This is fun, look past the Bearcats 1-2 record in Big 12 play, and I hope you feel the same way I do about watching Bearcats Basketball. The Bearcats are playing in the best conference in the country, and they’re competing hard. Against elite competition, they’re holding their own. There is hope. There is promise. There is a sense they’re going to get a win Tuesday night and keep themselves firmly in the NCAA Tournament conversation for most of the season. It’s fun again watching Bearcats Basketball.
The Bearcats have another big test Tuesday night against TCU, a team that beat two top 10 teams last week. They bring scoring and experience into Cincinnati Tuesday night, but the Bearcats have showed their physicality over the first three Big 12 games even against teams that came in averaging close to or over 90 points per game. TCU may be riding a high, but this conference offers plenty of back to Earth games. And with the Bearcats playing the way they play, there is hope they can get back to .500 in conference play. Here are my players to watch in Tuesday night’s game.
1. #2 Emmanuel Miller, 6’7″, 215 lbs., Sr., F, Scarborough, Ontario, Texas A&M Transfer
16.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 50.3 FG%, 15-37 3-PT FG, 84.7 FT%, 22 stl, 30.3 mpg
A player with over 1,000 points scored, Miller is coming off a week where he was named the Big 12 Player of the Week. The senior forward scored 27 points against Oklahoma last Tuesday, then followed it up with 13 points in a win over Houston on Saturday. Miller has five 20-point games this season and has shot over 50 percent in 10 of TCU’s 16 games this season. A two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Miller leads TCU in scoring so far this season after averaging 12.3 points per game last season and also ranking second in the Big 12 shooting 50.5 percent from the floor.
2. #4 Jameer Nelson, Jr., 6’2″, 205 lbs., Sr., G, Haverford, Pa., Delaware Transfer
11 ppg, 43.9 FG%, 12-49 3-PT FG, 73.8 FT%, 54 ast.-31 TO, 41 stl, 23.7 mpg
You might recognize the name. That’s because Nelson’s father, Jameer Nelson Sr., played 14 seasons in the NBA including 10 with the Orlando Magic.
A standout at Delaware, Jameer Nelson Jr. led the CAA in scoring last year at 20.6 points per game and 2.4 steals per game in 2022-23. Nelson proved to be a prolific scorer netting double figures in all 29 games last season including 16 games scoring 20 or more points. So far this season, Nelson Jr. has scored in double figures in 11 of 16 games.
3. #21 JaKobe Coles, 6’8″, 215 lbs., Jr., F, Denton, Texas, Butler Transfer
10.8 ppg, 5 rpg, 47.8 FG%, 12-31 3-PT FG, 18-24 FT, 22.8 mpg
Coles is TCU’s third-leading scorer, but he’s been in a slump over his last six games. He hasn’t hit double-digits in any game during that stretch, and his scoring average has dropped over five points per game. In addition, he’s made just 14 shots out of 47 attempts from the field including one of 11 from three-point range. Coles has had some bright moments since arriving in Fort Worth, including hitting the game-winner in last year’s NCAA Tournament first round matchup against Arizona State.
