Recap: Kansas 54 Cincinnati 40

by Ryan Roberts January 11, 2025

"Needless to say, it's been a disappointing couple of weeks."

Those were the first words out of head coach Wes Miller's mouth during his press conference following another uninspiring offensive showing as Cincinnati lost their fourth consecutive game, falling 54-40 to Kansas.

(Photos: Taylor Keeton/ RiverfontU)

The Bearcats played well enough defensively to win the game, limiting Kansas to 35% from the field and a 2-of-21 showing from 3-point range.

Preseason First Team All American and Big 12 Player of the Year, Hunter Dickinson, led the Jayhawks with 14 points, 12 rebounds on 7-of-16 shooting from the field.

Dickinson was the only Jayhawk to reach double figures as Zeke Mayo was limited to 9 points, six rebounds, while both KJ Adams and Shakeel Moore scored eight points.

Offensively, UC once again struggled to find rhythm during key stretches of the game.

The Bearcats turned the ball over 12 times, resulting in 16 points for Kansas, made just 3-of-22 from deep, and also finished 18-of-59 (30.5%) from the field.

"We've obviously spent a lot of time this week on offense," Miller told local media following the game. " We got in the lab, we broke things down, we worked on execution. We're doing everything that we can think to do that's within reason of what our players can handle this time of year. We're working our tails off in every way."

UC scored just three points over a 10-minute segment to end the first half and begin the second half, and then closed the game making just 1-of-11 field goal attempts, scoring three points over the final 6:47.

The Bearcats had good looks both from three, as well as around the rim, but simply could not convert. UC made just 4-of-12 lay ups during the first half and finished 6-of-15 for the game. The struggles around the rim were highlighted by a missed Arrinten Page dunk with the Bearcats trailing by five, 42-37, with 5:13 remaining.

Kansas outscored UC 32-24 in the paint and held UC to just six points in the paint during the second half.

"There's a lid on it right now. It will come off. It always does," said Miller. " We have good players. It'll definitely come off. They'll find their rhythm and their feel and their flow. I believe in that."

While the past four games have been extremely frustrating for all involved around Cincinnati basketball, Dillon Mitchell maintains that there's still plenty of season left and this team can turn things around.

"There's so much basketball left and we trust the coaches, we trust each other," said Mitchell. "We know shots are going to start to fall. When it does, everything's going to open up for us and I just think if we continue to lock in, continue to stay focused on the details, continue to stay together, that's the biggest thing. It's all about the 15 other guys in that locker room and all the coaches. That's all that matters."

Mitchell was one of the lone bright spots for the Bearcats offensively on Saturday, leading UC with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Mitchell also pulled down five rebounds.

Arrinten Page also provided a nice spark off the bench, contributing nine points, seven rebounds.

With missed shots and turnovers piling up over the final six minutes during Kansas' game sealing 16-3 run, fans also expressed their frustration, letting boo's ring freely throughout Fifth Third Arena.

"I'm never going to be the guy that stands up here and complains about fanfare," said Miller. I love our fans. I love the support that we have here. I understand if they're frustrated because we haven't played well for two weeks. But as I said, people that stick with us and keep fighting for us, thank you. People that don't, thank you cause we'll prove you wrong and that's what I told the team in the locker room.

With the loss, Cincinnati drops to 10-5 (0-4 Big 12) and will now try to end their losing streak on the road at Colorado Wednesday night in a 9:00 tip off.

Game Recap:

After scoring on their first possession of the game on a lob from Lukosius to Mitchell at the end of the shot clock, Cincinnati opened an 8-2 lead at 16:17.

Strong takes to the rim by Mitchell, followed by a steal and basket in transition by Dan Skillings Jr brought a sold out Fifth Third Arena crowd to their feet.

The excitement would be short lived as the Jayhawks responded with an 8-0 run over the next 1:14, making all three field goal attempts, to give the visitors a 10-8 lead at 14:45.

Dejuan Harris and Zeke Mayo both made three's during the Jayhawk run.

Wes Miller went with an unconventional lineup out of the media timeout, inserting CJ Fredrick, Arrinten Page, and Josh Reed, along with Day Day Thomas, and Dan Skillings.

The move would pay off, for the most part.

KU would be held with out a point for three minutes, while Page scored four points, including a dunk to give UC a 14-12 lead at 10:52.

Dajuan Harris ended Kansas' scoring drought of 5:30 with a back door cut but Dan Skillings answered with a corner three at the other end to extend the UC lead to 19-14 at 8:07.

Skillings extended the lead to 21-14 at 6:45 with a strong take to the basket and finish through contact.

