Assessing peaks, valleys of Cincinnati Bearcats 2023-24 basketball season
One week after their second consecutive loss in the NIT quarterfinals, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team had lost a post player to the transfer portal while trying to navigate new NIL waters to sustain their current roster.
Gone is 6-foot-11 Russian post Viktor Lakhin who led the team in scoring much of the season before falling into an abyss of injuries and ineffectiveness that sent him to the bench and ultimately to the portal. More could enter and the Bearcats, like most schools, are scouring the portal like a retiree looking for yard sales.
All the while, UC coach Wes Miller, now 63-43 in three seasons, is trying to keep a nucleus of the talent that won 22 games and made it to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in their first season in the league.
The following is a recap of this past season's peaks and valleys, as well as how their roster management has gone.
Peaks
Nov. 22, 2023 – UC blows out Georgia Tech from the ACC 89-54, pulling away after leading by eight at halftime. The Bearcats knock down 14 triples.
Jan. 6, 2024 – UC wins their Big 12 opener at No. 12 BYU, 71-60 after trailing by seven at half. It was the first of six straight games against teams ranked in the Top 25.
Feb. 3, 2024 – UC wins at No. 15 Texas Tech 75-72 after being down one point at half.
Feb. 17, 2024 – The Bearcats win in Orlando vs. UCF 76-74. after dropping consecutive games at Fifth Third Arena to No. 5 Houston and No. 10 Iowa State. Since it was on the road, it counts as a Quad 1 win, their third of the season.
March 2, 2024 – UC stops a three-game skid winning at home vs. Kansas State 74-72 on a late 3-pointer from Simas Lukošius.
March 9, 2024 – On Senior Day, UC makes up for an embarrassing early loss at West Virginia by wiping the floor with the Mountaineers, 92-56. Former coach Bob Huggins attends and wears red.
March 12, 2024 – The Mountaineers were after revenge in the Big 12 tournament and led UC by 16 with 12:25 left. The 18th lead change goes UC's way as they win and possibly save their post-season chances, 90-85. Lukošius (31) and Day Day Thomas (29) have season-highs.
March 13, 2024 – UC follows up with a Big 12 second-round win over Kansas 72-52. Though the Jayhawks were without Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar, coach Bill Self was unhappy with their early exit.
March 20, 2024 – It's Lukošius to the rescue again as he hits a 3-pointer in the final seconds to advance UC 73-72 over San Francisco in the opening NIT game.
March 23, 2024 – In their final game at Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats bounce Bradley 74-57 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Valleys
Dec. 9, 2023 – UC loses another Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout at Cintas Center vs. Xavier 84-79.
Dec. 16, 2023 – UC gets outdrawn attendance-wise in a neutral game at Heritage Bank Center and loses to Dayton 82-68.
Jan. 31, 2024 – UC led by 10 with 6:29 to go and by seven at the 5:00 mark. The Mountaineers rally and hang an unfortunate road loss on the Bearcats, 69-65.
Feb. 13, 2024 – At UC, the Bearcats only lost by nine to No. 10 Iowa State, 68-59 but the Cyclones led for over 36 of the game's 40 minutes.
Feb. 21, 2024 – In a game they really needed UC loses to Oklahoma State 80-76 at home.
Feb. 24, 2024 – It doesn't get much better at TCU as the Horned Frogs flog the Bearcats 75-57.
March 5, 2024 – In the most painful loss of the year, UC led by 13 with 12:45 to go in Norman against the Sooners. Four fouls on 3-point shots lead to 12 Oklahoma points to eventually force overtime where UC loses 74-71.
March 14, 2024 – Rolling in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament against No. 14 Baylor, the Bearcats get rolled in the second half and lose 68-56. It was their third game in as many days.
March 26, 2024 – Up four at half, UC allows a season-high 53 points in the second half to Indiana State with 19 of those coming off of turnovers. The Sycamores advanced to the NIT semifinals winning 85-81.
'Shoulda-coulda'
No. 25 Texas –In their only meeting, UC led 73-70 with 59 seconds to go. The Longhorns cut the lead to one, then got another late possession where Max Abmas hit a jumper with eight seconds left for the 74-73 victory. There was some debate over Abmas traveling in the process, but once the referees leave, it's over.
AtNo. 14 Baylor – In their lone regular-season meeting, Day Day Thomas got UC within 60-59 with 1:44 left, then the Bearcats missed three shots. They had the ball with 15 seconds to go and the shot clock off, but a Skillings Jr. shot wouldn't fall. Ja'Kobe Walter's free throws made it 62-59 and UC actually got off a pair of missed treys before time expired.
