An agonizing loss was evident in the face of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball coach Wes Miller Wednesday after watching his team let a 16-point lead fizzle away in less than nine minutes. It was the third consecutive road game the Bearcats had held a lead for a significant time, only to see it go by the wayside.
It was their second straight game minus 6-foot-11, 240-pound Viktor Lakhin whose 12.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game are sorely missed. Lakhin is also a shot-changer and led the team in blocks and steals before rolling his ankle less than 10 minutes into the game at Tulane.
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The Bearcats played most of the Tulane game well without him and got by South Florida at home. For 31 minutes at East Carolina, they were fine and actually led for nearly 38 minutes of the contest. However, after outrebounding the Pirates 46-29 and beating them by 28 on Jan. 11, ECU righted their ship on the boards, outrebounding the Bearcats 46-27 Wednesday.
The result was a gift-wrapped 75-71 victory. Making it more painful was a number of friends and family of Miller's and North Carolina native Ody Oguama had come to watch what was supposed to be a win on paper.
But, that's why the ball is thrown up in the air. Here's a look at the game at UCF which suddenly became more important. It would also be a Quadrant 1 victory, something the Bearcats don't have this season.
UC vs. Central Florida preview
Tip: 12 noon, Addition Financial Arena (9,432)
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WLW-AM (700)
Series info: Cincinnati leads 14-5
Central Florida scouting report
Central Florida 15-10 (6-7 AAC)
Coach: Johnny Dawkins (127-82, seventh season)
Offense: 72.2 ppg
Defense: 65.6 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Taylor Hendricks (F, 6'9", 14.9 ppg)
Darius Johnson (G, 6'1", 7.5 ppg)
Ithiel Horton (G, 6'5", 12.0 ppg)
C.J. Kelly (G, 6'5", 12.1 ppg)
Lahat Thioune (F, 6'10", 2.7 ppg)
Cincinnati scouting report
Cincinnati 17-10 (8-6 AAC)
Coach: Wes Miller (35-25, second season)
Offense: 77.2 ppg
Defense: 68.8 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Landers Nolley II (G/F, 16.2 ppg)
David DeJulius (G, 6', 14.3 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6'3", 9.1 ppg)
Ody Oguama (F, 6'9", 4.6 ppg)
Kalu Ezikpe (F, 6'8", 3.2 ppg)
Players to watch
Taylor Hendricks
The 6-foot-9, 210-pound freshman lived up to his four-star billing when the Knights played at Fifth Third Arena Feb. 4. In UCF's 74-63 loss to the Bearcats he had 21 points and eight rebounds. He finished 7-of-14 from the field and made 4-of-9 of his shots from beyond the arc. He is regarded as a mid-first-round NBA draft pick.
Ody Oguama/Kalu Ezikpe
With the availability of Lakhin again in question, the Bearcats will need the pair of big men to step up against the Knights. Oguama had just two points and six rebounds in the first game, while Ezikpe played just briefly. Should 16-point, 13-rebound Oguama (vs. Tulane) or the 18-point version that helped beat USF show up, the Bearcats could be in business. Ezikpe pulled down eight rebounds vs. USF, but was held to three at East Carolina as both battled foul trouble.
Keys to the game
Finish all 40 minutes
The Bearcats led then-No. 3 Houston by 11 with under 12 minutes to go on Jan. 28 and were tied with under two minutes. The Cougars won by six. At Tulane, minus Lakhin for most of the game, the Bearcats led by seven with 2:22 remaining, only to see the game go to overtime where they were outscored 18-11. Wednesday night it looked like the Bearcats were cruising up 16 with nine minutes to play. East Carolina didn't back off and pulled the upset.
It was only their second loss when leading with two minutes to go, but it left fans of both teams with their mouths agape.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," UC grad student DeJulius said. "We didn't play how we play for 40 minutes and I feel like that's kind of what happened down the stretch."
Be fast to the ball
Coach Miller was beside himself at the rebounding disparity against ECU, particularly since the Bearcats beat them on the glass by 17 at Fifth Third Arena. It wasn't just the 19-rebound deficit either, the Pirates just flat-out beat UC to the basketball at crucial times.
"We got destroyed on the backboards," Miller said. "They beat us to the ball. We were slow to the ball. It's not OK. It's frustrating!"
Ratings
NCAA NET: UCF is No. 55, Cincinnati is No. 81
KenPom.com: UCF is No. 55, Cincinnati is No. 66
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