With 6:45 remaining in the first half, Kansas was 1 of last 10 and had four turnovers over the previous 7:08.

Jizzle James' jumper just inside the arc extended the UC lead to 23-16 at 5:41.

The Jayhawks answered with a quick 4-0 run on a take to the rim by Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams dunk off a lob, but the Bearcats answered at the other end on a dunk by Dillon Mitchell to give the Cats a 25-20 advantage with 3:13 remaining in the first half.

Despite missing their final five field goal attempts of the half while being held scoreless over the final 3:46, UC maintained a 25-24 lead at the half.

The Bearcats primarily did the majority of their work in the paint during the first half, outscoring KU 18-10. This stat could have been a wider margin but the Bearcats finished 4-of-12 on layup attempts.

Kansas scored the first basket of the second half to give them the lead but would make just 1 of their next 7 field goal attempts.

Despite the offensive struggles, KU still led 28-26 at 15:47 of the second half as UC missed their first four field goal attempts of the second half, including Jizzle James going 1-of-2 at the free throw line.

Going back to the 5:41 mark of the first half, UC's offense had managed just three points over a 10 minute span.

Hunter Dickinson extended the KU lead to 30-26 but the Jayhawks would miss their next seven field goal attempts.

Arrinten Page scored five straight for UC, including a three at the end of the shot clock, to give UC a 31-30 advantage with 11:38 remaining in the game.

Kansas made their next three field goal attempts, including a dunk by Flory Bidunga to give the away team a 36-33 advantage with 9:45 left to play.

Kansas extended their lead to 38-35 at 7:57 after a Skillings turnover led to a KJ Adams putback at the other end. Adams was also fouled on the putback attempt but missed the free throw.

Five UC turnovers led to 8 points by KU, contributing to the Jayhawks' lead.

After a failed dunk attempt by Arrinten Page at 5:45, Shakeel Moore got in the lane at the other end and converted a floater to give the Jayhawks a five point lead with 5:13 remaining in the game.

Kansas was owning the paint at that point, outscoring the Bearcats 14-6, while also collecting nine offensive rebounds.

With 3:08 remaining, Kansas led 48-37 as the Bearcats hadn't scored in 4:25, had missed six straight from the field, and were 2 of their last 10.

The was able to take advantage with a 10-0 run over 3:39 to put the game out of reach.

UC was limited to a 1-of-11 finish from the field and outscored 16-3 over the final 6:47.

Josh Reed's three with 1:21 remaining cut the KU lead to 52-40 and ended an over six minute scoring drought.

Kansas outscored the Bearcats 22-6 in the paint during the second half, with the final basket being a Hunter Dickinson floater on the baseline with :02 seconds on the clock.

Key stats and notes:

Simas Lukosius finished 1-of-10 from the field and missed all six attempts from three. Lukosius totaled two points, three assists, and three rebounds in the loss and is now 6-of-34 from three over his last six games.
Lukosius wasn't the only Bearcat to struggle in the loss. Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James finished a combined 2-of-14 from the field and 0-of-4 from three. James was held to three points, three rebounds and he has now finished in single digits scoring in six of the last eight games for the Bearcats. Point guard play at the offensive end is going to have to improve for this team to get past their current struggles.
Conner Hickman did not play as he has been limited in practice, while still dealing with a foot injury. That opened the door for CJ Fredrick to see minutes, and he played well to provide a spark off the bench. While Fredrick didn't score, he was one of only two Bearcats to finish with a positive +/-. UC was +2 during the 16 minutes that Fredrick was on the floor.
Tyler Betsey did not play and it was not discussed why during the post game press conference. Betsey was one of the first players out during pre game warm ups to get extra shots up. With Betsey on the bench, that allowed Josh Reed to see minutes. Reed finished with five points and also had one rebound, steal, and block.
Dan Skillings had seven points with 6:41 remaining in the first half and UC leading 21-14. The junior wing attempted just two shots over the course of the rest of the game, finishing with nine points, five rebounds, and three steals. Skillings is one of the few Bearcats that hasn't struggled offensively during the Bearcats' losing streak and it felt like he could have been more aggressive during the second half in the loss.
Aziz Bandaogo led the team with 8 rebounds, but did not score in 23 minutes of action. It is the first time this season Bandaogo did not score.

Final Thoughts:

The loss to Baylor was a low point of the season, but this loss may be even more frustrating as the defense played well enough to pick up a key home win and end a losing streak.

The lack of consistency has to be figure out and quickly. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, but UC can't afford to continue digging a hole. There is enough talent on this team to be competitive with and beat top of the league type teams, but shots have to start falling.

Postgame video:

Recap: Kansas 54 Cincinnati 40

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