Recap: Iowa State 76 Cincinnati 56

Cincinnati's run in the Big 12 Tournament came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as the Bearcats fell to fifth seed Iowa State by a final score of 76-56.

 

 

"Obviously our whole program was disappointed coming into the tournament with our play the last week of the regular season, and I was really proud of the way our guys came here and responded," Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said following the game. "I thought we played with great effort yesterday, and I thought for 35 minutes tonight we played with great effort."

 

 

 

The Cyclones saw four different guys reached double figures, led by Joshua Jefferson's 19 points, 8 rebounds. Tamin Lipsey finished with 16 points.

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

Iowa State led by nine, 33-24, at the half behind 11 points from Milan Momcilovic. The Bearcats came out ice-cold, making just 29% of their field goal attempts during the opening 20 minutes. 

 

 

"You always want to get off to a good start. That has not been a problem with our team.  We usually get off to pretty damn good starts," Miller said. "There was a little bit of a lid on it.  We got some early looks there in the game but they just didn't go.  We stayed with it."

 

"I told our guys at halftime, we were down 9 at half and we could not make a shot, and thought their toughness and their fight was the only reason we were in a three-possession game."

 

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

During the second half, UC battled to cut the ISU lead to three points, and had it down to five points with 10:46 remaining following a dunk by Aziz Bandaogo, but simply couldn't make enough plays down the stretch at either end of the court to get over the hump. 

 

 

The Bearcats made just one of their final nine field goal attempts and did not score over the final 4:18, missing all six shots. Iowa State took advantage of the UC struggles, outscoring Wes Miller's team 11-0 over the final 3:30.

 

 

For the game, UC finished 33% from the field, while the Cyclones made 54% of their field goal attempts and 10-of-21 from deep. 

 

 

Physically, Iowa State dominated a Cincinnati team and program that prides itself on defense, rebounding, and toughness. 

 

 

Dishon Jackson scored 10 points, but pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds as ISU out-rebounded UC 41-23.

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

The effort on the boards keyed a 15-6 advantage for Iowa State in 2nd chance points, while the Cyclones also outscored UC 36-16 in the paint. The physicality and overall strength difference was noticeable for most of the game.

 

 

"There's a physicality in this league that's different than other leagues," Miller said. "You got to have a level of physicality, that's for sure."

 

 

"The teams that are in the top half of this league, it's a different deal and that's where we expect to be. We have to make sure we have the level of size and physicality when we put lineups out on the court."

 

 

Miller was referring to Aziz Bandaogo being limited to just 22 minutes as he consistently dealt with foul trouble, finishing with two points. 

 

 

"I thought the overall effort to the ball isn't necessarily accurate to the rebounding disparity," Miller explained. "I thought some of it was just, you know, playing a really small front court, being depleted in the front court. Take out the last two minutes of the game, our fight was fine."

 

Jizzle James led UC with 17 points, making 3-of-9 attempts from deep and 6-of-20 overall from the field.

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

 

Josh Reed was the only other Bearcat to reach double figures with 10 points. Day Day Thomas had 9 points, while Dan Skillings scored 8 points off the bench. 

 

 

Thomas and Skillings combined to go 2-of-11 from deep as UC finished 9-of-30 as a team. 

 

 

With the loss UC concludes the regular season and Big 12 portion of their schedule with an overall record of 18-15. The Bearcats will now await their postseason destination, which as of right now would be the College Basketball Crown Tournament in Las Vegas.

 

 

The tournament is a new 16-team, single-elimination postseason tournament featuring teams from the Big 10, Big 12, and Big East, along with other At-large participants. Scheduled from March 31 to April 6, 2025, the tournament will be hosted at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with all games broadcast on FOX and FS1.

 

 

"The thing that we've been focused on is trying to play the NCAA tournament," Miller said. " We're disappointed to be in the position we're in. We felt like we had a team that could make a run in the NCAA tournament, not just before the season, but a bunch of points throughout the year."

 

(Photo: Denny Medley/Big 12 Conference)

 

 

So where does UC and Miller go from here? 

 

Postgame video: Wes Miller, Jizzle James

 

 

Final Thoughts:

 

UC showed fight today but simply didn't have the horses to match up with Iowa State and their physicality. This roster is not built to compete with the top of the Big 12 consistently. That's not a knock on any of the players. They have individual talent. But overall, this team didn't have a physical presence and toughness up and down the roster that it takes to compete in this league on a nightly basis. 

 

Miller alluded to the above during his postgame and if he sticks to his comments, I think you see a different look on next season's roster. The transfer portal opens March 24th. It will be interesting to track how the next month plays out.