Winning four of their six American Athletic Conference games, the University of Cincinnati's basketball Bearcats find themselves on the road Wednesday night when they square off with South Florida's Bulls.
Since dropping their road opener on New Year's Day at Temple, Wes Miller's men have racked up road wins at Wichita State and SMU, two places where it's been historically difficult to secure victory.
Formerly known as the Sun Dome, USF's Yuengling Center has also provided UC with some challenging moments over the years.
UC gets road victory vs. SMU:Blocks plus boards equal W
In 2016, the Bearcats scored just one point over the final 10-plus minutes and fell 54-51. In 2014, they were ranked No. 19 in the country and lost 61-54. In 2013 they lost on late free throws 46-45 in another year they were ranked in the top 25.
In 2010, UC swept the Connecticut Huskies but lost at USF 65-57. In 2009, a 9-20 USF team beat the Bearcats by 11, 70-59 and in the Deonta Vaughn days of 2007 UC lost 74-59.
What's all that mean to the current squad?
Not a lick. Those from last year's team know the Bearcats split with the Bulls, winning in Tampa by 11 last February, then falling by two at home 15 days later on a Senior Night buzzer-beater.
USF hasn't had a winning record since 2019 when they won the College Basketball Invitational. They are coached by Brian Gregory, whom locals may remember as the Dayton Flyers coach between 2003-2011. Dayton won the NIT in 2010. Gregory moved on to coach Georgia Tech between 2011-2016. He's been at USF since 2017 with 2019's 24-14 mark being his best. Last season the Bulls were just 8-23.
Gregory's Bulls have now equaled last year's win total and appear to be improved. Out of conference, they lost by seven to then-No. 15 Auburn. In the AAC they've lost to Memphis by seven on the road, Temple by four at home and last week they only fell short by six at No. 1 Houston.
"You're missing the boat with a lot of teams in this league if you're looking at record," Miller said in a Tuesday press briefing. "They're really good. People have to start looking past that stuff. There's a lot of dynamics to what your record is in early January. The reason they played with Houston is because they're freaking good. They play with Houston because they're physical, they defend, Brian Gregory's a great coach (and) they've added some shooting and scoring to their team."
UC Director of Player Development DerMarr Johnson leaves for West Virginia
UC Director of Player Development and former Bearcat player DerMarr Johnson announced his departure for an assistant coach job at West Virginia under his former college coach, Bob Huggins.
The Mountaineer opening came about when West Virginia parted ways with long-time Huggins assistant Larry Harrison. Ironically, Harrison briefly was a DePaul assistant after leaving UC when Johnson hit arguably the biggest shot of his college career. Martin had rallied UC back from double digits and Johnson's jumper won the game on March 2, 2000.
Johnson had been with the team since May 2021 and previously was a student assistant from 2017 to 2019 under Mick Cronin. His lone year on the court for the Bearcats was 1999-2000 when he was Conference USA Freshman of the Year as a 6-foot-9 guard. In the 2000 NBA Draft, he was the sixth pick overall in round one with teammate Kenyon Martin being the first overall selection.
"Man, you get that kind of chance, you run to Morgantown," Miller said. "I'm thrilled for D.J. I think it says a lot about Bob Huggins that he has an opening and he's going to go hire a former player. I've always admired coaches that hired their former players. It's a terrific opportunity for him. We'll manage. We've got a great staff. This is the kind of thing you can't say no to."
UC Bearcat coaches watch Jizzle James sizzle at MLK Dream is Real Classic
Bearcat 2023-24 signee Jizzle James, the 6-foot-1, son of former NFL player Edgerrin James, had a big night for his high school team in the MLK Dream Is Real Classic Monday. Wes Miller and assistant Chad Dollar were on hand to watch him score 45 for his high school team in a 92-84 victory.
"We always try to see one in the regular season and one in the playoffs," Miller said. "It was a high-level game, a packed gym and he was pretty damn good. My focus right now is on South Florida, but big picture, we've got a really good guard coming in Jizzle James."
UC vs. USF preview
Tip: 7 p.m., Yuengling Center (10,411)
TV/Radio: ESPN+, 700WLW
Series info: Cincinnati leads 35-10
Scouting Report
South Florida (8-10, 1-4 AAC)
Coach: Bryan Gregory (77-99, sixth year)
Offense: 71.2 ppg
Defense: 69.2 ppg
Projected lineup (Position, Height, Stats)
Tyler Harris (G, 5'9", 16.6 ppg)
Russell Tchewa (C, 7', 11.8 ppg/7.8 RPG)
Selton Miguel (G, 6'4", 10.6 ppg)
Keyshawn Bryant (F, 6'6", 8.5 ppg)
Sam Hines Jr, (F, 6'6", 7.4 ppg)
Cincinnati (13-6, 4-2 AAC)
Coach: Wes Miller (31-21, second year)
Offense: 76.8 ppg
Defense: 67.3 ppg
Projected lineup (Position, Height, Stats)
Landers Nolley II (G, 6'7" G/F, 15.1 ppg)
David DeJulius (G, 6', 14.2 ppg)
Viktor Lakhin (F, 6'11", 12.4 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6'3", 10.4 ppg)
Ody Oguama (F, 6'9", 3.4 ppg)
Cincinnati vs. South Florida players to watch
Tyler Harris
Harris is one of three recent transfer portal players in USF's starting lineup coming from Memphis. He led the Tigers last year in a win over UC with 15 points. Current Bearcat Landers Nolley II was his teammate and had 13 in the victory last Feb. 15. Guard Selton Miguel was at Kansas State a year ago and forward Keyshawn Bryant was at South Carolina. Russell Tchewa and Sam Hines Jr, came from Texas Tech and Denver, respectively, prior to last season. Harris had 24 in USF's Saturday win at East Carolina and 31 in their six-point loss at No. 1 Houston a week ago.
"Tyler Harris can really get going and they've got a lot of those guys that made them a sound defensive team last year back," Miller said.
Mika Adams-Woods
While Nolley is second in the AAC overall (counting all games) in 3-point percentage at nearly 44%, Adams-Woods is hitting the trifecta at almost a 54% clip during league games. He's 14-for-26 in AAC contests and was 4-of-7 in UC's tight road win at SMU. He's been in double figures a dozen times this season with a high of 19 against Houston at Fifth Third Arena.
Keys to the UC vs. USF basketball game
Shooting just 33.8% from the field and committing 17 turnovers against SMU prompted Miller to say UC couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. In Tampa, they will be roughly 35 miles away from the beach so perhaps the Bearcats can grind it near the Gulf (of Mexico). Tyler Harris was 5-of-8 in 3-pointers for USF vs. East Carolina and 6-for-10 against top-ranked Houston. USF has won every time they've hit double-digit threes as a team with the exception of the Houston game.
Another key here is the matchup of USF 7-footer Russell Tchewa against UC's 6-foot-11 Viktor Lakhin who swatted eight basketballs away from their target at SMU. The Bulls haven't seen much of Lakhin who played just three minutes against them a year ago in Tampa and missed the return game in Cincinnati.
"He doesn't just come out of nowhere and get eight blocks," Lakhin said. "He had that ability a long time ago. He's just in a better position to do it now. He has better habits. At this level of basketball every night there's a challenge across from you at every position. Vik knows that as well as anybody."
NCAA NET: Cincinnati is No. 85, USF is No. 158
KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 71, USF No. 143
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