Cincinnati Bearcats coach Wes Miller, Aziz Bandaogo on Dayton
Cincinnati Bearcats coach Wes Miller, Aziz Bandaogo on Dayton Friday at Heritage Bank Arena
The Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout is over and one obstacle is out of the way for the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball program. Now, a second area team awaits with a stronger resumé than Xavier.
For the second straight year, the UC Bearcats will play the Dayton Flyers in Cincinnati and could be outnumbered based on last year’s ticket sales. The Simple Truth Hoops Classic presented by CareSource comes to Heritage Bank Center Friday where 12,547 watched the Flyers knock down the Bearcats 82-68 last year. The game again is not included in either team’s season ticket packages.
Cincinnati Bearcats, Dayton Flyers both ranked
The recent rankings of both teams enhance the game. UC went up to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press poll, with Dayton entering at No. 22. The USA Today Coaches poll has the Bearcats at No. 20 and Dayton at No. 24. The last time UC was ranked and played a ranked team was the March 17, 2019 American Athletic Conference championship game in Memphis, when the 22nd-ranked Bearcats defeated No. 11 Houston 69-57.
Wes Miller’s squad has not played a ranked team this season, while head coach Anthony Grant and the Flyers will be facing their fifth Top 25 opponent. Their only two losses came in the Maui Invitational, dropping a two-point game to No. 12 North Carolina and a five-point affair to No. 5 Iowa State. Before they left the island they wiped the floor with No. 2 Connecticut, the defending national champion. 85-67.
On Saturday, after UC prevailed in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout over Xavier, Dayton defeated No. 6 Marquette 71-63. Tuesday, they hosted UNLV and needed a late three-point play from guard Malachi Smith to beat the Runnin’ Rebels 66-65.
“Give that staff credit for the retention which we all know is difficult in this era of college basketball,” UC coach Wes Miller said. “They added a couple impactful nice pieces as well. It’s a team that’s won together and they’ve done a nice job adding some new parts.”
Cincinnati Bearcats will try to ice Dayton’s Flyers downtown
Last year, Dayton controlled the game and crowd at Heritage Bank Arena. UC had a couple brief leads in the first half but trailed by six at halftime and got down by as many as 18 before losing by 14. While the arena was once UC’s home floor before their current on-campus facility, it’s been a while since the Bearcats prevailed by the river. You have to go back nearly a dozen years when the UC/Xavier game was briefly coined the “Crosstown Classic” and moved from the school sites after the infamous 2011 brawl at Cintas Center. UC won the Classic 60-45 in 2012, then lost a year later 64-47.
Instead of coming off a loss to Xavier this year, UC comes in riding high, but so do the Flyers.
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Dayton Flyers
1. Guard 3-pointers while sinking 3-pointers
Xavier was the first team to outshoot UC from the perimeter, hitting 6-of-19 3-pointers to their 5-of-20. In UC’s only loss, at Villanova, both teams made eight treys. Every other game the Bearcats have had the advantage on the deep ball.
Dayton last year made eight to UC’s six, with Koby Brea (now at Kentucky) making four. Three of Dayton’s starters are hitting well over 40% from long-range (Malachi Smith, Nate Santos Enoch Cheeks) with Javon Bennett close to 40%. Despite an uncharacteristic 1-for-7 from behind the arc vs. Xavier, Simas Lukošius is still at 48% for the season. Last year he was 3-for-8 on triples against Dayton.
“This team is a top 10 team in offense in most analytical breakdowns,” Miller said of the Flyers. “We’re going to be challenged to defend one of the best offenses in America.”
UNLV held Dayton to a 5-of-21 night from the arc Tuesday.
2. Cincinnati Bearcats must take advantage of length, experience
Dayton is missing 55 points from its starting lineup a year ago with DaRon Holmes II and Kobe Elvis gone. Factor in Koby Brea’s 12 points and that’s 67 of last year’s 82 points. Obviously, the Flyers have recovered nicely based on their record.
