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Men's Basketball Begins Texas Two-Step Saturday at TCU

The Cincinnati men's basketball team will set out this afternoon for a two-game Texas swing that begins Saturday at TCU (2 p.m.). The Bearcats enter the weekend tied for the league lead with three Big 12 road wins.

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Men's Basketball Begins Texas Two-Step Saturday at TCUMen's Basketball Begins Texas Two-Step Saturday at TCU
CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati men's basketball team will set out this afternoon for a two-game Texas swing that begins Saturday at TCU (2 p.m.). The Bearcats enter the weekend tied for the league lead with three Big 12 road wins.

THE RUNDOWN
  • Cincinnati found itself down eight to Oklahoma State late in the first half, but a 10-2 run in the middle of the second helped it to a 5-point lead with five minutes left. OSU, red-hot shooting from the jump and fresh off its BYU win, kept its pace up and came back to defeat the Bearcats.
  • Cincinnati was previously 14-0 when shooting 50 percent or better, and it was its best shooting since Jan. 16 against TCU (52.5 percent). The Bearcats' 44 paint points were also their most since TCU. UC's margin of defeat average is a Big 12-low 5.4 ppg, with its only double-digit loss coming to Dayton on a neutral floor.
  • Cincinnati's road Big 12 splits include +9.7 FT% compared to home games, the highest difference in the league by a wide margin. Dan Skillings leads in those road games with 15.7 ppg, including 38.7 from deep (compared to 28.6 at home). As a team, UC is still 5.0 percent better from 3-point range in those seven home games.
  • Simas Lukosius, who was the closer on his late clutch baskets at Texas Tech and UCF, had 17 points against OSU. At 6-foot-8, he is 11 assists behind Day Day Thomas for the team lead and has played in two fewer games. Defensively, Thomas' 43 steals are already the most by a Bearcat since Tre Scott in 2019-20, and his steal percentage is 51st nationally, per KenPom.
  • UC remains the No. 9 rebounding team in the nation (plus-9.2), which includes a league-best 4.8 in Big 12 play. It is plus-32 the last three games since Houston became only the third team to win the glass all year.
  • Jamille Reynolds has been rock-solid the last six games as well, shooting 54 percent and providing improved defense to max out his time on the floor. His 10 points against Oklahoma State (17 minutes) marked his most since 11 against Texas on Jan. 9. He is averaging 13.6 mpg after missing the first eight games due to NCAA transfer stipulations.
  • Skillings Jr.'s seven-game double-figure scoring streak came to an end, as he was one point shy of a double-double against the Cowboys. He is averaging 9.7 rebounds over the last three games, a skillset he says is what fuels him on the offensive end.
  • Cincinnati's 76.0 ppg over the last two is its highest in such a stretch since Big 12 play began, helped by shooting 54.8 percent inside the arc. It was 39.7 percent over the Houston-Iowa State homestand.
SERIES HISTORY
  • TCU's home venue, Schollmaier Arena, is named for Cincinnati grads Ed and Rae Schollmaier. Ed is a Queen City native as well, and the couple met at UC. Rae passed away in 2015, and Ed in 2021.
  • Cincinnati is 6-0 against the Horned Frogs, with the latter three prior to this year coming as Conference USA foes.
  • The first meeting saw TCU make nine of its first 10 shot attempts and lead by 11. Cincinnati countered fine to eventually lead early in the second half, though it fell back down nine and eventually 64-58 with five minutes left. It took clutch shots but three combined missed free-throws over the final three seconds to send the game to overtime.
  • John Newman III (21 points, seven in OT) and Thomas (20) led the Bearcats' scoring attack. It remains each of their season-highs.
  • The first meeting came in the first round of the 1959 NCAA Tournament, with Cincinnati prevailing, 77-73, to kick off its first of five-straight Final Fours. It was the Bearcats' second of 46 all-time NCAA Tourney wins.
  • TCU coach Jamie Dixon is 8-5 over his career against UC, all previously coming while leading Pitt. The last of those was a 44-43 Cincinnati win on Dec. 17, 2013 in the Madison Square Garden.
  • Since leaving C-USA, TCU became members of the Mountain West and Big East (no competitions) before securing Big 12 status. Cincinnati went from the Big East to the AAC before joining this season.