Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Falls to Arizona 72-67 at Home

Cincinnati won its first game ever against Arizona on Saturday.

Jan 4, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard KJ Lewis (5) shoots against Cincinnati Bearcats forward Aziz Bandaogo (55) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The big hole gets deeper for Cincinnati.

Wes Miller's Bearcats fell 72-67 to Arizona at home on Saturday afternoon amidst another horrific offensive showing against a high-major team. UC turned the ball over 11 times to just 10 assists and was held under 70 points for the sixth outing in the past seven games.

All in all, Cincinnati shot 39.1% from the floor to Arizona's 43.4% showing, all while taking 11 more shots than the Wildcats (5-25 from deep for UC, worst percentage this season). 

Dan Skillings Jr. (18 points, six rebounds) played another strong game, but not enough Bearcats followed him, anchored by a 3-11 field goal showing from Jizzle James (seven points, four rebounds, five assists).

Cincinnati is now 0-5 all-time against the Wildcats after losing to them in the 2022 Maui Invitational most recently.

Rough Offensive Redux

Cincinnati has to figure out some form of consistent offense or they could stay at the bottom of the Big 12 all season. There isn't much visible confidence from anyone on that end other than Skillings right now. The shooting issues and turnover problems from Kansas State carried over against another strong Big 12 defense.

Wes Miller and his staff haven't found a clear answer for these issues and it made things look a lot like Monday night. UC couldn't get going in transition, the lob game evaporated early, and they were left with a ton of isolation looks late in the shot clock.

There just aren't any consistent isolation shot creators right now, and teams don't ever have to double anyone because of it. When UC can't crisply pass the ball and execute a flowing half-court offense, nothing works. They had just 11 assists after averaging 16.3 entering the game (76th nationally).

There is so much pressure on UC's starters right now because of an even colder bench that contributed just 15 bench points to 31 for Arizona on Saturday. The whole lineup largely has to wake up, and quickly. Cincinnati was 28th in the country, averaging 1.15 points per possession entering this game.

They posted .985 on Saturday, which would rank 257th nationally over this full season so far.

Dillon Mitchell Moves

Cincinnati's dynamic forward duo tried their best to will a win on Saturday. Dillon Mitchell (13 points, six rebounds) and Skillings were UC's best players for the full 40 minutes. The former played a huge role in Cincinnati's second-half push to make things way closer after falling behind 52-33.

Mitchell turned his elite defense into easy offense at the other end multiple times and hit another three to follow up his makes on Monday night. He and Skillings were nearly tied for the top efficiency mark on the team (17 for Skillings, 14 for Mitchell).

That could've been higher with better free-throw shooting. Mitchell went 0-5 from the free throw line on Saturday andArizona even started fouling him on purpose to get the ball back. That can't be an effective opposing strategy all conference slate, but it is right now with Mitchell shooting 31% from the free throw line entering the game. 

Still, Cincinnati had a plus-six mark in Mitchell's minutes.

Skillings complemented him well and is starting to look like his normal self on the rebounding front. He grabbed the biggest one of the game to tie things up on a putback at 64-64 with under a minute left. His athleticism and craftiness around the rim are invaluable and he was the only Bearcat to hit multiple threes in the game (2-6 from downtown).

Cincinnati would've been boat raced in conference play so far without the dynamic wing talent.

Balanced Arizona

The Wildcats didn't blow anyone away on Saturday, but they played consistent team basketball and got offensive contributions from across the rotation. Three different Wildcats scored 10-plus points on Saturday and kept pressure on UC's defense from multiple areas.

Cincinnati didn't let Caleb Love (12 points, 3-15 from the field) explode for another big game like he did in a 33-point outing against TCU, but he still made enough of an impact in a poor shooting performance.

Rim pressure was Arizona's biggest calling card, with 32 paint points and a whopping 21-27 free throw mark against Cincinnati's 12-23 finish from the line. That's right in line with UC's 333rd-ranked FT percentage entering the game.

Arizona made a bunch of tough shots against Cincinnati, but that's what's required to win on the road in this league, and they got it done with more than enough execution on fewer possessions. Next up is a road trip to face No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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