The Cincinnati Bearcats earned themselves a much-needed Quad 1 road win Saturday afternoon in Orlando, narrowly beating Central Florida 76-74.
The win gives the Bearcats their fifth Big 12 win of the season and their 16th win overall. Now at 16-9 overall and 5-7 in Big 12 play, the Bearcats are still in play to avoid having to play on Tuesday of the Big 12 Tournament. Here are my 12 Big Things from Saturday afternoon’s win.
12 Big Things
1. I’m going big picture here. The win gives the Bearcats a sweep over Central Florida for the second straight season. It also guarantees the Bearcats a winning record against the other three Big 12 newcomers this season in Houston ad BYU, with still another game remaining against Houston. That’s significant to me because it shows the Bearcats are one of the better newcomers to the Big 12, and it definitely shows they belong.
2. The Bearcats came out playing hard, and they finished playing hard. After two tough losses at home, to come out on the road and give that kind of effort is another building block in the culture Wes Miller is building in Cincinnati.
3. Rebounding was paramount in Saturday afternoon’s game, and the Bearcats owned the glass. Cincinnati out-rebounded Central Florida 45-33, including 18-8 on the offensive glass.
4. It’s not rocket science that Dan Skillings Jr. being in this team’s starting lineup is a game-changer for this team. Skillings came out hot in energizing a lead that stretched to as many as 14 points early in the second half. The sophomore from Philadelphia finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
5. Skillings’s fast start was paramount for the Bearcats. Getting off to a fast start has been a struggle for the Bearcats in Big 12 play. Usually Skillings gives the Bearcats a boost off the bench. But by the time that happens, Cincinnati is sometimes down by multiple possessions. While those boosts have helped Cincinnati climb back into Big 12 games, Saturday afternoon’s performance helped the Bearcats jump out to a good lead that was big enough to not be relinquished.
6. Skillings and Jizzle James could be a lethal backcourt soon. If those two guys develop into the players I think they can be, look out.
