Scouting report: What it will take for UC Bearcats basketball to win at West Virginia
The first of a pair of Big 12 road battles for the Cincinnati Bearcats takes place Wednesday night on the hardwood in Morgantown against West Virginia. UC last played in WVU Coliseum 12 years ago.
This matchup would have more appeal if former Bearcats head coach Bob Huggins was still on the Mountaineer bench, but after his 2023 indiscretions, WVU is being led by interim coach Josh Eilert.
With a top-rated transfer portal class, the Mountaineers can still be dangerous, particularly at home where they've defeated Texas (then No. 25) and Kansas (then No. 3) back-to-back. The Mountaineers were on the road last week with losses at UCF and Oklahoma State.
The Bearcats are trying to reach .500 in the Big 12 with a fourth win. Their four losses in the league have come by a total of 13 points.
"This team's best basketball has a chance to be moving forward," UC coach Wes Miller said. "We haven't been healthy yet. We haven't got to work consistently in practice with the way we're trying to play from a lineup perspective. We've been just surviving here for a long time."
For what it's worth, Coach Huggins has attended some Mountaineer games sitting in the stands. On Eilert's staff are three of his former players: DerMarr Johnson (UC), Da'Sean Butler, Alex Ruoff and Jordan McCabe (all WVU).
3 keys to a Big 12 road win in Morgantown
1. Again, find a way to a better start
Saturday's 12-point halftime hole was the biggest deficit the Bearcats have had at the break all year. It also extended their streak of not having a halftime lead to eight games. UC last led going into the locker room on Dec. 22 against Stetson. They are 4-4 since then with seven of those games being Big 12 contests.
"You've got to find ways to win games," Miller said. "And, you can't be looking ahead and you can't keep looking backward. You've got to find ways."
2. Take the Battle battle
West Virginia's RaeQuan Battle scored 82 points in his first three Mountaineer games. However, he's been in single digits three times this season, including the last two losses at UCF and Oklahoma State. In those games plus the Houston loss, Battle has been just 4-of-21 from the field. He's also only shooting 26% from the perimeter, so preventing a home-court hot hand would be beneficial for the Bearcats.
3. Get Skillings and Lukošius in synch
The two combined for 28 points in the UCF win, but 21 of those were by the acrobatic Skillings. Both players have hit double figures in the same game just three times, all wins (Detroit Mercy, Howard, Evansville). They've not been in synch in UC's four Big 12 losses:
No. 25 Texas (74-73 loss, Lukošius 19, Skillings 2)
No. 14 Baylor (62-59 loss, Skillings 24, Lukošius 2)
No. 15 Oklahoma (69-65 loss, Lukošius 17, Skillings 1)
No. 7 Kansas (74=69 loss, Skillings 16, Lukošius 4)
Cincinnati vs. West Virginia
Tip: 7 p.m. Eastern at WVU Coliseum (14,000)
TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW
Series: Tied 10-10 (WVU won the last game in Morgantown in 2012, 77-74 in overtime)
West Virginia Mountaineers scouting report
Record: 7-13 (2-5 Big 12)
Coach: Josh Eilert (interim, first season, 7-13)
Offense: 68.3 ppg
Defense: 72.6 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Kerr Kriisa (G, 6'3", 11.0 ppg)
Akok Akok (F, 6'10", 4.5 ppg)
RaeQuan Battle (G, 6'5", 16.3 ppg)
Kobe Johnson (G, 6'3", 6.6 ppg)
Patrick Suemnick (F, 6'8", 4.9 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 14-6 (3-4 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (third season, 55-34, 240-169 overall)
Offense: 77.7 ppg
Defense: 66.5 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Viktor Lakhin (F, 6'11", 12.7 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6', 10.8 ppg)
John Newman III (F, 6'5", 10.1 ppg)
Simas Lukošius (G, 6'8", 8.9 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 7.7 ppg)
Players to watch
RaeQuan Battle was a two-time transfer like UC's Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds. His first game for the Mountaineers was Dec. 20 against Radford where he scored 29 points, he did the same on Dec. 23 vs. Toledo. His best Big 12 game has been 23 points in the win over Kansas Jan. 20. Battle previously played at Washington and Montana State.
UC got a 21st birthday effort of 21 points from Dan Skillings Jr. in their come-from-behind win over UCF Saturday. Skillings is the team's second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game and third-leading rebounder at 6.1 per game. The Bearcats are 10-1 when the sophomore skywalker scores in double figures with the only loss coming on the road at Baylor when he almost single-handedly led a late comeback against the Bears with 24 points.
"He's got the right mentality," Miller said. "He hasn't ever expected anything, he comes into work every day. When it hasn't gone his way, he doesn't have people around him trying to pull him out of Cincinnati. I think you're seeing the natural progression that we all need in anything when you're trying to become good. It's a process. He's playing better and better. I don't even think he's scratching the surface. He's got so much better basketball in him than we're even seeing."
Rankings
NCAA NET: UC is No. 32, West Virginia No. 150
KenPom.com: UC is No. 31, West Virginia No. 135
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats head to Morgantown for Big 12 battle with WVU
