When lightning strikes, no one feels safe. You can’t stop the storm. You can’t get near, it’s rain. No time to hide it. No time to fight it. Let it rain.
Those lyrics to one of Journey’s newest singles, “Let it Rain,” directly applies to the incredible shooting performances of Simas Lukosius and Day Day Thomas in leading the Bearcats to a 90-85, come-from behind win over West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament Tuesday afternoon in Kansas City.
The 16-point deficit is the largest in a comeback win in the Wes Miller era for the Bearcats, and the win also gives the Bearcats their first ever Big 12 Tournament win and back-to-back wins in Big 12 games for the first time in school history. Let’s not waste anytime. Here are my 12 Big Things from Tuesday afternoon’s first round win.
12 Big Things
1. You can’t say enough about Simas Lukosius and Day Day Thomas and their performances Tuesday afternoon. Each of them hit seven threes, and the Bearcats needed every single one of them. For a Bearcats team that has struggled all season to consistently knock down three-point shots, they knocked down a Big 12 Tournament record 16 three-point shots Tuesday afternoon.
2. The second half alone was where the Bearcats did their damage from beyond the arc. The amazing part of Lukosius’s 31-point performance is that 26 of his points came in the second half, including six of his seven three-point makes. Cincinnati made 10 threes as a team in the second half.
3. Day Day Thomas’s performance should not be overlooked. The most important part of his 29-point, 7-of-10 3-PT performance is that he hit one to beat the first half buzzer and another with just over 12 seconds to go in the game. Two clutch threes in a five-point win from a player who deserves a lot more credit than he’s been given.
4. That said, Thomas’s last four games have been electric. He’s averaging over 14 points per game, has hit 10 threes in that stretch and has 17 assists to no turnovers. That part is key to the Bearcats success taking care of the ball and making shots. Cincinnati had 17 assists to just eight turnovers on Tuesday afternoon.
5. Wes Miller also acknowledged Aziz Bandaogo’s performance Tuesday afternoon. The Bearcats big man pulled down 13 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. His 13 rebounds are the most since a 17-rebound performance against Bryant back on December 12th.
