TicketsCINCINNATI — Jizzle James matched a career-high of 25 points, one game after his season-high 24, Josh Reed scored 13 for his second-straight game of a career-high, and Cincinnati withstood a relentless Utah team, 85-75, on Tuesday night for its third-straight victory.
Cincinnati was averaging 59.6 ppg through its first 10 Big 12 contests and has since averaged 87.3 over the last three.
Former Bearcat Gabe Madsen, who played two games during the COVID 2020-21 season at Cincinnati before transferring to Utah, led the Utes with 28 points that included 8-of-22 deep shooting, shattered the opponent 3-point attempt record (previously 17).
Aziz Bandaogo also scored 10 points with 10 rebounds, with Cincinnati moving to 8-1 this year and 14-2 overall when he scores in double-figures. It was his first double-double of the season and fifth at UC.
Simas Lukosius was the fourth Bearcat in double-digit scoring with 11 points.
Dan Skillings Jr. notched a deep, contested trey from the wing, and James put his defender in a spin cycle for a left-handed layup and 66-57 lead at 10:29, Cincinnati's largest lead of the night.
Still, the Utes made five of 10 deep attempts from 13:58 to 8:16 to stay within 68-66, eventually tying it on a put-back at 7:20.
After Utah tied the game 72-72, Reed sparked a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach. He secured an offensive rebound, drove the lane and dropped in a floater to put Cincinnati in front 74-72 with under three minutes remaining.
On the next possession, Reed dished a pass to Thomas for a 3 that put the Bearcats up, 77-72, before immediately making a steal and taking the ball to the rim where he was fouled. He made both free throws to put the Cincinnati in front 79-72 with 1:50 left.
James found Bandaogo for the alley-oop dunk with 1:20 left to make it 81-72.
James scored the first seven for the Bearcats. Bandaogo posted consecutive blocks in the same sequence to ignite the crowd on the defensive end.
Utah, once down seven, took its first lead on a transition dunk at 11:05 by way of a 1-of-14 shooting stretch for the Bearcats. Reed buried consecutive triples, then James connected on another jumper, for a 29-21 lead at 4:43.
The Bearcats led 42-36 at the break, and there were five lead changes over the first four minutes of the second half. James' left-handed, up-and-under layup at 12:00, followed by a free-throw after a timeout, gave him 21 points and UC a 61-57 lead.
FROM WES MILLER
"First off, I want to thank the fans. I was just told, as I was walking in here, that the weather has gotten bad and the roads are slick, so I want to thank people for coming out in tough weather tonight, giving us an edge. I thought we had a really good home court advantage with our fans tonight, sticking with us, even through some tough stretches, and everybody out there driving home, drive home safe...I'm pleased with the win. The first thing I think our guys made plays down the stretch when it mattered. That part is the part that sticks out to me the most. We needed to make some plays to win a game. It's a tie game at the under-4 media. I thought we made plays to win it.
"Jizzle [James], and not just because he's sitting beside me, was terrific tonight offensively. I think he and I both think he got a couple of those defensive possessions back. He knows that'll be the film that we look at tomorrow, but he was terrific tonight, and starting to define the rhythm that we know we can play with. Aziz [Bandaogo] sitting here beside me, he's playing with a different pop. He's converting around the basket. I thought some of those catches in traffic and conversion the last couple games have been a difference-maker. Seeing the double-double and him getting on the board, he's finally making his presence felt on the offensive and defensive boards a little more, and I'm pleased with that. Josh Reed, as I told you guys, played his best game of his career here this past weekend, and we knew that wouldn't stand...He's not doing anything that surprises his teammates or his coaches, but I thought he played another terrific game tonight and gave us a huge lift. I thought that floater, his last basket, was a big basket for our team, as was Day Day's three with the shot clock running down was a really, really important play."
Jizzle James on how his consecutive 20-plus point performances have arrived
"Just knowing when to be aggressive and not to be, knowing when I got my shot or to create for others. I've been making sacrifices, and it's paying off. I'm glad just that we got this win streak going, but we're not gonna get too content on it. I'm just keep hitting the work, keep my head down and keep showing up every game."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati plays at No. 10 Iowa State on Saturday (4 p.m. on ESPN2).
