3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win at No. 14 Baylor

Another NCAA quality win opportunity awaits the University of Cincinnati Bearcats as they visit Waco, Texas Saturday night to face Scott Drew's Baylor Bears.

Like last weekend at BYU, Baylor comes in with a better ranking than the Bearcats in both the NCAA NET and KenPom.com rankings which figure into postseason tournament draws. The 2021 national champions are currently ranked No. 14 by the Associated Press.

Tuesday night, against the same BYU Cougars UC beat 71-60 in Provo, Baylor prevailed 81-72. As it did against UC, BYU had a halftime lead (39-33) but the Bears outscored them by 15 in the second half.

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UC just missed having back-to-back wins over ranked teams when Max Abmas of Texas scored with eight seconds to go with the 25th-ranked Longhorns escaping 74-73. He may have traveled in the process, but UC would still have had to make free throws on the other end as Texas surely would have fouled. The Bearcats were only 8-for-15 from the stripe.

Opportunity knocks every night

Quality win opportunities are plentiful in the Big 12 as post-Baylor UC has TCU at home Jan. 16 (currently would be a Quad 2 victory) plus No. 9 Oklahoma Jan. 20, No. 3 Kansas in Lawrence Jan. 22 and an upcoming road date at Texas Tech Feb. 22. The Red Raiders downed No. 25 Texas on their home floor before the Longhorns knocked off the Bearcats.

3 keys to leaving Waco with a W

1. Block out the Bears and their fans

Baylor just started 2024 by opening the Foster Pavilion, an intimate venue that has been stacked full at 7,500 thus far. Though UC won in front of nearly 17,000 at BYU, a tight crowd on top of you can be intimidating as they've seen in recent years at Houston's Fertitta Center. Where Tuesday's game at Fifth Third Arena featured some Bengals, Chip and Joanna Gaines of the Magnolia Network are Baylor fans.

The best way to deal with fixer-uppers and frenzied fans is to silence them early in the game. UC has now trailed at halftime in three consecutive contests. While they've won two, an easier path would be to seize early momentum. However, given the 14 lead changes against Texas Tuesday, comfort seems to be a Big 12 rarity.

2. Freeze 3-balls

Baylor now averages more points than BYU and leads the nation in three-point percentage at 43.3%. Eight Bears are shooting over 40% from the perimeter with Dantwan Grimes off the bench at 8-for-12 (67%) and sixth man Langston Love at nearly 48%.

The Bearcats allowed BYU's Trevin Knell nine 3-pointers but held the Cougars overall to 28%. If Dan Skillings Jr., John Newman III and others can chase the Bears into rushed shots, UC could have another chance on the road.

3. Refrain from throwing the ball out of bounds

UC was inexplicably sloppy at BYU with 17 turnovers and added 15 more vs. Texas. It's not always an indicator of victory as they've had 20 or more three times this year and still prevailed. Still, an errant pass to a fan out of bounds is equivalent to an air-balled free throw on the road.

"Playing in the best basketball league in America, it's going to take an elite effort," UC coach Wes Miller said. "You can't have possessions you take off. The effort plus the focus and attention to detail for 40 minutes, we can get better there. It's going to take a lot of effort in these games. It's the highest level of college basketball."

Cincinnati vs. Baylor

Tip: 8 p.m. Eastern at Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas (7,500)

TV/Radio: ESPN/700WLW

Series: Baylor leads 1-0 (won 54-45 at Music Hall in 1946)

Baylor Bears scouting report

Record: 13-2 (2-0 Big 12)

Coach: Scott Drew (21st season, 435-235)

Offense: 87.7 ppg

Defense: 69.5 ppg

Projected lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

RayJ Dennis (G, 6'2", 13.9 ppg)

Yves Missi (C, 7', 10.1 ppg)

Jalen Bridges (F, 6'9", 10.7 ppg)

Ja'Kobe Walter (G, 6'5", 15.3 ppg)

Jayden Nunn (G, 6'4", 10.0 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 12-3 (1-1 Big 12)

Coach: Wes Miller (third season 53-31, 238-166 overall)

Offense: 80.7 ppg

Defense: 66.0 ppg

Projected lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Viktor Lakhin (F, 6'11", 14.1 ppg)

Day Day Thomas (G, 6', 10.3 ppg)

Simas Lukošius (G, 6'8", 9.5 ppg)

John Newman III (F, 6'5", 8.9 ppg)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 8.4 ppg)

Players to watch

Baylor is led by freshman guard Ja'Kobe Walter who averages over 15 points per game with a high game of 28 against Auburn in the season opener. Oklahoma State held him to seven points, one of just four games where he's been below double digits. Walter scored 16 in Baylor's win over BYU Tuesday. He played at the Link Academy in Branson where 2024-25 Bearcat Tyler McKinley played. Walter was also a McDonald's All-American.

UC's Simas Lukošius had a season-high 19 points against Texas, including back-to-back buckets that gave the Bearcats a 73-70 lead with under a minute to go. Jizzle James again had some key baskets for the Bearcats off the bench. Many have him as one of the more improved players as he's UC's fifth-leading scorer at 8.5 points per game, though he's eighth on the team in average minutes played (17.5).

Rankings

NCAA NET: Baylor is No. 14, UC No. 32

Ken Pom.com: Baylor is No. 14, UC No. 32

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcat basketball to defeat 14th-ranked Baylor