TicketsLAWRENCE, Kan. –- Cincinnati overcame an early 12-point deficit to take a brief lead late in the first half, but No. 7 Kansas played to its home-court advantage to walk away with a grinding 74-69 decision on Monday night.
Dan Skillings Jr. led UC with 16 points, including 13 in the first half. It also capped Cincinnati's six-game stretch against ranked teams, its longest since 1994.
Kansas opened with a 19-7 lead over the first seven minutes, including a 10-0 run over 1:44 early that forced a Cincinnati timeout at 16:25.
Skillings' pull-up 3-pointer at 9:46 turned it back into a 21-16 game, adding to an early explosion that included his driving, left-handed dunk.
Day Day Thomas' mid-range jumper and free-throw gave UC seven-straight points and a 24-23 deficit with 6:42 to play. Thomas' layup at 2:08 gave UC its first lead of the day, eventually going into the half tied at 35.
Eight Bearcats scored in the first half, and the Jayhawks had only one field goal over the final six minutes.
Jamille Reynolds' two foul shots at 14:42 kept the Bearcats at bay, but back-to-back baskets gave KU a 48-41 lead at 13:54 and forced UC's second timeout.
John Newman III's driving layup at 9:24 brought Cincinnati back down four. The Jayhawks slowly inched past for their largest lead of the half, 62-54, at 3:36.
FROM WES MILLER
"To not come out with the win is frustrating. We had 16 turnovers and shot 16 percent from three. You feel like you had some good looks and blown possessions, and you're still kind of right there. That's the hard part to swallow. I thought our team has been really resilient these last three weeks. It's been an awesome stretch, because if you're a competitor, you want to play great teams every week. Six-straight games against top-25 teams is a heck of a challenge. You love that, but they haven't gone our way. We're a couple of possessions from being real good over that time. Hats off to Kansas, you knew they'd come out with fire after losing at West Virginia."
NOTABLE
-Kansas tied the all-time series at 4-4.
-Cincinnati is 13-2 (9-2 this year) when Dan Skillings Jr. scores in double-figures.
-Aziz Bandaogo's 11 rebounds gives him five double-figure games on the year.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts UCF on Saturday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Dan Skillings Jr. led UC with 16 points, including 13 in the first half. It also capped Cincinnati's six-game stretch against ranked teams, its longest since 1994.
Kansas opened with a 19-7 lead over the first seven minutes, including a 10-0 run over 1:44 early that forced a Cincinnati timeout at 16:25.
Skillings' pull-up 3-pointer at 9:46 turned it back into a 21-16 game, adding to an early explosion that included his driving, left-handed dunk.
Day Day Thomas' mid-range jumper and free-throw gave UC seven-straight points and a 24-23 deficit with 6:42 to play. Thomas' layup at 2:08 gave UC its first lead of the day, eventually going into the half tied at 35.
Eight Bearcats scored in the first half, and the Jayhawks had only one field goal over the final six minutes.
Jamille Reynolds' two foul shots at 14:42 kept the Bearcats at bay, but back-to-back baskets gave KU a 48-41 lead at 13:54 and forced UC's second timeout.
John Newman III's driving layup at 9:24 brought Cincinnati back down four. The Jayhawks slowly inched past for their largest lead of the half, 62-54, at 3:36.
FROM WES MILLER
"To not come out with the win is frustrating. We had 16 turnovers and shot 16 percent from three. You feel like you had some good looks and blown possessions, and you're still kind of right there. That's the hard part to swallow. I thought our team has been really resilient these last three weeks. It's been an awesome stretch, because if you're a competitor, you want to play great teams every week. Six-straight games against top-25 teams is a heck of a challenge. You love that, but they haven't gone our way. We're a couple of possessions from being real good over that time. Hats off to Kansas, you knew they'd come out with fire after losing at West Virginia."
NOTABLE
-Kansas tied the all-time series at 4-4.
-Cincinnati is 13-2 (9-2 this year) when Dan Skillings Jr. scores in double-figures.
-Aziz Bandaogo's 11 rebounds gives him five double-figure games on the year.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts UCF on Saturday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.