Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Storylines: V. Utah Utes

Another chance at revenge against a Utah-based opponent.

Jan 28, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Josh Reed (10) rebounds the ball against Utah Utes forward Caleb Lohner (11) during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Another State of Utah revenge redux awaits Cincinnati basketball (14-9, 4-8) as they welcome the Utah Utes to Fifth Third Arena for a 7 p.m. ET tip on ESPN+ Tuesday night.

The Bearcats dropped a tough 69-66 game against the Utes a few weeks ago and are looking to keep their 80-plus point game-scoring streak rolling against Craig Smith's team.

Cincinnati is ranked 51st in the NET and 53rd on KenPom entering the game, while Utah is 79th and 85th in those metrics. Bart Torvik gives Cincinnati a 76% chance to win with a projected score sitting at 70-64 UC.

"We did a better job, especially in the second half of guarding it with all five, not just with two or three," Wes Miller said about his team's ball-screen defense against BYU. "Josh Reed, I'm not just saying it because he's sitting right here with me, that's the best game of his career today. As I told him in the locker room, it won't be the best game of his career soon because he's it's not a fluke, he's been improving, and we've always known he was capable of this. It was great to see it happen out there in a big-time college basketball game."

Offensive Storyline: Guards Pulling An Undertaker

Jizzle James and Day Day Thomas have been the biggest catalysts for Cincinnati's offensive explosion in the last few games, highlighted by a UC season-high 24 points out of James on Saturday night.

CBS Sports noted no team in the country was getting less three-point production from its lead point guard than Cincinnati entering the game, and James hit nearly a third of his season total (19) prior to Saturday in the win over BYU alone (six made threes). Continuing his and Thomas's (16-24 from the field in the past two games) hot shooting could give Cincinnati another blowout win on Tuesday night.

“It was great just stepping off the plane, getting that Florida air and it was 82 degrees back home. It was a good feeling," James said about a return home revitalizing his shooting. "The last two games have been good, but I'm not trying to dwell on it, because I know we have more games to play. I'm just trying to keep the same focus and attention to detail at every game.” 

The Bearcats won't have an easy task on that front in Utah. The Utes rank 113th nationally in three-point defense (32.4% allowed), but they do allow a healthy amount of attempts game-to-game (40% of opponent shots, 141st nationally, 23.9 allowed per game, 250th nationally). Cincinnati has paced up its possessions in recent games with Thomas driving that speed and Utah should let them keep rolling through shot attempts (59.8 shots allowed per game, 254th). Utah ranks 94th in adjusted tempo this season.

Another run-and-gun gameplan should stick here and help UC channel the power of their home crowd similarly to Saturday night. Up front, How Cincinnati deals with Ezra Ausar's (11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds) defense at 6-9, 240 pounds will determine the offensive flow from high to low.

Attacking him consistently and hunting contact should mitigate a potential shooting cool-off. Utah allows 20 free throw attempts per game (237th nationally).

Defensive Storyline: Stifle Gabe Madsen

Beating the Utes comes down to a pretty simple (to say) formula: Limit Gabe Madsen to single-digit scoring.

The Utes are 3-7 this season when he's held to 10 points or less and 0-4 when he hits seven points or fewer. The streaky former Cincinnati shooter can flip games by himself despite shooting just 38.4% this season from the field. It's a goodthing Cincinnati has plenty of perimeter defense to throw at him, including a surging Josh Reed coming off his best career game as a Bearcat taking the lead perimeter defense role against BYU alongside Dillon Mitchell.

Wes Miller tapped those two to shut down potential Top-10 NBA pick Egor Demin (12 points on 5-13 shooting with just two assists) to great avail on Saturday and a repeat should help Cincinnati win comfortably on Tuesday. Madsen ranks fifth in the Big 12 with a 27.5% usage rate, highlighting just how much offense goes through him.

“It feels good to know that my coaches trust me, my teammates trust me, taking on the best player every night (when I'mon the floor)," Reed said on Saturday. "It's also my other teammates helping me, talking to me, and helping me on defense.” 

If Reed & Co. can stay stable on shot fakes and avoid sending Madsen to the free throw line—as they did in the first matchup (7-8 on FT attempts), UC should roll to another win at home. It shouldn't be too difficult with Madsen posting a putrid 38.3% effective field goal rate in conference games this season.

Prediction: 75-63 Bearcats

Season Prediction Record: 18-5

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