For those up to a doubleheader of Cincinnati sports on Sunday, shortly after the Bengals and Browns do business at Paycor Stadium, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team has a tilt with Grambling State.
The late afternoon tip is UC’s last non-conference game of the season. A week from Monday the winter slog of Big 12 games begins at Kansas State. As of Saturday, seven Big 12 teams are among the top 30 according to the NCAA NET rankings and KenPom.com.
The Bearcats are coming off back-to-back local rivalry games with Xavier and Dayton. Both were wins in front of noisy crowds. Friday the No. 19 Bearcats led by as many as 18 points against the 22nd-ranked Flyers and never trailed in a 66-59 victory.
“That’s a team right there that could play in the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight, they’re that good,” UC coach Wes Miller said of the Dayton Flyers.
Now Miller goes from what he called his toughest preparation of the year for Dayton to Grambling State slumping into Fifth Third Arena at 2-9.
Grambling State is coming off a Thursday-Friday Chris Paul HBCU tournament in Connecticut where they played Delaware State and Norfolk State and fell short both days.
Grambling State power opponents
The Tigers, as many non-Power Four teams do have taken some paydays to get to this point with five of their losses coming against USC, New Mexico, Florida, Ole Miss and Pepperdine. It should be noted the Ole Miss Rebels were No. 24 when Grambling State played them in November and the Tigers only lost by a bucket, 66-64.
A chance for double-digit wins by New Year’s Day
With a win over Grambling State, UC would be at 10 wins before January for the fourth straight season under Wes Miller. The last team not to achieve that mark was the 2020-21 John Brannen Bearcats who also were dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak.
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Grambling State Tigers
1. Close out 2024 portion of schedule unbeaten at Fifth Third Arena
The best way to do that is to take care of business against a team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain. UC has had bouts of sluggishness in such games before this season as they had to fight for a halftime lead vs. Howard and didn’t seem to be on all cylinders against Alabama State. Alabama State is in the Southwest Athletic Conference with Grambling State, so it wouldn’t be surprising to find out notes were passed. Negating all of that would be a dominant win to send everyone home for the holidays with an exclamation point.
“We’ve got guys that love to play,” Miller said. “We’ve got guys that love to compete. The only time I’m going to be surprised is when they’re not like that. We’ve got guys that love to play basketball. It’s been fun to watch the evolution of our program. That’s made it enjoyable to be around this group every day.”
2. Get a halftime cushion so back-up Cincinnati Bearcats can play
This goes along with not letting Grambling State lull you into a game. At Ole Miss, they led by eight at halftime, at New Mexico they trailed by just four and at USC they led by one before eventually dropping all three contests. Wes Miller had played 10 or more deep in many games, but this could be the last one where that strategy flies as they prepare for the next couple of months of Big 12 atmospheres.
3. Stop Grambling State 3-balls
Chilaydrien Newton shoots 54% from the perimeter and 57% from the field. UC will see plenty of marksmen in the coming months, but it might be a good idea to know where No. 5 (Newton) is on the court. Antwan Burnett, a 6-foot-5, guard-forward leads the Tigers in scoring at 12.6 points per game and shoots 44% from the arc, but did not play in their last game vs. Norfolk State.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Grambling State Tigers
Tip: Sunday, 4 p.m. Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/55KRC (Dan Hoard will be calling Bengals/Browns on 700WLW, Mo Egger brings you UC play-by-play with Steve Logan on WKRC)
Series: First-ever meeting
Grambling State Tigers Scouting report
Record: 2-9
Coach: Donté Jackson (seventh year, 122-111)
Offense: 68.9 ppg
Defense: 72.8 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Mikale Stevenson (G, 6’2″, 11.3 ppg)
Kintavious Dozier (G, 6’1″, 10.4 ppg)
Chilaydrien Newton (G, 6’3″, 8.5 ppg)
Ernest Ross (F, 6’9″, 8.8 ppg)
James Flippin (F, 6’10”,
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 9-1
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth year, 72-44, overall 257-179)
Offense: 79 ppg
Defense: 59.5 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 15.7 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 12.5 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 11 ppg)
Dan Skillings Jr. (G-f, 6’6″, 11.5 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 9.1 ppg)
Players to watch
Going into their weekend Chris Paul HBCU Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, Chilaydrien Newton, a redshirt freshman, was shooting 57 % from the field and 54% from behind the arc. In a three-game span against Cal Poly, Arkansas Baptist and Pepperdine he made 10-of-11 triples.
Simas Lukošius would seem to be a mismatch for the Grambling State guards with his ability to light it up from long-range and drive the lane. Lukošius is just inches shorter than the Tigers post players. Dillon Mitchell and Dan Skillings Jr. should also provide problems with their length and versatility.
Only Skillings shot the ball at a respectable rate (6-for-13) against Dayton. Mitchell was held to four points and Lukošius was 4-for-17 and 3-for-12 on triples, so Sunday could be a “get well” game for both.
Rankings
KenPom.com: UC is No. 22, Grambling State No. 303.
NCAA NET: UC is No. 30, Grambling State is No. 311.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats wrap up non-conference games with Grambling State
