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Cincinnati Opens Big 12 Championship with WVU on Tuesday

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship is here for the Cincinnati men's basketball team, as it embarks today for Kansas City to play West Virginia at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

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Cincinnati Opens Big 12 Championship with WVU on TuesdayCincinnati Opens Big 12 Championship with WVU on Tuesday
CINCINNATI -- The Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship is here for the Cincinnati men's basketball team, as it embarks today for Kansas City to play West Virginia at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

THE RUNDOWN

  • Cincinnati posted the largest margin of victory for a Big 12 game this year and was within one point of the season-high in its Senior Day victory. It was also Wes Miller's 100th game as the Bearcats' head coach.
  • Cincinnati shot a season-high 59 percent, including 70 in the second half, with a 48-14 advantage in the paint. They also matched a season-high 23 assists.
  • Cincinnati won the boards by 10 or more in six Big 12 contests. Its 8.3 margin per game ranks 13th nationally, up from 101 last year and 211 in 2021-22, Miller's first at the helm.
  • That 2021-22 season saw Cincinnati play in the T-Mobile Center for the Hall of Fame Classic. Its first game was a 71-51 win over No. 14 Illinois in which it trailed 23-8 to start. Tuesday's contest is the first time UC has played the same team in back-to-back games since Saint Louis in 2000.
  • Day Day Thomas became the fifth Bearcat since 2010 with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. His 56 swipes are the most at the school since Cashmere Wright's record 74 in 2011-12. Thomas also has a 21:4 assist-turnover ratio the last four games, which includes 6:1 against No. 1 Houston and 7:0 versus WVU.
  • John Newman III, an All-Defensive Big 12 honoree, is averaging 15.7 ppg over the last three games on 55.3 percent shooting, his highest scoring total in any three-game stretch for his career.
  • Aziz Bandaogo and Dan Skillings Jr. earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors as well.
  • Speaking of defense, since the Feb. 24 loss at TCU (UC's only by double-digits in Big 12 play), the Bearcats have allowed 38.9 percent shooting in the last four games to go with 15.0 turnovers. Their three-straight games of 10 or more steals marks the first-such feat since 2017.
  • The Saturday win marked eighth different starting lineups to emerge victorious for Cincinnati. Between injuries, illness and transfer waivers, 39 games have been missed out of the main rotation.
  • Miller's head coaching career includes two conference tournament titles (2018, 2021) and two runner-up finishes, all at UNC Greensboro (last team left out of NCAAs in 2019). His first and second UC teams reached the AAC quarters and semis, ending against Houston each time.
  • Twelve of UC's 18 Big 12 games were decided by 5 or fewer points. It is 10-11 with seven or fewer 3-pointers and and 8-2 with eight or more. UC's 6.6 treys per game are the fewest by a Miller team since 2015 UNCG.
SERIES HISTORY
  • Cincinnati exacted its revenge on Saturday from the Jan. 31 heartbreaker in Morgantown, a game in which it led by 10 with 6:29 left. The series is tied at 11.
  • An 11-0 run to get to that point helped Cincinnati erase a five-point deficit early in the second half. It was also UC's first loss of the season (previously 10-0) when leading at the half. Dan Skillings Jr. had 15 points, while Simas Lukosius and Day Day Thomas followed with 13 and 12, respectively.
  • The schools are most known in the hoops circles as the shared home of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Huggins, who coached the Bearcats during a memorable 1989-2005 run and leading his alma mater Mountaineers from 2007-23.
  • The Bearcats went to 14 NCAA Tournaments during his 16 years, reaching the 1992 Final Four and No. 1 in the country during the 1999-00 season.
  • WVU assistant coach DerMarr Johnson was the sixth-overall pick out of UC as a freshman in 2000 and served on Wes Miller's staff his first two years. He joined the WVU staff in January 2023 when one of the main assistant jobs opened.
  • These two teams were Big East rivals from 2005-12 as well before the Mountaineers joined the Big 12.
  • Cincinnati saw WVU guard Kerr Kriisa while he was with Arizona last year at the Maui Invitational.
DAY DAY'S 5-5-5 COMPANY OGUAMA'S NEW ROLE
  • Oguama earned the start on Senior Day against WVU, and his final basket was a dunk late. Miller made sure to give him the utmost credit postgame.
  • "The role that he's had to play since Jamille (Reynolds) and Aziz (Bandaogo) got eligible is as important to the dynamic on this team as anything I've ever seen a player accept or sacrifice in my 13 years as a head coach," Miller said.
  • Oguama, who is averaging 9.2 minutes per game, can be a strong contributor for the Bearcats as they hope to have an extensive stay in Kansas City.