Cougars Maul The Bearcats

The Bearcats are ice cold in road games this year. Houston is one of the best teams in the country and the Cougars are one of the best defenses in the country according to KenPom, and Cincinnati’s offense remains locked in the basement of the Big 12. The recipe for a nightmare game was alway on the table.

And that’s just what we got with a 76-54 blowout loss on Saturday.

The Bearcats has injury issues before they even stepped on the court. Shon Abaev did not play and Moustapha Thiam went down early in the first half with a lower-body injury and could not return. Their absences absolutely had an impact.

Once again, offense was a genuine struggle for Cincinnati. They managed just 38 percent from the floor, despite shooting an efficient 10-of-23 (43%) from behind the arc. Houston’s defense shined as they forced 19 turnovers, converting them into 26 crucial points. They held Cincinnati to just five points over a seven minute span that lead to a big Cougar run, and afterwards they never looked back.

Jalen Celestine led the way with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. Freshman guard Keyshuan Tillery provided a spark off the bench with 14. Baba Miller, who had been averaging 13.2 points and 10 boards in his ten prior games had just two points as Houston dominated rhe paint with a 26-8 point advantage. And he wasn’t the only one to struggle.

Day Day Thomas had a very hard day at the office, with six turnovers against the Cougars and just six points. In the four games following his 19 point outing against the Cyclones, Thomas has averaged only 4 points per game, a massive decrease. His shot has gone ice cold; he was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting against Arizona State and managed just 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting against No. 1 Arizona. He’s just 5-29 from the field in his last four games.

The Cougars have owned the Bearcats in recent years, winning 14 straight, a streak that dates back to their shared time in the American Athletic Conference. Wes Miller’s team has yet to win a road game this year, falling to 0-6. It was a tumultuous outing on the road against one of the top teams in the country, and a far cry from the Bearcats’ earlier win over top-five (at the time) Iowa State.

Though it is a broken record at this point, it’s impossible to ignore Cincinnati’s offensive ineffectiveness. They are second worst in the Big 12 in scoring offense, averaging 72.3 points per game and remain in the conference cellar in overall field goal percentage at 42.1%. It does not help that they cannot punish teams from outside, they sit at the third worst at just 29.8%. And though they have size and athleticism they cannot convert at the line as they are once again last in the Big 12, converting only 66% of their attempts.

We all knew that the meat of the Big 12 season would be a massive challenge for the Bearcats and games like this are a reminder of that fact. They now sit at 11-11 overall and just 3-6 in the Big East and there are very few signs that they have the firepower offensively to be competitive as we approach March Madness. Their defense is one of the best in the conference but if they are not able to find a way to get healthy and score points then this rough patch could become a major slide.