TicketsCINCINNATI — Senior forward Baba Miller recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds, adding four assists and two blocks, to lead the Cincinnati men’s basketball team to a 77-68 victory over Colorado Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
The 25-point effort marked Miller’s third 20-point performance of the season.
Cincinnati controlled the opening 32 minutes of the contest, building a lead as large as 21, before Colorado mounted a late second-half push. A 9-1 Buffaloes run — sparked by three straight baskets from freshman guard Isaiah Johnson — cut the deficit to 59-52 with 8:42 remaining.
Moments later, Colorado trimmed the margin to five, but graduate guard Day Day Thomas drilled a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-0 Bearcats surge, pushing the lead back to 68-56 with 4:03 on the clock.
That momentum was short-lived, as Colorado connected on eight consecutive field goals to pull within four, 68-64, with just over a minute remaining — the closest margin since the opening minute.
Despite the late push, Cincinnati maintained control throughout the night, holding decisive advantages in points off turnovers (30-18) and fast-break points (24-2). The Bearcats also played aggressively, attempting 35 free throws and converting 24, while the Buffaloes went 11-of-15 from the line.
Sophomore center Moustapha Thiam provided a strong interior presence, scoring 15 points to reach double figures for the fifth time in his last six games, while also blocking two shots. Thomas added four assists and recorded a season-high three steals to anchor the defense.
Colorado was led by Johnson, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half.
Cincinnati opened the game on a 10-0 run, including two baskets apiece from Thiam and redshirt junior guard Sencire Harris, forcing four turnovers on Colorado’s first five possessions. The lead ballooned to 27–8 following a Thiam jumper from the free-throw line with 9:38 remaining in the first half as the Bearcats forced eight turnovers in just over 10 minutes.
The Bearcats continued to dominate both ends of the floor, taking a 43-25 advantage into halftime. Cincinnati forced 10 Colorado turnovers in the opening 20 minutes after the Buffaloes entered the contest ranked second in the Big 12 in fewest turnovers per game (10.2).
Those miscues translated into a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers, while UC shot 57.1% (16-of-28) from the field compared to Colorado’s 34.6%(9-of-26). Miller led all scorers with 15 points and five rebounds in 17 first-half minutes, while Thiam added nine points.
Early in the second half, Miller fueled a 6-0 run to extend Cincinnati’s lead to its largest of the game at 50-29. Colorado responded with a 6-0 run of its own, cutting the margin to 52-40 and forcing a Bearcats timeout with 13:41 remaining.
The final 10 minutes then turned into a back-and-forth contest.
Up next, Cincinnati welcomes No. 2 Iowa State to Fifth Third Arena at 2 p.m. Saturday.