TicketsCINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team opens Big 12 Tournament play as the No. 9 seed against No. 16 seed Utah at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ 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 67.7 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 seventh in opponent 2-point distance (7.2).
- The Bearcats rank 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%.
- 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 and Jizzle James reached 1,000 on a three in the closing minutes of the win over BYU March 3. Jalen Celestine (993) also is within striking distance heading into the postseason.
- 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.
- The Bearcats have won five of seven all-time meetings with the Utes, including the last matchup Feb. 15. In that 69-65 Cincinnati win earlier this season at Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats faced their largest deficit of the contest, trailing 65-60 with 1:56 remaining, before closing the game on an impressive 9-0 run to defeat the Utes. Moustapha Thiam paced UC with the fifth double-double of his career, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Baba Miller turned in another strong all-around performance with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Graduate guard Day Day Thomas added 15 points and four assists, while freshman guard Keyshuan Tillery chipped in 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting with three assists.
- Led by first-year head coach Alex Jensen, Utah is 10-21 on the year, receiving the No. 16 seed in the Big 12 Tournament after a 2-16 conference campaign. Junior guard Terrence Brown leads the Utes and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 19.8 points per game. Fifth-year guard Don McHenry pours in 17.3 points per contest, while junior forward Keanu Dawes scores 12.4 points per game to go along with a team-high 8.7 boards per game.