Recap: Cincinnati 75 TCU 63
Cincinnati basketball has always been about toughness and rebounding. Both were on full display Saturday as UC ended a two-game losing streak, defeating TCU by a final score of 75-63.
UC was crushed on the boards down the stretch of Wednesday's 62-59 loss to West Virginia. On Saturday, the Bearcats responded by doing the same against Jamie Dixon's squad inside Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats placed four in double figure scoring, paced by Jizzle James' 18 points on a 7-of-16 showing from the field.
Day Day Thomas and Josh Reed both contributed 13 points. Reed had another efficient showing, finishing 5-for-5 from the field, also making his only 3-point attempt, and both free throws.
"It's been a good feeling, just coming out every day and being aggressive in games, looking for my shot, being confident, and knowing that my coaches and teammates all trust me," Reed said following the game.
"That's a pretty efficient offensive line," Miller explained. "I think he continues to just put days and put games together and he's emerged into a really, really good player."
Reed has found himself in the starting lineup the past two games with Simas Lukosius sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Cincinnati's 3-point struggles continued, finishing 4-of-20 from behind the arc, but the Bearcats finished 46% from the field, while making 52% of their field goal attempts during the second half. UC made five of their final 7 field goal attempts, including their final three to help close the Horned Frogs out.
The biggest key to Cincinnati winning was their ability to keep TCU off the free throw line. TCU was averaging 24 attempts per game during their three-game win streak.
"Our discipline to try to make them score over us and through us tonight, without fouling, was pretty good," Miller said. "They put a lot of pressure on you off the bounce. We talked about that and I thought our guys did a nice job of making it go through their chest for the most part."
TCU saw three players reach double-figures, led by David Punch, who finished with 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Punch made his final five shots to help cut in to UC's 20-point second half lead. It was just the fourth time this season the freshman has scored in double figures.
With the win, UC improves to 16-11 (6-10 Big 12), while TCU falls to 15-12 (8-8 Big 12).
The Bearcats will now turn their attention to a Tuesday night showdown against Baylor, who defeated UC 68-48 at the beginning of January in Waco.
"Win in the Big 12 in February, you know, that's just finding the way. Figuring how to do it and that's what matters most," said Miller. "That's the part I'm excited about. You look back and we had such a rough start there to the first half of league play but we won 4-of-6 and that's something in this league. There's a lot of good teams in this league that haven't won 4-of-6 so I'm proud of that and then we got another great opportunity in here on Tuesday night. "
Game Notes
First Half:
16:11- Day Day Thomas knocks down a mid range jumper to extend UC's lead to 9-0 to open the game. Thomas also made his first 3-point attempt of the game to get the Bearcats on the board.
14:05- TCU scores their first basket on a three by Vasean Allette to cut UC's lead to 13-3.
11:27- UC leads 14-3, despite scoring just one point and missing five straight field goal attempts over 2:58. TCU had also missed five straight from the field and hadn't scored in 2:38.
10:45- TCU makes their second 3-point attempt of the half, ending a three minute, 20 second scoring drought to cut the UC lead to 14-6. The Horned Frogs were 2-for-16 from the field at this point.
6:53- Wes Miller calls a timeout after TCU cuts the UC lead to 19-15 on their fourth consecutive make from the field. TCU outscored UC 6-0 over 1:43 to make it a two possession game.
3:46- Cincinnati's lead is down to three points following a 3-pointer by Jace Posey to make the score 23-20 at the final media stop of the half.
1:22- Jamie Dixon calls a TCU timeout following a three by Skillings and tough finish by Jizzle James in the paint. James' basket extended the UC lead to 31-22.
0:01- Jizzle James' final 3-point attempt of the half falls just short. UC heads in to the half leading 31-24.
Second half:
18:21- Day Day Thomas makes two free throws following a Josh Reed 3-pointer to extend the UC lead to 36-24 early in the second half.
16:22- Jizzle James scores five straight, forcing TCU to call a timeout. James steal and layup in transition gave UC a 41-26 advantage.
15:39- Aziz Bandaogo converts a dunk and is fouled by Ernest Udeh in the process. Bandaogo converted the free throw out of the media timeout, giving the Bearcats a 44-28 lead.
13:26- Four straight turnovers by the Bearcats over 2:13 forces Miller to call a timeout after TCU cuts the lead to 44-32.
12:58- Jizzle James picks up his third foul.
11:45- Dillon Mitchell extends the UC lead to 50-34 after making four straight free throw attempts.
10:30- An 8-0 run over 1:48 is capped off by Day Day Thomas, giving UC a 54-34 advantage and their largest lead of the game.
6:51- 7-2 TCU run over 1:56 forces Wes Miller to call a timeout. Vasean Allette's dunk in transition off a Day Day Thomas' missed 3-point attempt cut UC's lead to 60-45.
3:41- Trazarien White knocks down a three from the top of the key to cut the UC lead to 64-52. Tyler Betsey is fouled on the next UC possession after grabbing an offensive rebound. Betsey made both free throws, extending UC's lead to 66-52 with 3:23 on the clock.
2:15- After Day Day Thomas misses a wide-open dunk in transition, Trazarien White knocks down a three and TCU follows that with an and-one by David Punch to cut the UC lead to 66-57.
1:45- Josh Reed converts a dunk attempt in transition and is fouled in the process to extend the UC lead to 69-57 after a successful free throw attempts.
0:37- Mid range jumper by Jizzle James and basket by Day Day Thomas in transition extends the UC lead to 75-61. Noah Reynolds scored the final basket of the game with :21 seconds remaining.
Postgame Video: Wes Miller, Dillon Mitchell, Josh Reed, Jamie Dixon
Final Thoughts:
Cincinnati needed a win to keep any hope of making the tournament alive and they set the tone early with their defensive intensity as TCU made just two of their first 16 field goal attempts. The effort was encouraging.
Dan Skillings scored 7 points and pulled down 4 rebounds but got back to looking like himself with how he attacked the glass at both ends of the floor. There's still frustrating moments with him on the floor, but he is at least showing effort and trying which is encouraging considering the amount of public criticism he's received over the past few weeks.
Aziz Bandaogo's stat line of 7 points, 4 rebounds won't stand out to most, but his presence around the rim heavily contributed to TCU's struggles around the rim. They finished 11-of-26 on layup attempts and most of that was due to Bandaogo contesting everything.
Every game is big at this point in the season but a win Tuesday adds a little juice to a resume that is in desperate need of more signature wins. Win Tuesday and you're able to head to Houston with confidence and momentum.