings this season.

Foul Fest From Cincinnati

The Bearcats were one of the most disciplined foul teams in the Big 12 entering this game (13.5 committed per game, first in conference play) but something had to give facing a great foul-hunting team in Iowa State, and Cincinnati crumbled in the second half, committing 23 fouls overall and wilting under the road pressure cooker.

Wes Miller got a technical mixed in there and Cincinnati just couldn't hit enough tough shots to overcome ISU getting into the double bonus well before the nine-minute mark. Dillon Mitchell (four points, five rebounds) fouled out for the first time this season, as did James, who had never fouled out in his career.

The Bearcats lacking frontcourt depth behind Aziz Bandaogo (10 points, three rebounds) was never more glaring than Saturday, Arrinten Page (less than one minute played) appeared to get banged up early in the game and was a complete nonfactor like he's been for most of conference play. ISU feasted on contact against plenty of smaller UC lineups because of that and showed why they were averaging 21.4 free throw attempts in the Big 12 entering this game.

They hit 26 free throws in the end and it was the biggest difference in another Quad 1 loss for Cincinnati (now 1-8 in those games this season with their only win against No. 70 NET-ranked UCF). A few more losses by UCF and UC will have no Q1 wins on its ledger, to match just six in Wes Miller's first three seasons.

Jizzle Staying In The Kitchen

My oh my, what an offensive run by James over the past few weeks. His shotmaking somehow took another leap on Saturday with some nasty stepback triples, that patented mid-range fire jumper, and strong free-throw shooting again to keep defenses off balance with space for his shot.

James ripped off a season-high 17 points on nine shots in the first half to keep Cincinnati kicking in this game and posted a blistering full-game efficiency score of 16. It marked the third straight game he's scored 20-plus points overall for the first time in his career.

It helped stem the tide of a red-hot shooting ISU outfit. The hardest thing to do in this league is go and consistently score on the road. James did more than score, he carried the offense, especially from outside in the first half, but the Cyclones did what great defenses do and adjusted their coverages to paint a much-less-efficient picture in the final 20.

James had eight points, four fouls, and two turnovers in that crucial frame.

Every team to beat ISU this season had hit at least nine threes along the way and James contributed five to Cincinnati's ledger 11-27 mark. He's now hit 13 over the past three games after canning just 19 all season before that. The rim-finishing and free-throw-seeking need to get a bit more consistent for him to be the next successful Bearcat in the NBA, but he's well on his way if recent results stay the norm. Those two being lesser factors allowed ISU to adjust to his game more easily in the second half.

Iowa State Scorches

The Cyclones were hyper-efficient on the offensive end on Saturday as Cincinnati allowed them to shoot 49% from the field on 49 shots.

Iowa State got UC's defense off-kilter throughout the game and continued to show why they are one of the best foul-drawing teams in the country with the Bearcats committing an uncharacteristic 23 fouls after averaging just 13.5 in conference play entering this game.

The home whistle helped a bit, but Cincinnati got a little too aggressive at times and it bit them on that double-edged sword to be the ultimate difference in the game. Dan Skillings Jr. (one point, two turnovers) is regressing at a rapid rate this season and he was terrible again on both ends like he has been for most of conference play. His 14 minutes on Saturday tied a season-low and its hard to see why he should even be in the rotation at this point. UC is running out of depth at that position.

Add in the absence of Page, and Cincinnati had basically no major reinforcements to help Mitchell and Bandaogo in the frontcourt. Time is now running out for this UC team, likely needing to go 5-1 down the stretch with a few high-level Q1 wins to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Next up is West Virginia on the road this Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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