UC Basketball 2023-24 Preview Paw Prints: Detroit Mercy Titans

Cincinnati beat the Titans by double digits last season.

CINCINNATI — UC men's basketball is back in action for two games this weekend as they start up a multi-team event with Detroit Mercy up first and then a quick turnaround for Eastern Washington on Sunday. The Titans just took it on the chin at Toledo 94-60 as the program enters with a 0-3 record against Cincinnati—having lost by an average of 15 points per game.

Cincinnati didn't cover the 15-point spread on Monday night, largely because of an off-shooting night from deep, but they should win by roughly that amount or more against the Horizon League foe.

The Titans enter as KenPom's 308th-ranked team, while UC sits at No.57. ESPN's Matchup Predictor gives Cincinnati a 94.9% chance to win the home contest.

When UC Has the Ball

Friday could be a nice get-right shooting matchup for a UC team that just went 5-for-25 from outside to open the season. Toledo shot 12-of-20 from outside in an offensive barrage on the Titans.

"Offensively, when you go five for 25 from three and most of them are really clean, good looks, the right shots and you still win by double figures, you're pretty dang happy as a coach," UC head coach Wes Miller said after Monday's game. "Those are the good wins because we're going to be a good shooting team and man, I thought there were some really good looks that just didn't go, especially there in the second half, where we could have really broken open."

There's no major defensive pillar to worry about from Detroit, as the team has one rotation player listed above 6-foot-7 on its roster. They showed to be a balanced rebounding team in Game 1 with three players grabbing 4-6 rebounds in the season opener.

Viktor Lakhin shot just 25% from the field on Monday, but he's crushed small lineups over the past two seasons and has a nice bounce-back spot here. Overall, Cincinnati is poised to post a big offensive number up against KenPom's 352nd-ranked adjusted defense.

Point guard Donovann Toatley (20 points, six assists, three steals) took the lead guard baton from Antoine Davis this season and he was the peskiest defender to start the new era of Titans basketball. Day Day Thomas and the rest of UC's guards will have to keep Toatley quick hands at bay.

When Detroit Mercy Has The Ball

It all starts and often ends with Toatley on offense in the Titans' first game. The senior shot 61.5% on 13 shots against Toledo and got a compliment on the other side of the backcourt from guard Jayden Stone (15 points on 12 shots).

Toatley was lights out inside the arc (6-of-7) and that's the top worry for a UC defense that is missing two key frontcourt pieces in Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds. The team allowed 54.5% shooting inside the arc against UIC (244th nationally through one game).

If Toatley and Stone find holes to the rim, they could keep this closer than Bearcat fans would like. James and Thomas will be the first line of defense against the strength of this offense.

"Jizzle [James] looked like a freshman at times defensively tonight," Miller said on Monday. "I believe he is going to be able to learn a lot from this tape because a lot of his mistakes resulted in baskets being made. I think it was good for him to get those minutes and he's going to have a great freshman year. It is going to take a little bit of time to get used to this level of basketball."

Prediction: 85-66 Cincinnati

The three-point shot regresses to the mean with more than 10 makes for UC as they rain fire on one of the 20 worst defenses in the country.

CJ Fredrick stays hot the whole game and posts his first 20-point game since the season opener with Kentucky last season.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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