Preview Paw Prints: La Salle Explorers

Cincinnati's offense is thriving as conference play looms.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 16, 2022 8:18 AM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats (7-4) quickly bounced back from the Crosstown Shootout loss with their best offensive performance ever under Wes Miller. Now, UC tries to keep that offensive momentum rolling from the 103-76 win over Miami in another home contest versus La Salle (5-5).

UC put on a show against Miami, and La Salle offers some similar matchups as they enter this contest ranked 221st overall on KenPom. Cincinnati ranks 71st, and ESPN's Matchup Predictor has them winning 88.9% of the time.

Let's dive into the preview as UC follows its most efficient offensive performance in the past 20 years.

Posting Points

Dec 14, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Viktor Lakhin (30) dunks on the Miami Redhawks in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports — © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

The Bearcats haven't notched a quad one or two win this season, but they have dominated bad teams, going 6-1 against quad three and four squads. Is the free-flowing offense possible against good teams?

We won't get to find out before a tough two-game stretch against Wichita State (45th adjusted defense), and Houston (2nd adjusted defense). Until then, it's imperative to keep building good habits.

"There were some really good moments sharing the ball tonight," Miller said bout the offense on Wednesday. "I want more defensively. I thought there were some good stretches. The collective effort and will for the most part was okay."

Cincinnati is ranked 45th nationally in adjusted offense after an outing where they posted the highest effective field goal percentage (73.3%) and offensive efficiency (151.4) since KenPom started in 2001.

UC posted 20-plus assists for the third time this season as the ball hummed around the floor. The movement was contagious, nine players tallied an assist including three with four-plus (David DeJulius, Mika Adams-Woods, Jarrett Hensley).

Pairing their disruption (19.5% forced turnover rate), with immediate actions up the floor was an unstoppable tidal wave for UC. Miami is terrible, but good teams hammer bad teams and that's exactly what Cincinnati did. The key is adding more bricks to this house before conference play, where UC will only face one team outside KenPom's top 200 (East Carolina, No. 224).

Ody, Oh Yeah

Dec 14, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Ody Oguama (33) drives to the basket against Miami Redhawks guard Julian Lewis (3) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports — © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

More Ody Oguama is facilitating nice results on both ends for Cincinnati. The senior has busted into the main part of the rotation due to his energy on offense and defense.

Oguama hasn't played less than 15 minutes in any game since the 81-53 loss to Ohio State. He is averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 19.1 minutes since then. Those numbers won't blow anyone out of the water, but Oguama is a connector in the frontcourt and hyper-efficient (66.7% FG in that stretch).

Having him as a complement to Viktor Lakhin is helping stitch UC's defense together and keep them aggressive on the boards.

“I just think defensively he's taken a huge step from year one to year two with this program," Miller said about Oguama's growth. "He's making plays on the floor. He's in a good position on the floor. And with that, he's getting increased minutes. And with that comes increased confidence up think all of us are excited by the way that he's playing.”

Cincinnati needs even more from the senior as the competition consistently gets tougher. If he keeps running the floor hard and boxing out with a vengeance, things get that much easier on both ends for UC.

Exploring Bad Offense

Nov 7, 2022; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; La Salle Explorers guard Khalil Brantley (5) shoots a layup against Villanova Wildcats guard Chris Arcidiacono (4) during the second half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports — © Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

La Salle (11.7 turnovers per game, 62nd) and Cincinnati (11.4 TOVs, 39th) are two of the best ball-handling teams in the country and don't beat themselves very much.

The leader in turnovers also leads the whole show in Khalil Brantley (team-high 12.9 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 3.5 Ast). He may power the scoring but it's been far from efficient. Brantley's shooting 38% from the floor and just 20% from deep.

His health is a big question after missing the past two games with an injury.

If he's gone again, expect senior guard Josh Nickelberry (11.7 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 0.5 Ast) and senior forward Fousseyni Drame (9.2 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 1.0 Ast) to pick up the slack. Drame's brother, Hassan, is solid as well (8.9 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 1.1 Ast). The 6-foot-7 twins are La Salle's main rebounding engine.

The Explorers are a flat-out bad offensive team that UC (105th in adjusted defense) can sharpen its teeth against. They've gone over 80 points just twice and one required overtime. Of the four players shooting eight-plus times per game, none have hit 43% of their attempts.

It's resulted in the 329th-ranked field goal percentage nationally (40.7%) and a matchup that UC should have no trouble with unless disaster strikes.

The Bearcats and Explorers battle on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET this Saturday.

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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