TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team hosts NJIT at 7 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on 700 WLW and the TuneIn app.
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Bearcat Bits
- The 2025-26 campaign marks the 125th season of competition for Cincinnati men’s basketball, and the Bearcats will commemorate the milestone with a year-long celebration honoring the program’s rich history, iconic players and cultural legacy. Cincinnati men’s basketball, which was named a top-10 program in college basketball history by the Associated Press, boasts 44 All-Americans, 41 conference titles, six Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships across its history, which dates back to the 1901-02 season.
- Cincinnati, allowing just 63.6 points per game defensively, ranks second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. The Bearcats’ 90.5 rating sits only behind Houston at 89.2 and just ahead of Gonzaga at 92.3.
- The Bearcats lead the Big 12 in blocks per game (6.4), rank second in opponent field goal percentage (35.9%), turnovers forced per game (16.80) and defensive rebounds per game (30.00), while sitting fourth in scoring defense (63.6 ppg).
- Baba Miller was honored on the Big 12’s Starting Five, the conference office announced Nov. 10. Miller was joined on the Starting Five, which is new this season, by Arizona’s Koa Peat, Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. Miller opened the season with 18 points and 10 boards in the Bearcats’ 94-63 victory over Western Carolina before tallying 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on 8-of-9 from the field in a 74-64 win over Georgia State. He became the first Bearcat with consecutive double-doubles to open a season since Bobby Brannen in 1997-98.
- With just one starter and a pair of letterwinners returning from the Bearcats’ 2024-25 squad, Cincinnati retains only 13.3% of its scoring, 7l.6% of its rebounding and 17.5% of its assists from a season ago.
- Miller also sees himself among the best nationally and in the Big 12. Miller tied for 11th nationally and tied for the Big 12 lead in double-doubles with three. He sits second the conference and ranks 12th nationally with 8.0 defensive rebounds per game, third in the conference and 32nd nationally with 10.0 total rebounds per game and fifth in the conference with 2.0 blocks per game.
- Cincinnati won the only previous meeting with the Highlanders, an 86-60 win Nov. 30, 2022 at Fifth Third Arena. Graduate student David DeJulius scored 22 points and redshirt senior Landers Nolley II added 18 points. The Bearcats finished 50% from the field (32-64 FG) and made 10 3-pointers (.385). UC was plus-18 on the glass (40-22) and pulled down 14 offensive boards that resulted in 16 second-chance points. The Bearcats scored 21 points off NJIT’s 15 turnovers.
- Led by third-year head coach Grant Billmeier, NJIT is 3-3 on the year but has lost its last two contests at Drexel and at Navy. Freshman guard David Bolden leads the HIghlanders with 13.0 points per game and 17 total assists, while sophomore guard Ari Fulton goes for 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.