Winning a game by 36 points in the Big 12 is no small task. But that’s what the Bearcats did Saturday afternoon on Senior Day, beating West Virginia 92-56 in their regular-season finale. The win makes the Bearcats final regular-season record 18-13 overall and 7-11 in Big 12 play. Cincinnati is now officially the No. 11 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament, with a rematch against the No. 14 seed West Virginia Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. E.T./2 p.m. C.T.. With so much to get into, let’s waste no time. Here are my 12 Big Things from Saturday afternoon’s win.
12 Big Things
1. All four seniors on the roster scored on Saturday afternoon, including Landen Long and Chase Kirkwood. How can you not be happy for those two guys? Fifth Third Arena was loud after Long splashed a three-point shot with just over a minute to play. And Kirkwood showed some muscle in driving to the rim and getting fouled, leading to two made free throws. John Newman turned in a solid and efficient performance with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Ody Oguama, who Wes Miller admirably praised for his role acceptance this season after the game, had an emphatic dunk in the closing minutes to close out his Bearcats home playing career. A really good day for all four seniors on this Bearcats team.
2. My first key to this game was for the Bearcats to just forget about all the heartbreak they’ve endured this season and just play in the present Saturday afternoon. They did just that, closing out the season with a Big 12-high in points with 92 and Big 12-low in points allowed with 56.
3. It was really good to see the Bearcats get a lead in the first half and then gradually build on it throughout the game. Even after West Virginia cut the lead from 14 to seven in the last two minutes of the first half, the Bearcats out-scored West Virginia 56-29 in the second half.
4. Another area the Bearcats got better in throughout the game was their field goal percentage. Cincinnati missed their first four shots but made 39 of their last 57 to finish at 59% from the field for the game.
5. I don’t think Simas Lukosius gets enough credit for what he’s done this season. He not only has become a good outside shooter, but he’s this team’s best outside shooter. In a season where CJ Fredrick, who was brought in to be this team’s best three-point shooter, has been sidelined for a majority of it due to injury, Lukosius has steadied the Bearcats outside shooting with a 35.7% clip on the season. He enters the Big 12 Tournament with 11 straight games with multiple makes from three-point range.
