Look: Cincinnati Basketball Projected to Finish 11th in The Athletic's Big 12 Media Poll

The Bearcats could still make the NCAA Tournament in this scenario.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Oct 27, 2023 11:27 AM EDT

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Athletic's CJ Moore put together his annual media poll for the Big 12 this coming season and Cincinnati is slotted at No. 11 out of 14 teams.

They were ranked as high as nine in the exercise and as low as last place.

"Speaking of waiver decisions, I’ll want a redo here if Utah Valley transfer Aziz Bandaogo wins his appeal," Moore wrote. "Bandaogo is at his third school. The NCAA is buckling down on second-time transfers, so we shall see. The 7-footer would change the calculus on this team’s defensive potential if eligible. He is one of the best rim protectors in the country. Utah Valley’s opponents shot just 39.8 percent inside the arc with Bandaogo on the floor last season, per hooplens.com. The best two-point defense in the country (Alabama) held its opponents to 40.8 percent."

"The Bearcats do have a really solid returning big man in Viktor Lakhin, so it’s not dire if Bandaogo is ineligible. Wes Miller also added one of my favorite portal players in Butler transfer Simas Lukosius and took a swing on former Iowa/Kentucky guard CJ Fredrick, who had his time at Kentucky derailed by injuries. Fredrick was a productive guard on good Iowa teams, and the Bearcats could use his shooting. Another player to watch: Jizzle James, son of former Colts running back Edgerrin James. We can all agree college basketball would be more fun with a star named Jizzle. This feels like a bubble team."

11th feels about right for a UC team that can still go under .500 in the conference and make the NCAA Tournament if it exits non-conference play with two or fewer losses.

The waiver decisions are a massive swing point. With both Bandaogo and Reynolds, I'd be surprised if UC doesn't make its first NCAA Tournament under Wes Miller. Without them, odds are they won't have enough frontcourt depth to make the dance playing their first-ever season in America's toughest conference.

KenPom projects the team to have the 36th-best adjusted defense nationally and the 70th-best adjusted offense.

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