Scouting report: Cincinnati Bearcat basketball vs. Oklahoma State Wednesday night
The attempt to improve the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball tournament resumé continues Wednesday night when they host Oklahoma State on the hardwood for the first time in 21 years.
Because of the Cowboys' down year, a Bearcat win would only count in the Quadrant 3 category (home victories over teams with NCAA NET rankings of 76-160). Still, a home loss would be a major blemish.
Of UC's remaining games, this will be one of the rare ones where they will be favored. But, it's far from a pushover.
Oklahoma State pulled a major upset in Stillwater Saturday taking down then-No. 19 BYU 93-83. Freshman guard Jamyron Keller had a season-high 22 points and was perfect on the night (8-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 on treys, 2-for-2 from the line).
The last one
In Feb. 2003, UC had dropped three straight games and then-coach Bob Huggins kicked them out of their locker room. The Bearcats responded against No. 11 Oklahoma State as Jason Maxiell scored 24 points and Leonard Stokes added 15 points and 10 rebounds in the 61-50 victory over coach Eddie Sutton's Cowboys.
3 keys to winning on hump day
1. Pound the 'Pokes early
With Oklahoma State's sub-.500 season and no NCAA tournament appearances since 2021, there has been some pressure in Stillwater for coach Mike Boynton Jr. He recently stepped into the fire speaking of the difficulties of recruiting in the Big 12 in terms of NIL money being offered at other schools.
“Without naming specific schools, I’ll tell you what I know,” Boynton replied. “There are at least six programs operating above $2 million (on 2023-24 NIL resources) for their roster. There are three or four others that operate between $1 million and $2 million, and we are last. We’re barely over $500,000 in total expenses (committed to basketball athletes).”
The bottom line? Boynton and Oklahoma State are vulnerable if the Bearcats seize the moment. However, a demonstrative win over BYU should not be taken lightly.
"A lot of these (games) are coming down to one possession," UC coach Wes Miller said of Big 12 play. "I think the biggest difference is what is your team willing to do vs. the other team to win one more? We have not been on the right end of that. I think the teams that are winning consistently, they're not blowing everybody out. They do the little things better. We're trying to be one of those teams."
2. Keep the visitors below 70
In 13 of Oklahoma State's losses, they have scored 70 or fewer points. They did beat West Virginia 70-66 and scored 73 on Texas Tech on a night when the Red Raiders had 90. The Bearcats have won 10 games when holding the opponent to 70 or below. They've also had single-digit losses where they still held the opponent to below 70 against Oklahoma, West Virginia, Houston and Iowa State.
3. Get Small, watch Keller
Javon Small played against the Bearcats last season when he was in the AAC with the East Carolina Pirates. He had 23 in that game, though the Bearcats won handily at home. Small made 50% of his shots that night 8-for-16. Locating Cowboy No. 12 will be crucial as Small often plays large minutes. Jamyron Keller will warrant an able body also after nailing all of his shots in his first start of the season against BYU.
Cincinnati vs. Oklahoma State
Tip: Wednesday 7 p.m. Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW
Series: Oklahoma State leads 3-2
Oklahoma State scouting report
Record: 11-15 (3-9 Big 12)
Coach: Mike Boynton Jr. (seventh season, 118-103)
Offense: 71.3 ppg
Defense: 70.9 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Javon Small (G, 6'3",14.2 ppg)
John-Michael Wright (G, 6'1", 8.1 ppg)
Quion Williams (G, 6'5", 7.0 ppg)
Brandon Garrison (C, 6'11", 7.7 ppg)
Jamyron Keller (G, 6'3", 6.0 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 16-9 (5-7 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (third season, 57-37)
Offense: 75.6 ppg
Defense: 67.2 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Dan Skillings Jr. (F, 6'6", 12.3 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6', 10.3 ppg)
John Newman III (F, 6'5", 9.5 ppg)
Simas Lukošius (G, 6'8", 9.7 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 7.5 ppg)
Players to watch
Junior East Carolina transfer Javon Small is the top scorer for the Cowboys at 17 points per game. His high game of the season came in the non-conference schedule when he scored 29 against Notre Dame. Small is a threat if he gets hot, hitting 39% from the arc and 86% from the free throw line.
Dan Skillings Jr. has taken over as UC's leading scorer and earned his fifth start Saturday in Orlando vs. UCF. He led the Bearcats with 15 points and has been in double figures in each game he has started with UC going 4-1. Skillings started in place of Viktor Lakhin who sat for his first game since 2023's Senior Day a year ago. He briefly appeared for a second Saturday. Wes Miller told Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson on 700WLW radio the plan was to go small vs. UCF.
Rankings
NCAA NET: UC is No. 37, Oklahoma State is No. 125
KenPom.com: UC is No. 36, Oklahoma State No. 111
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How UC Bearcat basketball can get a home Big 12 win vs. Oklahoma State
