TicketsCINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team delivered its most lopsided victory of the 2025–26 season Wednesday night, rolling past Alabama State 88-51 inside Fifth Third Arena.
The 37-point margin marked the Bearcats’ largest win of the campaign, fueled by a dominant showing from senior forward Baba Miller. Miller poured in a career-high 26 points on an ultra-efficient 11-of-12 shooting performance, while pulling down 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. He became just the second player in college basketball this year to record at least 25 points and 14 rebounds while shooting better than 90 percent from the field — and the first Bearcat to accomplish the feat since the 1996–97 season.
Junior guard Jizzle James made an immediate impact in his season debut, finishing with 16 points while knocking down 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Shon Abaev also reached double figures with 13 points, adding six rebounds and five assists. Graduate guard Kerr Kriisa dished out a team-high seven assists, while sophomore center Moustapha Thiam turned in an all-around effort with nine points, nine rebounds and a season-high-tying four blocks.
Cincinnati controlled the game from start to finish, holding Alabama State to just 29% (20-of-69) shooting while connecting on 49% (33-of-67) of its own attempts. The Bearcats held decisive advantages across the stat sheet, including assists (25-7), blocks (7-0), fast-break points (17-0) and rebounds (45-40). UC dominated the paint, outscoring the Hornets 44-20 down low.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind five early points from Miller, but Alabama State trimmed the margin to 12-10 on a Tyler Mason baseline jumper with 12:13 remaining. James halted the Hornets’ momentum on the next possession with a three-point play in his first action of the season.
After Alabama State cut the deficit to 15-12 at the 10:46 mark, the Bearcats caught fire, hitting eight of their next nine shots to fuel a 20-4 run over the next four minutes. The surge pushed the lead to 35-16 with 6:38 left in the half. Cincinnati later extended the advantage to 26 on a Thiam alley-oop dunk, carrying a 50-25 lead into the break.
The Bearcats shot 51.4% in the first half, their second-highest mark in a half this season and were led by 13 points apiece from Miller and Abaev.
Miller picked up right where he left off to open the second half, scoring six straight points, highlighted by a dunk, to push the lead to 55-27. Moments later, James found Miller with a behind-the-back pass in transition, setting up a two-handed slam that made it 61-31 with just under 15 minutes remaining.
A 10-0 Cincinnati run later in the half put the game firmly out of reach. The burst was sparked by a Keyshuan Tillery layup and capped by a James jumper, stretching the advantage to 85-47.
Cincinnati returns to action Sunday when it travels to Greenville, S.C., to face Clemson in the Greenville Winter Invitational at 3 p.m. inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.