The Bearcats postseason hopes were on the line Saturday night. Their last offensive possession was for their season. To their credit, they executed. From 34 feet away, remember when 34 was the number that embodied the Cincinnati Sports Curse?, Simas Lukosius banged in the biggest shot of the Bearcats season to keep the Bearcats NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
I’m not sure, now, how to view Tuesday night’s game at Oklahoma. On one thought, it can be viewed as a last chance game for the Bearcats. A last chance to earn a Quad 1 win in the regular season. A last chance to continue a potential late-season run that builds momentum towards the Big 12 Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament. And on second thought, it is a last chance. This is Cincinnati’s last chance to string together consecutive wins in Big 12 play. This is Cincinnati’s last chance to ignite a run to boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament. With that, here are my Players to Watch, notes from the previous matchup against Oklahoma and keys to the game against the Sooners Tuesday night in Norman, Oklahoma.
Looking at Oklahoma since the first matchup at Cincinnati:
The Sooners have struggled since winning at Cincinnati back on January 20th, going 4-7 in 11 games. They have road wins at K-State and Oklahoma State and home wins over Oklahoma State and BYU but road losses at Central Florida, Baylor and Iowa State and home losses to Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas and Houston. The Sooners have struggled scoring, with their last six games producing just 66.5 points per game. That stretch includes scoring just 57 points at home against Kansas and 45 points at Iowa State. They did score 85 points against No. 1 Houston, a heartbreaking loss. It was such a well-played game by both offenses, and the Sooners lost on a last-second shot by Jamal Shead. It’s such a tough way to lose a game you fight so hard in, and now you welcome in a Cincinnati team that just got off the mat in snapping a three-game losing streak. Oklahoma is 19-10 overall and 7-9 in Big 12 play, which is currently 9th in the standings. Another reason why that makes this game so crucial as Cincinnati looks to sneak into the top 10 of the Big 12 standings with the Tournament looming next week.
Players to Watch
1. #2 Javian McCollum, 6’2″, 160 lbs., Jr., G, Fort Myers, Florida, Siena Transfer
13.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 40.5 FG%, 31.2 3-PT FG%, 94.3 FT%, 100 ast.-59 TO, 2 blk, 24 stl, 31.3 mpg
Jan 20th @ Cincinnati: 16 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ast., 6-16 FG, 4-4 FT, TO, stl, 33 mins
McCollum was having a solid first season in Oklahoma, but his scoring average has dropped over a point since the first meeting against the Bearcats in mid-January. He also has shot below 50 percent in every game since playing at Cincinnati despite playing 30 or more minutes in 10 of 11 games. He is, however, coming off a solid game distributing and taking care of the ball with eight assists to just one turnover against No. 1 Houston Saturday night. Despite his struggles, he is still the Sooners leading scorer and definitely a player to watch Tuesday night.
2. #3 Otega Oweh, 6’5″, 215 lbs., So., G, Newark, New Jersey
11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 50.2 FG%, 39.6 3-PT FG%, 63.6 FT%, 31 ast.-50 TO, 14 blk, 43 stl, 25.2 mpg
Jan 20th @ Cincinnati: 14 pts, 4 rebs, ast., 4-9 FG (1-2 3-PT FG), 5-6 FT, stl, 29 mins
Like McCollum, Oweh’s scoring has also dropped. His scoring, though, has dropped nearly three points per game since the first game against the Bearcats in Cincinnati. He only has three games in double figures in his last 11 overall. In addition, he has five games with multiple turnovers in that stretch.
