6. Bandaogo’s presence was much-needed against West Virginia center Jesse Edwards. Even though Edwards had a much better performance than last week against Cincinnati with 17 points, he only had five rebounds. When Bandaogo was in the game, he made life rough for the Mountaineers biggest frontcourt presence.
7. The real turning point of this game, to me, was when West Virginia accumulated three technical fouls in the second half. Cincinnati took advantage by making 100% of their free throws off those technical fouls, another crucial element in a nail-biting game. The Bearcats went 16-of-21 from the free throw line for the game.
8. Speaking of which, it doesn’t matter what round of the tournament it is. Any game can be great, a classic at that. This game between Cincinnati and West Virginia saw nine ties and 18 lead changes. For context, Big 12 conference games in the regular-season averaged four ties and four lead changes. That’s across 252 regular-season conference games. Now that it’s the Big 12 Tournament, if this game was any indication, these games are going to be a rollercoaster of ties and lead changes.
9. I thought Jizzle James looked kind of overwhelmed by the moment today, which is surprising given his fearless style of play throughout the regular-season. He took way more three-point attempts than he normally does, going 0-of-4 from beyond the arc. His best shots, I think, are jumpers from the high-post and the baseline. He maybe just needed one game in the Big 12 Tournament to get settled in, and the Bearcats will need him Wednesday night against Kansas.
10. The Bearcats only played eight players Tuesday afternoon, and I like that. It saved some bodies they could potentially need for the second round, and it shows that maybe Wes Miller has figured out his rotation.
11. The other amazing thing is the Bearcats found a way to win this game, not only after being down 16 points with 12:25 to go, but also with John Newman III and Aziz Bandaogo fouling out. That’s what makes Thomas’s three with 12.5 seconds to go so crucial. If he doesn’t hit it- not to mention the Bearcats were out of timeouts for the last two minutes of the game- then West Virginia can do one of two things. They can tie the game with a two-point shot, forcing overtime where the Bearcats would not have had Newman and Bandaogo. Or, they could have hit a three to win the game and end the Bearcats season. Clutch can mean multiple things, as is the case for Thomas and his dagger three-point shot.
12. One more thing about Lukosius: he has become this team’s best three-point shooter. He also may be approaching sharp-shooter status, now at 37.2% on the season.
Bonus 13th: The Big 12 made the absolute right decision to extend invitations to not just Cincinnati, but also Central Florida, Houston and BYU. At least two of the four newcomers are guaranteed to make the quarterfinals Thursday, with Houston the No. 1 seed and the winner of Central Florida and BYU Wednesday advancing to Thursday. The four newcomers have proven they more than belong in the Big 12, and it’s what makes this tournament so fun. Personally, I enjoy seeing so many fans from each school at the games and walking around Kansas City. It’s only been two days, so I can’t imagine what the scene will be like when we get to the later rounds.
Survive and Advance: Now waiting for the Bearcats, a short-handed Kansas team with its lowest seed ever in the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas is the No. 6 seed, and they will be without their top two scorers in Kevin McCullar Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. Optimism is high that Cincinnati can pull off the upset and advance to Thursday night’s quarterfinals. Falling behind by 16 points isn’t an ideal way to make that upset happen, but making 16 three-point shots would be ideal. It’s March, and anything can happen.
