Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Survives Bad Shooting Day in 68-65 Win Over Xavier

Cincinnati hosted the 92nd Crosstown Shootout.

Dec 14, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Dan Skillings Jr. stretches before the game against the Xavier Musketeers at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats held on for dear life and found a way to beat Xavier 68-65 on Saturday for Wes Miller's first win in the series. It ends a five-game losing streak after Cincinnati hit an uncharacteristic number of free throws (19-26 from the line) and leaned on its defense to power the win.

Cincinnati got a stellar game from Aziz Bandaogo (12 points, 100% shooting, five rebounds), but had to weather bad shooting nights from most of the roster (37.9% as a team).

It marked just the third win of the Wes Miller era when UC shoots less than 38% from the field. Grit and toughness powered UC across the finish line during the 92nd Crosstown Shootout.

"I thanked em...I was worried they was gonna run my ass outta town if we didn't win one," Miller joked about his message to the team postgame.#Bearcats

— Russ Heltman (@russheltman11) December 14, 2024

Stars Dull Under Bright Lights

Cincinnati could've blown this game wide open with how well it played defense, unfortunately, none of the Bearcat's top players shot the ball well on Saturday.

It was a brick fest from Jizzle James (two points, 0-11 from the field, most shots without a made field goal in his college career), Simas Lukošius (14 points, 5-13 FGs), and Dan Skillings (10 points, 4-10 FGs), who combined to shoot 9-34 from the field. James was particularly rough with no touch on a usually strong mid-range jump shot. He never got that going and it led to a lot of transition opportunities for one of the nation's best open-court teams in the Musketeers.

Lukošius did enough in the second half to will a win, but there were far too many missed open shots.

Skillings continued his issues against Xavier but turned on the scoring in the final minutes to help stay on the winning side. Xavier didn't play insanely tight defense, UC just seemingly can't get over the mental shooting hump against this team. We know they can rain after entering the game ranked third nationally in field goal percentage (51.7%).

Still, that's mostly against low-level Division 1 teams. Cincinnati has to get better shotmaking from its stars to match another strong defensive game (37.9% field goal mark allowed).

Freemantle Frolics

Zach Freemantle (18 points, seven rebounds) was the Musketeers' best player and the only consistent offensive threat for Xavier on Saturday. It wasn't enough of a threat in the second half though. 

Cincinnati had no one that could consistently box out the shifty 6-9 talent in the first 20 minutes (16 points in openinghalf) and he ate offensive rebounds and a varied shot diet all day.

Freemantle led the Musketeers with a plus-three plus/minus and posted a 96 offensive rating in his minutes. He showed all the skills he's honed over a long career with Xavier. The back-to-the-basket package, a downhill repertoire, and a three-point shot that stung Cincinnati to close the first-half buzzer.

Add in a perfect day from the free-throw line and you get just what the doctor ordered for Xavier. Dayvion McKnight (two points, nine assists) could tell his big man was going early on and never stopped feeding him against an otherwise very stout Cincinnati defense.

Bandaogo Button Mash

Cincinnati does not win its first shootout this decade without Bandaogo. The clutch seven-footer owned his moment across 40 minutes better than any other Bearcat on Saturday. Each time Cincinnati couldn't find a bucket or had no offensive rhythm, they hit that Bandaogo lob button for rim impact.

He was 100% from the floor and a strong 4-6 from the free throw line to help Cincinnati eek away for the win. UC as a team shot a sound 73.1% from the line after entering the game fourth-worst nationally in free throw shooting (59.4%).

They needed basically every one of those makes to etch the victory, including two from Skillings in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win.

The timing on these lobs and Bandaogo's touch around the rim have gotten better and better over the first nine games of the season and it culminated in just enough for a win on Saturday. Next is another tough local opponent in Dayton next Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

"That was by far the most fun I've had playing college basketball," Dillon Mitchell said after his efficient double-double.#Bearcats

— Russ Heltman (@russheltman11) December 14, 2024

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