Preview Paw Prints: Detroit Mercy Titans

Cincinnati's offense is heating up with one game left on the non-conference schedule.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 20, 2022 9:31 AM EST

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CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (8-4) have two games remaining on what's been a decent December homestand (4-1). Detroit Mercy (5-7) rounds out the non-conference slate this Wednesday at 7 p.m. as UC tries to keep up its strong play against bad teams.

ESPN's Matchup Predictor has Wes Miller's team winning 83.2% of the time on Wednesday. Detroit is ranked 202nd on KenPom, while Cincinnati sits at No. 74. The Titans are the third-best KenPom team UC has played at home this season (Bryant: 187, Xavier: 30th).

Wednesday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the teams and the first since 2004. One cool nugget around the game is Detroit head coach Mike Davis coached on staff at Indiana when UC assistant Mike Roberts played there in the early 2000s.

Offense Humming

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Ody Oguama (33) hits a layup in the second half of the NCAA men s basketball game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Cincinnati Bearcats defeated La Salle Explorers 78-60. Ncaa Basketball La Salle Explorers At Cincinnati Bearcats Ac — © Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Miller builds his teams' identities around defense, but the Bearcats' offense has been the better unit so far this season. That's rung true in this homestand where UC is averaging 88.2 PPG on 50.2% shooting and 17.2 assists per game.

Ball movement has been infectious over this stretch. It got cemented in a 100-point outing against Miami (Ohio), and an 18-point win over La Salle where all five starters reached double figures for the first time under Miller.

Cincinnati is also earning more easy points at the free throw line, moving up nearly 90 spots nationally in free throws per game since leaving Maui (20.4 attempts per game on this homestand).

"I don't think all of that those 28 free throws were a result of us putting this incredible pressure on the rim, but yes, we want to put more pressure on the rim," Miller said after Saturday's win. "We want to get to the free-throw line. So, from a raw number standpoint, it's good to see that. I still think we have a ways to go because, again, there were some calls way away from the basket that got us on the free throw line versus throwing it in the post and attacking the basket, that type of thing.”

An underrated part of this consistency has been senior guard Mika Adams-Woods (8.7 Pts, 2.5 Reb, team-high 3.7 Ast). He's taken a leap in 2022 just like Viktor Lakhin. Shooey has a nice handle on this offense after one full year in the system.

He is 66th nationally in assist/turnover ratio, keeping Cincinnati on time in the half-court—while playing nice defense on the other end. According to Evan Miya, Adams-Woods is a part of every top two-man through five-man lineup for UC.

Dan The Man

La Salle Explorers guard Anwar Gill (3) drives on Cincinnati Bearcats guard Daniel Skillings (0) in the first half of the NCAA men s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the La Salle Explorers at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Ncaa Basketball La Salle Explorers At Cincinnati Bearcats Ac — © Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Speaking of top lineups, freshman Dan Skillings Jr. (5.4 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 0.8 Ast) is a part of the best five-man lineup for UC this season. The rebounding, defense, and outside shooting are all starting to pop in Skillings's first taste of college basketball.

"We know we can be a really good defensive team when we put our mind to it," Skillings said after the La Salle win. "So, we all just had that same mindset to lock in on defense, and everything else will come to us."

He had the right mindset on Saturday, posting 6 points, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 4 rebounds. Skillings's 7-foot-1 wingspan was a devastating weapon. He stacked up Explorers all day between himself and the basket while keeping his hands disciplined.

Skillings has a nice three-point shot that's starting to fall. He only played six minutes against Xavier with 0 points but went 6-for-11 from deep against Bryant, Miami, and La Salle.

Cincinnati's best five-man lineup this season has been Adams-Woods, Jeremiah Davenport, David DeJulius, Viktor Lakhin, and Skillings. Yet, that group has played a meager 12 possessions together. It will be interesting to see how much that combo mixes going forward.

No D In Detroit

Louisville's Jarrod West and Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis battle for a loose ball in the second half. Louisville won 73-67. Cardstitans39 — © Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Titans are led by one of the best scorers in NCAA history.

Antoine Davis (24.8 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast) is the nation's leading scorer and is quickly moving up the all-time leaderboard (10th with 3,031 points). He was interested in UC after entering the portal this past offseason.

Detroit's needed all of his points behind one of the worst defenses in the country (328th in adjusted defensive efficiency). They cannot defend the three-point line this season (39.5% allowed, 355th), and give up a lot of free-flowing team offense (13.9 assists allowed per game, 40th).

Offensively, Davis & Co. sit at a respectable 71st in adjusted team efficiency. They give up threes and make a lot as well. Davis is hitting 4.3 per game on a whopping 10.5 attempts.

Junior guard Jayden Stone (12.2 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 2.1 Ast) and senior forward Damezi Anderson (12.2 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 2.1 Ast) help on that front as well. Stone is hitting a team-high 51.7% of his deep shots, while Anderson is shooting 33% on 6.6 tries per game.

Add in the return of bruising forward Gerald Liddell (18.4 Pts, 14.6 Reb, 2.0 Ast) over the past five games, and you get a formidable test for Cincinnati's defense. Both teams are in the top 150 in tempo rankings so expect a fun, fast-paced outing on Wednesday night featuring one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday and is available on ESPN+.

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