TicketsCINCINNATI -- The 4-0 Cincinnati men's basketball team will look to continue its winning ways into Thanksgiving when it hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.
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THE RUNDOWN
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THE RUNDOWN
- Cincinnati is seeking its eighth-straight win over an ACC opponent, a streak that began against Maryland in Maui (2009). The Bearcats defeated Louisville in Maui last year and Virginia Tech in the NIT.
- All four of UC's wins have followed a familar script: winning the stat sheet for shooting, rebounding, turnovers and bench points, while also leading at the half.
- UC took down NKU, 90-66, thanks to a 12-2 run late in the first half for the separation it needed. The win was also UC's second in a row against a defending conference champ.
- Dan Skillings Jr.'s 25 points marked a career-high as well as the most by a Bearcat off the bench since Jarron Cumberland in 2017. Sean Kilpatrick, another NBA player, is the only other one with 25 or more as a reserve since 2010, doing so that year as well.
- Day Day Thomas scored a career-high 20 points against NKU. Not only is he the only Bearcat with four-straight double-figure scoring games to start the year, he is also the first to begin his UC career doing so since Kyle Washington in 2016-17.
- Viktor Lakhin's 14-point, 14-rebound performance versus NKU served as his second consecutive double-double and the 10th of his career. He had 26 points and 11 boards against Eastern Washington.
- Each contest this year has featured at least one reserve with a notable performance. CJ Fredrick connected on three of his first four deep attempts against UIC, complementing Dan Skillings' 13-point, 8-rebound performance. Josh Reed had a career-high 12 rebounds against Detroit Mercy, with three other reserves scoring 10 or more. James and Simas Lukošius combined for 24 against EWU, and Skillings exploded against NKU. The Bearcats' bench has a 148-37 margin over its opponents so far.
- Lukošius, who started the opener, has bounced back well from that 2-for-11 shooting night. He has 16 assists to just two turnovers over the last three games, with his seven dimes vs. NKU a UC season-high. He did have 20 double-figure scoring games for Butler last season.
- Utah Valley transfer and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Aziz Bandaogo is now eligible and expected to make his debut. He averaged 11.4 points per game and ranked in the top-10 nationally for rebounds (10.5) and blocks (2.86).
- This is the first meeting between the teams since Cincinnati's 87-70 win in the 1996 Sweet 16, played in Lexington, Ky.
- Stephon Marbury led the Yellow Jackets in scoring, while all five UC starters scored in double-figures.
- The two teams were charter Metro Conference members in 1975. Georgia Tech left in 1978, while Cincinnati departed in 1991 for the Great Midwest.
- UC has won seven-straight games against ACC foes as well, dating back to Maryland in the 2009 Maui Invitational. It also won 81-72 over Virginia Tech in last year's NIT opener, plus Florida State in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, Pittsburgh, N.C. State twice and Louisville in Maui last November.
- Cincinnati associate head coach Chad Dollar spent the 2011-16 seasons at Georgia Tech, with the latter two as associate head coach.