TicketsKANSAS CITY — The ninth-seeded Cincinnati men’s basketball team continues its Big 12 Tournament run when it faces eighth-seeded UCF at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The game will be televised on ESPNU 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 67.6 points per game defensively, ranks 12th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Cincinnati also ranks 13th in the country in non-steal turnover percentage (9.3%) and sixth in opponent 2-point distance (7.2).
- Entering the Big 12 Tournament the Bearcats ranked second in the Big 12 in 3-point attempts per game (26.5), third in 3-pointers made per game (8.9), fourth in the conference in scoring defense (67.7) and assists per game (16.7) and fifth in 3-point percentage defense (31.7), field goal percentage defense (41.6), defensive rebounds per game (25.77) and turnovers forced per game (12.87).
- Despite missing two games with an injury, senior forward Baba Miller sees himself among the best nationally and in the Big 12. Miller is tied for 25th nationally and second in the Big 12 in double-doubles with 12, while sitting first in the conference and fourth nationally with 7.83 defensive rebounds per contest and 14th in the country and second in the conference with 10.1 total rebounds per game. He ranks eighth in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage at 28.0%.
- Four Bearcats have hit the 1,000-point mark for their careers this season. Baba Miller reached the 1,000-point mark for his career with a dunk in the closing seconds of the Bearcats’ win over UCF Feb. 8, Day Day Thomas accomplished the feat with a season-high 26 points in the win over Oklahoma State Feb. 28, Jizzle James reached 1,000 on a three in the closing minutes of the win over BYU March 3 and Jalen Celestine eclipsed the mark late in the first half of the Bearcats’ Big 12 Tournament win over Utah March 10.
- Miller and sophomore Moustapha Thiam have been honored as part of the Big 12’s postseason awards, the conference office announced Monday. Miller was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, along with garnering Big 12 All-Newcomer Team laurels, while Thiam was selected Honorable Mention All-Big 12.
- Cincinnati has a 19-7 lead in the all-time series with UCF after splitting a pair of regular-season meetings this year. The Bearcats suffered a 73-72 loss Jan. 11 in Orlando before a 92-72 victory Feb. 8 at Fifth Third Arena. In that early-February win, Baba Miller paced five Bearcats in double figures, while adding 10 boards, and his dunk in the final minute gave him 1,000 points for his career.
- Led by 10th-year head coach Johnny Dawkins, UCF is 20-10 on the year and finished tied with the Bearcats at 9-9 in Big 12 play. Fifth-year guard Themus Fulks sits 10th in the country with 6.8 assists per game to go along with 14.4 points per contest. Senior guard Riley Kugel adds 14.7 points per game and junior forward Jordan Burks pours in 13.3 points per contest.