Oklahoma point guard Milos Uzan picked up his third personal foul with 17:06 remaining in the second half resulting in Porter Moser to quickly go to his bench to start the half. That was something the Sooners were hoping to avoid, but after Sam Goodwin picked up his second foul on an illegal screen, Uzan quickly checked back in.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 35-28 lead after Soares’s cross court pass was taken away by Newman resulting in a three-point play on the other end after flushing home the dunk through contact. That was Cincinnati’s first free throw attempt of the game, and it came with just over 16 minutes to go in the second half. Now, for Cincinnati, Newman would set the tone for the Bearcats as the veteran forward had eight of the Bearcats first 12 points to start the second half.
Newman would struggle to shoot the deep ball to start the game going 0-6 to start before burying his first three, sparking a six-point swing in favor of the Bearcats. Jizzle James followed suit with a three of his own after Day-Day Thomas came up with a huge steal as the Bearcats flawless ball movement left the Sooners defense scrambling, trailing 40-30.
Cincinnati withheld the Sooners comeback after Jamille Reynolds came up with two huge offensive rebounds which resulted in the Bearcats extending their lead to six. However, Cincinnati struggled to defend the perimeter all night after Skillings fouled Le’Tre Darthard on a three-point attempt trimming Cincinnati’s lead to three.
Oklahoma silenced the Bearcats run tying the game at 53 with 6:30 to go after seven straights from Mike Klanjscek buried home a turnaround jumper through traffic. The Sooners momentum didn’t last long at all as Jizzle James went on a personal six-to-zero run, to give the Bearcats a 59-54 lead. The freshman has continued to rise to the occasion after finding Newman at the top of the key for a three to extend the Bearcats lead to six with four minutes to go,.
Cincinnati would continue to struggle on the defensive end after Skillings picked up his fourth foul with four minutes to go after following yet another three-point shooter. Oklahoma continued to hang around as a surplus of free throws kept them hanging around down the stretch. Both offenses would go cold down the stretch after Cincinnati went on to miss their next seven shots, while Oklahoma was held without a field goal for nearly five minutes before a Moore and-1 with 1:08 to go.
Oklahoma would have to finish this one without leading guard Milos Uzan, who fouled out with 1:08 remaining, finishing with just two points on 1-10 shooting. A game in which the Sooners needed him to play roughly 30 plus minutes with McCullum out, Cincinnati was to get Uzan in early foul trouble and play to their advantage. The Sooners would make this a 66-64 game after Moore finished through contact for the three-point play with just over a minute to spare, as the Sooners comeback effort was brought back to life.
Oklahoma wasn’t done there after Moser drew up an excellent play on the baseline after Cincinnati elected not to foul and Le’Tre Darthard made him pay. Darthard buried the corner three to give the Sooners a 67-66 lead with 14 seconds left forcing a Cincinnati timeout. Simas Lukosius got a great look to win the game yet again, but Bandaogo would be fouled on the rebound attempt with seconds to go. Bandaogo would miss the first of two free throws but buried the second one to tie this game at 67 with 3 seconds left. Oklahoma had a great look to win the game but Otega Oweh’s shot bounced off the back of the rim to force overtime at 67.
Oklahoma struck first in overtime after Godwin snuck behind Bandaogo on the pick and roll attempt for the easy slam. James quickly responded though for the Bearcats with the midrange jumper as the freshman continued to pave the way for Cincinnati. Oklahoma regained a one-point lead in overtime following a Darthard made jumper. James would drive through traffic where his layup attempt came up short and resulted in two Sooner free throws on the other end with 14 seconds left.
Cincinnati just couldn’t convert down the stretch after missing their final four shots throughout the last two minutes of the overtime period. However, for the Bearcats, they had opportunities in overtime to regain their lead but struggled as they shot just 2-8 during the last five minutes.
Final Thoughts
In a game where the Bearcats led by as much as 12, they let another close game get the best of them, marking their eighth loss of the season by five points or less. Tonight, was a huge opportunity for Wes Miller and the Bearcats to string together some victories and build momentum heading into the conference tournament next week, however, fell just short again tonight.
The biggest takeaway from this game was Cincinnati allowed 14 free throws on jump shots tonight, with 12 of them coming on shooters behind the three-point line. That was something that Oklahoma simply took to their advantage as they were able to string along 34 free throw attempts compared to Cincinnati’s 11. Now in order to compete in the Big 12, you have to find ways to get to the foul line, and that is what Oklahoma did well tonight as they finished the game 28-34 from the line. Good for 82%, which folks, is simply how you win ball games, and that is one thing that has drastically hurt Cincinnati this season.
Cincinnati has defended the three ball very well throughout the season but tonight it was a different result and many fans would agree to that statement. In must win games, you cant blow a 12 point lead especially in games where you start 8-9 from the field in the opening six minutes of play. Now is it fair to say Cincinnati was complacent, maybe, but the stretch that hurt the most was the one near the end of the first half.
If Cincinnati cuts those turnovers down just by 1-2 it’s a different outcome, but it is safe to say those six turnovers over five minutes of play near the first half where simply the different maker. After going up by double-digits they just can’t get sloppy and turn the ball over, especially to a team that was playing just one point guard in Uzan the whole game. They have to do better at taking care of the ball, as tonight Oklahoma only scored eight points off turnovers, but they were able to get to the line because of that.
For Cincinnati, their chances at an NCAA Tournament appearance appear to be slim to none, as they will have to go Kansas City and potentially win the Big 12 tournament in order to go dancing.
