Three Man Weave: Bearcats Post Complete Performance, Topple SMU 77-60

Cincinnati had their best offensive half of the season to open the game and never looked back.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Jan 7, 2022 7:50 AM EST

CINCINNATI — A late start time is just what the doctor ordered for David Dejulius and the Bearcats. Cincinnati (11-4, 1-1) smothered SMU (11-4. 2-1) 77-60 on Thursday for their 10th consecutive victory over the Mustangs.

The Bearcats had one of their best jump-shooting games of the season. Pair that with consistent effort on the defensive end, and it shakes out to Cincinnati's most complete performance since the Hall of Fame Classic.

UC tightened the screws after allowing Tulane to hit nearly half of its triples. They've still only dropped back-to-back games once under Wes Miller after holding serve on their 17-point lead and season-high 44 points in the first half.

Here's the Three Man Weave on UC's first AAC win of the season.

Dejulius Drives The Bus

David Dejulius (team-high 22 points, three rebounds, six assists) eclipsed 12 points just once over the past month. Cincinnati was searching for someone to help Jeremiah Davenport (seven points, six rebounds) carry the load in the backcourt.

Dejulius, Mika Adams-Woods (career-high 17 points, three assists), and Mike Saunders (five points, career-high seven assists) obliged in the late-night affair. Dejulius kept the ball on a string and was committed to a plan on every possession.

Whether he slinked through the paint for a short bank shot or found contact near the basket, Dejulius had his bag of skills on display. The senior was keen on the other end as well—hounding Kendric Davis and Emmanuel Bandoumel into off nights.

Cincinnati is now 3-1 this season when Dejulius scores 20-plus points. The only loss coming against Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Classic Final.

Adams-Woods Post Career Night

The first shot of the game was a good indication of how the night would play out: A silky-smooth triple from Adams-Woods.

That was one of a career-high five three-pointers in the game for Adams-Woods, who transforms this team into an AAC force when he can hit shots. The guard is one of the more sound ballhandlers in the country, but he has been ice cold much of the season.

Maybe the body clock is tailored for late-night performance. The guard's 17 points came on a career-high six made field goals. Adams-Woods came out firing, and the performance snowballed with confidence from there.

The guard hasn't been chucking up junk all year; he just hadn't found the right side of three-point variance until tonight. Like Dejulius's scoring, Adams-Woods's three-point shot is a Bearcats' bellwether.

Cincinnati is 5-0 this season when Adams-Woods hits 50% or more of his triple tries.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat On Defense

The Bearcats may be a streaky shooting team, but nearing the halfway point in the season, it's clear their defense can carry them to AAC success.

Davis (16 points, 6-for-18 FG) and Bandoumel (13 points, 5-for-14 FG) were hounded all night long by the Bearcats backcourt. Stopping Davis was the skeleton key for Cincinnati. A top-10 scorer in the country, Davis averages 6.7 FT attempts and had just one on Thursday.

He got to his spot on the left wing a few times for some impressive three-point shots, but he couldn't run the show offensively. There's no overstating how impressive the defensive performance was from Cincinnati.

Effort and experience were a big selling point for this team coming into the season, and UC is living up to those traits. Davenport fouled out and shot 1-for-9 from the field, but he didn't let that affect his defensive motor. Multiple loose ball saves, and constant ball pressure helped him to a game-high plus-24 +/-.

Davenport and the rest of the backcourt handled things on the outside, while Abdul Ado (eight rebounds, one assist, two blocks) and Ody Oguama (two points, team-high 10 rebounds) set up a brick wall on the interior.

Oguama (63.6) and Ado (64.6) led the game in defensive rating, and it wasn't hard to see why. The experience and timing built up over multiple seasons in college basketball was on full display. They had four fouls between them, while Ado blocked 13.2% of the shots in his area.

Overall, SMU shot 30.5% from the field, marking the fifth game this season UC held its opponent under 31% shooting.

Cincinnati is a top-tier defense in the AAC and showed a glimpse of its offensive ceiling on Thursday night. We know the effort will be there on one end—now it's about bottling this offensive performance for the rest of 2022.

The Bearcats face a massive test on Sunday against Memphis. UC's road affair tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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