3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to overcome another rivalry loss, return to win column

For the second Tuesday in a row, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team will have to get over a disappointing loss to an area rival and get well against an opponent they should handle without issue.

Last week after the latest disappointment against Xavier, UC was sluggish against Bryant until they turned on the jets in the final eight minutes and won by 32 points. This Tuesday, after a powder blue downtown beatdown vs. Dayton Saturday, the Bearcats are home against Merrimack of the Northeast Conference.

After missing Quadrant I win opportunities on back-to-back weekends, the Warriors will be the seventh opponent that will offer up nothing more than a Quadrant 4 win where UC is undefeated at 6-0. The Bearcats current best wins are Quadrant 3 victories over Illinois-Chicago and Georgia Tech, with Evansville offering up another such opportunity on Friday, Dec. 29.

UC basketball Takeaways from Saturday's Cincinnati Bearcats loss to Dayton Flyers

UC basketball Jamille Reynolds UC's Jamille Reynolds cleared to play without NCAA retaliation thanks to Ohio AG office

Among Quadrant 1 wins for Big 12 schools, Houston leads with four, Kansas has three with BYU and Baylor having one each. In addition to the Bearcats, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas State, UCF, Oklahoma State and West Virginia either don't have a Quadrant 1 win or have yet to play such an opponent.

"We've got a long way to go," UC coach Wes Miller said. "I believe we have good kids. We have talent. We have experience. We're going to really improve. We've got a lot of things to figure out with this team. I know we'll do that."

3 keys to wiping away Xavier, Dayton memories

1. Keep the Warriors from the 80s

While the 80s were great for several forms of music and the "Back to the Future" movies, teams that score 80 or more points against the Bearcats are an issue. Howard did it in D.C. and forced overtime before the Bearcats won while the rib-poking losses to Xavier and Dayton featured 84 and 82 points, respectively.

"That's unacceptable!" Miller said of UC's defense vs. Dayton. "We're not going to be the team we're capable of being if we've got to search defensively to try to get a stop. At some point, we've got to decide we're going to get frickin' stops."

2. Embrace the rims at Fifth Third Arena

As Norman Dale pointed out in "Hoosiers," the baskets in Hinkle Fieldhouse were 10 feet high, same as the ones in the mythical Hickory High gym. However, all rims are not alike and voluminous road cheering can alter 3-point shooting as it did at Howard (18.7%), Xavier (21.7%) and vs. Dayton at Heritage Bank Center (24%).

UC has three games shooting at Fifth Third Arena rims before they try to find their road mojo in the Big 12 at BYU Jan. 6.

3. Use the next three games to nail down a rotation

Last season, Miller started using Jeremiah Davenport off the bench after the first of the year and started Ody Oguama which seemed to provide a kickstart. Thus far, UC's used two pretty similar lineups. Against Dayton, Miller tried playing guards Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James at the same time. Also, recently eligible Jamille Reynolds, who has more traditional post moves, needs to be worked in. Dan Skillings Jr. is the team's third-leading scorer but has not shot as much, or as effectively, as he did in November.

Cincinnati vs. Merrimack

Tip: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Fifth Third Arena (12,012)

TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW

Series: First meeting

Merrimack Warriors scouting report

Record: 5-6

Coach: Joe Gallo (seventh season, 127-92)

Offense: 71.4 ppg

Defense: 72.5 ppg

Projected lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Adam "Budd" Clark (G, 5'10", 12.4 ppg)

Jordan Derkack (G, 6'5", 16.9 ppg)

Samba Diallo (F, 6'7", 10.0 ppg)

Devon Savage (G, 6'4", 11.0 ppg)

Bryan Etumnu (F, 6'7", 7.2 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 8-2

Coach: Wes Miller (third season, 49-30, 234-165 overall)

Offense: 84.3 ppg

Defense: 67.4 ppg

Projected lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Viktor Lakhin (F, 6'11", 13.6 ppg)

Day Day Thomas (G, 6', 11.4 ppg)

John Newman III (F, 6'5", 10.1 ppg)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 9.2 ppg)

C.J. Fredrick (G, 6'3", 7.7 ppg)

Players to watch

Sophomore Jordan Derkack tops Merrimack in scoring at close to 17 points a game while pulling down 6.7 rebounds. His high game was 33 points against UMass-Lowell. Sophomore forward Bryan Etumnu is a shot-blocking threat with 24 so far in 11 games.

For the Bearcats, Viktor Lakhin was held well below his average Saturday with just four points and missed all five of his shots from three-point range. He should have an easier time scoring Tuesday against the smaller Warriors.

Rankings

NCAA NET: UC dropped from No. 24 to No. 38 after the Dayton loss. Merrimack is No. 197

KenPom.com: UC is No. 37, Merrimack No. 263

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 3 keys for UC Bearcats to return to winning vs. Merrimack Tuesday