At West Virginia –UC led by seven with 5:00 to go, lost the lead, then fought back to lead 63-62 with 1:29 to go on a Lukošius 3-pointer. They'd be outscored 7-2 from there to lose to the last-place Mountaineers.
Vs. Oklahoma State –Up five with 5:00 to go, UC's last lead was 67-66 with 3:26 in the contest. The Cowboys outscored them 14-10 from there to snatch the road win.
At Oklahoma –The Bearcats led by seven with 5:00 to go and 66-61 with 1:30 left but managed to let the Sooners back up 67-66 on a Le'Tre Darthard triple with 15 seconds in the game. UC could have won had Aziz Bandaogo made two free throws, but he only made one to force overtime where the Bearcats would fall short.
At Indiana State –After Wes Miller's technical foul, Indiana State was up by nine with 7:17 left. In less than five minutes UC tied the game at 77 at 2:54, but the Sycamores answered at the arc and at the free throw line for the 85-81 win ending UC's season.
Overtimes
UC was 3-1 defeating Howard Nov. 28, TCU Jan. 16 in their first home Big 12 win and San Francisco March 20 to start the NIT. The only loss was the "Nightmare at Norman" vs. Oklahoma, one of several games that could have catapulted UC into an NCAA bid.
Numbers of note
Wes Miller was 6-3 in March after going 4-2 last year and 1-3 in 2022. The 2024 NIT was his seventh postseason visit which includes NCAA tournament bids with UNC-Greensboro in 2018 and 2021. The Bearcats had 10 treys vs. Indiana State but lost making them 12-3 when scoring eight or more treys. They had 81 points but lost making them 19-5 when scoring 70 or more and they outrebounded the Sycamores 36-34 putting them 19-10 when outrebounding the opposition.
Portal points
A year ago, UC's top player, Landers Nolley II, declared for the NBA draft. UC lost 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and a 42% shooter from the arc. Nolley's currently on an Exhibit 10 contract with the G-League Birmingham Squadron with his last stats having him at 13.7 per game.
Mika Adams-Woods averaged 9.1 points for UC in 2022-23 and was second on the team in assists. He transferred to St. Bonaventure who went 20-13 and improved his scoring to 12.8 points per game while shooting 43% from the arc and 84% from the free throw line.
Jeremiah Davenport averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Bearcats in 2022-23. At Arkansas, he averaged just 5.3 points per game, his lowest output since his freshman year. His high game was 14 vs. Kentucky. He also was just at .296 percentage-wise from the perimeter.
Jarrett Hensley averaged just two points in his final season as a Bearcat and upped that to 5.4 along with 2.5 rebounds at Southern Illinois. Hensley is in the portal again.
Not counting the graduation losses of David DeJulius, Kalu Ezipke and Rob Phinisee, UC lost 37 points to the draft/portal. Adams-Woods was expected to return to UC but did have better numbers with the Bonnies. Hensley improved with the Salukis. You could argue Nolley would have improved or remained stable had he returned and without question, Davenport had a disappointing year with the Razorbacks.
Portal replacements
From Butler, Simas Lukošius averaged 11.8 points, was second on the team in assists and a reliable shooter. UPGRADE
Day Day Thomas averaged 10.4 points per game and topped the team in assists and steals. Based on what Adams-Woods did at St. Bonaventure, it's no worse than a WASH.
Aziz Bandaogo came from Utah Valley University and didn't have the same numbers considering he had 27 of 37 double-figure scoring games. He averaged 6.6 points and led the team in rebounding (7.4) and blocks while shooting over 64% from the field.
Joining the 7-footer was 6-foot-11 Jamille Reynolds from Temple, who also didn't have the same numbers he had in the AAC. He averaged 5.5 points per game and four rebounds. If you combine their numbers you got a little over 12 points and 11 rebounds in the post, which was more than what Lakhin had averaged the past two seasons. UPGRADE
C.J. Fredrick is an incomplete playing just 15 games. He averaged 6.1 points per game and shot nearly 43% from the perimeter but only played in four games after the first of the year due to his nagging hamstring issues. Fair or not, compared with Hensley or Davenport's production it would be a WASH.
How this portal season goes remains to be seen. Keep in mind, UC was down four players last season before there were any additions. Things are often not as bad as they seem, nor as good as they seem.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can UC Bearcats basketball make next step to NCAA tournament in 2025?
