TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team travels to Orlando to take on No. 25 UCF at 5 p.m. Sunday at Addition Financial Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN2 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 65.3 points per game defensively, ranks seventh nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Cincinnati also leads the country in non-steal turnover percentage (11.0%) and ranks seventh in opponent offensive rebound percentage (23.6%) and 14th in block percentage (15.2%).
- Cincinnati has found itself forcing its opponents to play more deliberately on the offensive end. The Bearcats’ opponents are taking 17.9 seconds per possession, good for 287th nationally.
- The Bearcats lead the Big 12 in 3-point attempts per game (29.1), while ranking fourth in the conference in in blocks per game (5.0), scoring defense (65.3), turnovers forced per game (14.60), field goal percentage defense (39.6%) and 3-pointers per game (9.3) and fifth in opponent 3-point percentage (31.3%), assists per game (17.27) and defensive rebounds per game (27.67).
- Despite missing the NJIT and Eastern Michigan games with an injury, senior forward Baba Miller sees himself among the best nationally and in the Big 12. Miller is tied for 17th nationally and second in the Big 12 in double-doubles with seven, while sitting first in the country with 8.62 defensive rebounds per contest and eighth in the country and first in the conference with 10.9 total rebounds per game. He ranks second in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage at 32.2%.
- Graduate guard Day Day Thomas ranks third in the Big 12 and 16th nationally with a 45.5% 3-point percentage, while leading the Big 12 and ranking second in the country with a 95.1% free-throw percentage.
- The game against the Knights will be a homecoming for Moustapha Thiam, who averaged 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for UCF as a freshman a season ago. The native of Dakar, Senegal, was a Kyle Macy Award finalist, which is given to the nation’s top freshman.
- Cincinnati holds an 18-6 lead in the all-time series against the Knights. The Bearcats, who hold an 8-4 edge all-time in games played in Orlando, won five-straight contests before an 88-80 defeat in the College Basketball Crown quarterfinals last April. In that contest played April 3 in Las Vegas, Day Day Thomas led UC with 19 points, including a season-high five 3-pointers on nine attempts, while Darius Johnson paced the Knights with 31 points.
- Led by 10th-year head coach Johnny Dawkins, UCF is 12-2 on the year and 1-1 in Big 12 play, defeating No. 17 Kansas, 71-75, last Saturday in Orlando before an 87-76 defeat to Oklahoma State in Stillwater Tuesday night. The Knights are ranked 25th in the latest AP Poll and receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Senior guard Riley Kugel paces four Knights in double figures scoring with 14.1 points per game. Fifth-year guard Themus Fulks averages 13.4 points and ranks second in the Big 12 with 6.6 assists per contest. Junior forward Jordan Burks pours in 13.0 points per game, while senior forward Jamichael Stillwell adds 12.3 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game.