After his team's blowout loss to crosstown rival Xavier on Saturday, first-year University of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Wes Miller said repeatedly he needs to improve.
"I've got to do better as a coach, we've got to be better as a team, and (it's) unacceptable the way that we played in here tonight," he said. "But again, you can't take away how well Xavier played, because I think they played tremendous."
The 83-63 loss was a humbling introduction for Miller to the Crosstown Shootout rivalry. It was also Miller's worst defeat in his short stint as head of the Bearcats program.
More:Takeaways: Cincinnati Bearcats look overwhelmed in Wes Miller's first Crosstown Shootout
The bad news for Miller is it will go down as one of worst losses in the history of the rivalry. But the good news is it doesn't have to define UC's season.
"We'll come back," Miller said. "This team has a lot of character. We'll come back. We'll get back to work. We'll try to get back to playing the way that we've played, for the most part, over the last month or so. We need to use this to become a better team. We need to learn and grow from this. That's the only way you can approach it at this point."
The Bearcats (7-3) have three more games before they open American Athletic Conference play Dec. 28 at No. 14 Houston. All three games are at home. The first is Tuesday night against HBCU Florida A&M.
More:'I'm so proud of Vik': UC's Viktor Lakhin is finding success after 'difficult' first year
THE GAME
Tipoff: 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena
TV/Radio: ESPN+/WLW-AM (700)
Series info: Cincinnati has won both meetings in the all-time series against the Rattlers, with the last coming on Nov. 22, 2010. In that matchup, the Bearcats made 12 3-pointers and had four players score in double figures.
SCOUTING REPORT
Florida A&M (2-6)
Coach: Robert McCullum, fifth season (43-77)
Offense: 63.8 ppg
Defense: 69.4 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Jalen Speer (G, 6'1', 10.7 ppg)
Kamron Reaves (G, 6'2", 8.4 ppg)
M.J. Randolph (G, 6'4", 17.8 ppg)
Bryce Moragne (F, 6'5", 7.2 rpg)
DJ Jones, (F, 6'9", 8.1 ppg)
Cincinnati (7-3)
Coach: Wes Miller, first season (7-3)
Offense: 69.8 ppg
Defense: 60.6 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
David DeJulius (G, 6’, 12.9 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6’3”, 6.8 ppg)
John Newman III (G, 6’4”, 6.4 ppg)
Jeremiah Davenport (G, 6'7", 11.1 ppg)
Abdul Ado (F, 6’11”, 1.5 bpg)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
M.J. Randolph
The 6-foot-4, 170-pound senior leads the Rattlers in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. Randolph is coming off a 21-point, six-rebound performance in a 73-66 loss Monday at Akron. Randolph made eight of his 14 shots against the Zips and had three steals.
John Newman III
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Clemson transfer scored a season-high 14 points on just five field-goal attempts Saturday night at Xavier. They were the most points for Newman since he scored 12 in back-to-back nights against Georgia Tech and Florida State early in Clemson's 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference slate.
KEY TO THE GAME
Rebound
Xavier killed the Bearcats on both the offensive and defensive glass. The Musketeers owned a 41-28 rebounding advantage, including a 27-16 edge on the defensive end. The Bearcats need to beat the Rattlers to the boards and to loose balls, particularly since they'll have a decisive size and talent advantage.
RANKINGS
KenPom.com: Florida A&M (296); Cincinnati (75)
NET: Florida A&M (321); Cincinnati (48)
RPI: Florida A&M (324); Cincinnati (80)
Source link
