Cincinnati Players to Watch: @ Oklahoma

The Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Norman, Oklahoma on Tuesday in search of consecutive Big 12 conference wins.

Author:
Neil Meyer
Mar 4, 2024 3:15 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — Tuesday night's contest is a rubber match between programs after the Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Bearcats 69-65 back on Jan. 20th at Fifth Third Arena. The last time these two teams duked it out, it was a game for the ages that came down to the final seconds.

Players To Watch For Oklahoma

The Sooners are led by guard Javian McCollum, who leads the team in scoring averaging nearly 14 points per game while shooting 40% from the field. The junior guard finished with a team-high sixteen points in the Sooner's win over the Bearcats back in January but shot roughly 38% from the field in that contest.

McCullom is second on the team in assists as the 6-foot-2, 165-pound guard has done a great job facilitating the Sooners offense this season alongside Milos Uzan, who leads the team in assists with 125. The Bearcats will have to contain the Sooner's backcourt on Tuesday night to slow down the once high-powered Oklahoma offense.

Oklahoma's front court gave some problems to the Bearcats back in January, behind strong performances from John Hugley, Jalon Moore, and Sam Goodwin. Goodwin only played in 11 minutes in the first contest due to early foul trouble. However, if the Bearcats can get the seven-footer into early foul trouble again. This could be something that Cincinnati uses to their advantage. Goodwin finished the game with just two rebounds and zero points as Cincinnati's frontcourt did a great job eliminating him from the equation in the first contest.

Jalon Moore is a player to keep an eye on for the Sooners as the junior forward is shooting nearly 54% from the field on the season. Moore, also leads the Sooners in three-point shooting percentage, as the forward is shooting 42% from behind the arch. Moore has displayed his array of shooting this season as he currently averages nearly 11 points per game for Porter Moser's Oklahoma squad.

Moore also leads the Sooners in rebounding averaging, nearly six rebounds per game. Now, if Viktor Lakhin and Dan Skillings are both unable to go for the Bearcats, this will most certainly be something to keep an eye on in how the Bearcats manage to keep Moore off the glass.

Players To Watch For Cincinnati

While we await the injury updates on Cincinnati forwards Dan Skillings and Viktor Lakhin ahead of Tuesday's contest, it is worth noting that the Bearcats could be without their leading scorer and two of their top rebounders for this contest. Lakhin went down with an apparent ankle injury near the end of the Kansas State game, while Wes Miller noted it was a hip injury for Skillings, and he was set for an MRI on Sunday.

However, if those two aren't able to go on Tuesday, keep an eye on Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds as players to watch in the front court. Although, Reynolds also got banged up in Saturday's win over Kansas State. For Cincinnati to be successful on Tuesday, they have to have a solid night in the front court and stick to their identity: Rebounding

The Sooners outrebounded the Bearcats 42-36 the last time these two programs squared off. The Bearcats can't let history repeat itself on Tuesday night, especially if the Bearcats are down two of their top rebounders in Skillings and Lakhin. They will have to alter the game on the glass on both sides of the ball and see big nights from John Newman and Simas Lukosius.

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