TicketsCINCINNATI — Powered by senior forward Baba Miller’s 18 points and 17 rebounds, the Cincinnati men’s basketball team earned a 67-57 victory over Baylor Wednesday night inside Fifth Third Arena.
With the win, Cincinnati improved to 11-10 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 play, while Baylor fell to 11-9 and 1-7 in conference action.
Miller recorded his ninth double-double of the season, the most by any Bearcat this year.
Cincinnati controlled the game from start to finish, never trailing across the full 40 minutes. The Bearcats built their largest advantage midway through the second half, using an 8-0 run — highlighted by Jizzle James’ fifth 3-pointer — to extend the lead to 64-46 with 6:36 remaining.
From there, UC maintained a comfortable cushion and closed out the win without the lead being seriously threatened.
In addition to Miller, two other Bearcats scored in double figures. James finished with a season-high 17 points, knocking down a season-best five 3-pointers on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. After a quiet first half, Moustapha Thiam sparked the offense in the second, scoring 12 of his 14 points after the break. Graduate guard Jalen Celestine also contributed, tying a career high with four assists.
Baylor was led by Tounde Yessoufou, who scored 16 points.
Neither team fared well from the floor as both shot below 40% from the field and under 30% from downtown.
Cincinnati set the tone early and never relinquished control. Despite Baylor’s edge in points in the paint (34-24) and on the glass (42-38), the Bearcats made the difference by forcing 13 turnovers and turning them into 13 points.
On the heels of a pair of James threes, the Bearcats opened with a 10-5 lead a little more than five minutes into the contest. Keyshuan Tillery came off the bench with a floater in the lane and a left-corner triple to push the advantage to 15-5 at the 12:17 mark, as Cincinnati limited Baylor to just two makes on its first 12 attempts from the field.
However, Cincinnati missed its next five shots, allowing Baylor to respond with a 10-0 run, capped by a pair of Obi Agbim 3-pointers, to tie the game at 15 with 8:27 remaining in the half. The Bearcats answered immediately, using two triples from Day Day Thomas to fuel a 14-5 spurt and take a 29-20 lead with just under four minutes to play.
Cincinnati, which turned the ball over just three times in the opening 20 minutes, carried a 35-28 lead into halftime behind a strong first half from Miller. The senior led all players with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Agbim paced Baylor with nine points.
The Bearcats carried that momentum into the second half.
Dan Skillings Jr. opened the period with a layup, and Cincinnati followed with a 7-0 run, capped by a Thiam jumper, to extend the margin to 42-30. At the 14:28 mark, James drilled a nothing-but-net 3-pointer to push the lead to 50-37.
An 8-0 run later in the half moved Cincinnati to its largest lead of the contest.
Baylor closed the game on a 7-1 run, but it never threatened Cincinnati’s lead as the Bearcats secured the 10-point victory.
Cincinnati returns to action Saturday, traveling to Houston to face the No. 10 Cougars at noon ET.