UC returns three of its starters from a year ago, but only one is currently in the lineup, Aziz Bandaogo. From an experience standpoint, they return 54 of last year’s 68 points. Last December, Lukošius, Dan Skillings Jr. and Jizzle James all came off the bench.
The Bearcats offer more length with 6-foot-8 newcomer Dillon Mitchell added to the 6-foot-6 Skillings and 7-footer Bandaogo. Dayton’s tallest starter is 6-foot-8 Zed Key. They do have 7-foot-1 freshman Frenchman Amaël L’Etang who had 10 points and six rebounds against UNLV off the bench.
A year ago Bandaogo dealt with back issues during and after the Dayton game and had just finished battling the NCAA for eligibility. Now after enjoying one rivalry win, he’s ready to take on another challenge.
“It was really fun, I’m not going to lie,” Bandaogo said of the Shootout. “I really enjoyed the fans. It was great to be in the atmosphere. I’m thankful to be part of it. We just have to get ready for the next game, try to be better and have the same approach.”
Bandaogo admits he knows some French that he’s been learning with roommate Halvine Dzellat so he may have some “trash talk” for Dayton’s L’Etang.
3. Take Dayton’s crowd out, get Cincinnati Bearcats fans in seats
UC’s Mitchell mentioned after the Xavier game that he couldn’t see anyone beating UC at Fifth Third Arena with the presence that showed vs. Xavier (12,513). Last year, it would be fair to say Heritage Bank Center had more Dayton fans than Bearcats supporters.
“I don’t care what you think about the arena, to me it doesn’t matter,” Miller said. “It’s 94 feet, there’s two goals that are 10 feet and we’re playing one of the best teams in college basketball. We’re doing it right here in Cincinnati. Last year there were more Dayton fans than there were Cincinnati fans. We need all the help we can get. This a big-time game and it’s in our community, so please, please come out.”
What UC doesn’t want to hear again is Dayton’s parting chant at the buzzer last year: “This is our house!”
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Dayton Flyers
Tip: Friday night, 8:30, Heritage Bank Center (17,000)
TV/Radio: ESPNU/700WLW
Series: UC leads 60-32 (Dayton won last year 82-68)
Dayton Flyers scouting report
Record: 10-2
Coach: Anthony Grant (eighth season, 159-74)
Offense: 78.7 ppg
Defense: 67.3 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Javon Bennett (G, 5’10”, 9.1 ppg)
Zed Key (F, 6’8″, 12.4 ppg)
Enoch Cheeks (G, 6’3″, 14.7 ppg)
Nate Santos (F, 6’7″, 13.8 ppg)
Malachi Smith (G, 6′, 11.1 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 8-1
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 71-44, overall 256-179)
Offense: 80.4 ppg
Defense: 59.6 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 16 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 12.3 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 11.8 ppg)
Dan Skillings Jr. (G-F, 6’6″, 9.7 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 9.4 ppg)
Players to watch
Enoch Cheeks started all 33 games last year for Dayton and now is their top scorer and rebounder. However, UNLV held him to four points Tuesday. Cheeks is also one of the Atlantic 10’s top defenders.
Jizzle James came off the bench last year vs. Xavier and Dayton and is coming off his worst shooting day as a Bearcat going 0-for-11 in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout win. That’s not likely to happen again as the sophomore guard has plenty of motivation to improve in a game involving two ranked teams.
“Most guys on a night when they can’t buy one (a basket) it’s going to affect them in every way,” Miller said. “It’s going to affect how they defend, their mentality, their leadership, their approach. You would not be able to tell the difference watching Jizzle play the game. I think that says we’ve got a damn good point guard, a damn good winner and a Bearcat in Jizzle James.”
Rankings
KenPom.com: UC is at No. 24 with Dayton at No. 31 (UC is No. 19 in AP, Dayton No. 22/USA Today has UC No. 20, Dayton No. 24)
NCAA NET: Dayton is No. 23 with UC at No. 32
