What we learned from Cincinnati Bearcats loss at Houston Cougars

HOUSTON, Texas – A day after earning the No. 1 ranking in the country according to the Associated Press, Houston showed they were worthy, beating the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, 67-59.

In a frantic finish, UC would outscore the Cougars 42-41 in the second half, but a season-low 17 points in the first half was too much to overcome. Many of the 7,352 at the Fertitta Center had departed when the Bearcats cut the deficit below 10.

"Win the game!" Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We are 25-3 and 12-3 (Big 12). This time of year, the last thing you do is evaluate. Let's give some credit to Wes (Miller) and his bunch. Every time we've played them it's been a tough match-up."

UC has now lost 11 straight to Houston. The Cougars were favored by 13.5, so if you bet UC you did come out a winner in that respect.

L.J. Cryer led Houston with 22 points, 15 of those in the first half.

UC was led by 11 points from Simas Lukošius. A bonus was 11 points and nine boards from a resurgent Viktor Lakhin. The Bearcats actually outrebounded the Cougars by a dozen, 42-30 and outshot them 40% to 39%. Their downfall, as is the case with many teams against Houston, was 19 turnovers.

The Bearcats fall to 16-12 (5-10 Big 12) with the road defeat.

5 takeaways from UC's bout with No. 1

1. Slow starts foil comeback

The Bearcats were seemingly shooting on a county fair rim to begin the game as they were down 7-0 to start and had just an Aziz Bandaogo dunk three and half minutes into the game. Nine minutes into the game it was 16-4 and UC was 2-for-15.

"Sometimes it's tough to get quality shots," UC coach Wes Miller said. "I thought our guys did a nice job of getting quality shots to start the game. We just couldn't make any of them. That's hard. When you don't make them, you put yourself in a little bit of a hole."

A 7-0 run got UC as close as five. By halftime, an Emanuel Sharp triple had the Bearcats down nine, 26-17. The second half saw them down 17 with 17:33 to play.

Three times in the last two minutes the Bearcats cut the lead to six. Saturday's 18-point loss to TCU remains the only Big 12 double-digit loss.

"We've had a resilience and fight about us about every night," Miller said. "We didn't do that last week against Oklahoma State and certainly against TCU. That was really discouraging. We had that (resiliency) tonight. We didn't play well enough to get those two or three possessions better you've got to have to beat a team like this."

2. UC held below 60

For the third time this season and second game in a row, the Bearcats were held below 60 points. In all three cases (Iowa State, TCU, Houston) they've been losses.

3. Ball security issues haunt

UC only turned the ball over eight times when they played Houston Feb. 10. Since then, they coughed it up 25 times in the Iowa State loss, 17 times Saturday at TCU and 19 times in Houston. The frantic, flailing defensive play of the Cougars can create mental mistakes as well. Turnovers remain good on the road, but only in a bakery.

"Obviously 19 turnovers is not going to cut it when you're playing against a team of their caliber," Miller said. "They force them a lot. They're not all unforced. Their defense is active and forces turnovers."

4. Look, there's Lakhin!

Viktor Lakhin played over 21 minutes Tuesday and delivered his first double-digit game since the TCU overtime win at home. His 11 points were his best game of his last nine. The redshirt junior was 5-for-6 from the field.

"This team was built with the expectation that Viktor was going to have a massive role to play alongside of Aziz (Bandaogo) and Jamille (Reynolds)," Miller said. "Tonight was a step in the right direction. He was quicker to the basketball. He was competitive. I think that's a good sign for us."

5. Silver linings from Sampson

After teasing the local press corps comparing their post-game demeanor to a "funeral house", Sampson had glowing things to say about Wes Miller and the Bearcat comeback. He also admired the effort of Dan Skillings Jr. who had eight late points.

"Our kids get up 17, some of our guys stopped playing," Sampson said. "He didn't. Lakhin has struggled a little bit, I thought he was great. Here's what I would be proud of if I was Wes' team: they didn't stop. They kept playing hard. That's something to hang your hat on."

Cincinnati Bearcats skid now at 3

The Bearcats haven't lost three straight since last season when they dropped a forgettable game at Northern Kentucky, then lost back-to-back to No. 12 Arizona and Ohio State in the Maui Invitational. Miller's longest run without a win was in his first season when the Bearcats dropped five straight between Feb. 20-March 2, 2021.

Next game

The Bearcats return home Saturday, March 2 against the Kansas State Wildcats with a 7 p.m. tip.

UC women lose to No. 21 Baylor

Coach Katrina Merriweather's Bearcats lost their regular season home finale to the Bears, 74-53. Jillian Hayes led with 13 points. UC is 13-15 (5-12 Big 12).

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC basketball falls vs. No. 1 Houston in Big 12 showdown