Cincinnati was averaging 59.6 ppg through its first 10 Big 12 contests and has since averaged 87.3 over the last three.
Former Bearcat Gabe Madsen, who played two games during the COVID 2020-21 season at Cincinnati before transferring to Utah, led the Utes with 28 points that included 8-of-22 deep shooting, shattered the opponent 3-point attempt record (previously 17).
Aziz Bandaogo also scored 10 points with 10 rebounds, with Cincinnati moving to 8-1 this year and 14-2 overall when he scores in double-figures. It was his first double-double of the season and fifth at UC.
Simas Lukosius was the fourth Bearcat in double-digit scoring with 11 points.
Dan Skillings Jr. notched a deep, contested trey from the wing, and James put his defender in a spin cycle for a left-handed layup and 66-57 lead at 10:29, Cincinnati's largest lead of the night.
Still, the Utes made five of 10 deep attempts from 13:58 to 8:16 to stay within 68-66, eventually tying it on a put-back at 7:20.
After Utah tied the game 72-72, Reed sparked a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach. He secured an offensive rebound, drove the lane and dropped in a floater to put Cincinnati in front 74-72 with under three minutes remaining.
On the next possession, Reed dished a pass to Thomas for a 3 that put the Bearcats up, 77-72, before immediately making a steal and taking the ball to the rim where he was fouled. He made both free throws to put the Cincinnati in front 79-72 with 1:50 left.
James found Bandaogo for the alley-oop dunk with 1:20 left to make it 81-72.
James scored the first seven for the Bearcats. Bandaogo posted consecutive blocks in the same sequence to ignite the crowd on the defensive end.
Utah, once down seven, took its first lead on a transition dunk at 11:05 by way of a 1-of-14 shooting stretch for the Bearcats. Reed buried consecutive triples, then James connected on another jumper, for a 29-21 lead at 4:43.
The Bearcats led 42-36 at the break, and there were five lead changes over the first four minutes of the second half. James' left-handed, up-and-under layup at 12:00, followed by a free-throw after a timeout, gave him 21 points and UC a 61-57 lead.
FROM WES MILLER
"First off, I want to thank the fans. I was just told, as I was walking in here, that the weather has gotten bad and the roads are slick, so I want to thank people for coming out in tough weather tonight, giving us an edge. I thought we had a really good home court advantage with our fans tonight, sticking with us, even through some tough stretches, and everybody out there driving home, drive home safe...I'm pleased with the win. The first thing I think our guys made plays down the stretch when it mattered. That part is the part that sticks out to me the most. We needed to make some plays to win a game. It's a tie game at the under-4 media. I thought we made plays to win it.
"Jizzle [James], and not just because he's sitting beside me, was terrific tonight offensively. I think he and I both think he got a couple of those defensive possessions back. He knows that'll be the film that we look at tomorrow, but he was terrific tonight, and starting to define the rhythm that we know we can play with. Aziz [Bandaogo] sitting here beside me, he's playing with a different pop. He's converting around the basket. I thought some of those catches in traffic and conversion the last couple games have been a difference-maker. Seeing the double-double and him getting on the board, he's finally making his presence felt on the offensive and defensive boards a little more, and I'm pleased with that. Josh Reed, as I told you guys, played his best game of his career here this past weekend, and we knew that wouldn't stand...He's not doing anything that surprises his teammates or his coaches, but I thought he played another terrific game tonight and gave us a huge lift. I thought that floater, his last basket, was a big basket for our team, as was Day Day's three with the shot clock running down was a really, really important play."
Jizzle James on how his consecutive 20-plus point performances have arrived
"Just knowing when to be aggressive and not to be, knowing when I got my shot or to create for others. I've been making sacrifices, and it's paying off. I'm glad just that we got this win streak going, but we're not gonna get too content on it. I'm just keep hitting the work, keep my head down and keep showing up every game."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati plays at No. 10 Iowa State on Saturday (4 p.m. on ESPN2).