It feels like now is go time. Aziz Bandaogo has been cleared to play, adding a huge piece to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Bandaogo joins a team that has already showed some promise through the first four games of the season. Now, the Bearcats are getting a huge addition to the frontcourt, an area they need to be more than in adequate in to compete in the Big 12. Bandaogo, the Utah Valley transfer, torched the Bearcats in the quarterfinals of the NIT last year. But now he’s here in Cincinnati, bringing the potential to consistently rack up double-doubles and swat multiple shots per game.
The Bearcats have gotten off to a good start without Bandaogo. This team can go nine players deep (that’s how many players have played in all four games this season), they take care of the ball (70 assists to just 37 turnovers this season), they can score (they’re averaging 84.3 points per game) and seven of their top eight scorers are over 40 percent from the field.
This looks like this could be the best team, so far, in the Wes Miller era. Now add one of the most sought after transfers in the country this past offseason. I’m really excited to see what the ceiling looks like for this team.
Know your opponent: Georgia Tech
Before I get into the Yellow Jackets, I want to point out something that I think is also really advantageous for the Bearcats. They’re going to be a well-rested team, potentially, heading into conference play. They just had a week off before playing NKU. They will have six days in between this Wednesday night’s game and next Tuesday night’s game at Howard. They’ll have almost another week off in between Florida Gulf Coast and Xavier in early December. They’ll then have another week off in late December in between Stetson and Evansville and then eight days off before their first conference game at BYU. That rest will be massive heading into the Big 12 gauntlet.
