Three Man Weave: Bearcats Suffer First Loss in Tight Battle With Arkansas 73-67

No team led by more than six points over the 40 minutes of play.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Nov 24, 2021 9:34 AM EST

CINCINNATI — The five-game winning streak is over. Cincinnati fell to No. 13 Arkansas 73-67 in the Hall of Fame Classic final. The loss is their first of the season and went right down to the wire.

Arkansas owned the offensive boards all night and came up with three crucial ones in the game's final minute. None of the putbacks found the net, but Cincinnati fouled Chris Lykes, who made both free throws. Then disaster struck.

Bearcats guard Mike Saunders has used his speed to find the cup throughout this season, but Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams continued showing why he's so integral by taking a game-sealing charge on the Saunders' drive.

Senior guard David Dejulius came up big throughout the game, yet, it wasn't enough to push Cincinnati to 6-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Here's the Three Man Weave from a great finale at the T-Mobile Center.

Physicality Bites Bearcats

Wes Miller has played a deep rotation to start the season for good reason. UC has talent sitting in most bench seats, and they play an exhausting defensive style that requires depth.

That defense held up well on Tuesday, but the fouling activity bit them. Arkansas is a very sound offensive team—having averaged 81.3 PPG (40th nationally) while ranking 36th in assists (16.5 APG) heading into the final. Any five combinations of players move well on the floor, and they are physical in their own right.

Cincinnati committed 28 total fouls, eight more than any other game this season. The Razorbacks capitalized with a 32-13 free throw advantage.

"The athleticism and ability to pursue the ball with Arkansas is a little bit different than what we saw the last few nights," Miller said postgame.

There weren't many easy buckets for Arkansas on Tuesday, and they were just fine with that. Eric Musselman's crew came into the game ranked 94th in free throw percentage (73.9%) and stuck to form, making 24-of-32 attempts on Tuesday.

Razorbacks Ride Offensive Rebounds

Despite the loss, Bearcats fans should be very encouraged from the past 48 hours in Kansas City, Missouri. They held two of the 20 best teams in the country to 39-for-123 (31.7%) from the field. Offensive rebounds are a large reason why they didn't take home the trophy.

Arkansas held an 18-6 edge in that department and the end-of-game sequence mentioned earlier perfectly encapsulated the contest. UC would make correct rotations, hound the Razorbacks for the whole shot clock, and then get caught out of position on the rebound.

"They had 18 offensive rebounds," Miller said after the game. "Our turnovers are the things that will stick out offensively, particularly those down the stretch, and you can lose a game by one or two possessions, and those are the ones you'll think about."

Audiese Toney (team-high 19 points, nine rebounds) used all of his 6-foot-6, 205-pound frame to reel in a game-high six offensive boards. Williams (five points, four assists, two steals) added three of his own and led the game in total rebounds with 11. Williams and Toney were huge towards Arkansas keeping their offensive flow.

Williams has some of the best floor vision of any forward in the country. He led the team in assists against Cincinnati and always seemed to make the right pass. The 6-foot-10, 245 pound sophomore capped his full box score with the end-of-game charge that won't show up in the stats.

Dejulius Pivots To Prosperity

Cincinnati's guard rotation has been like a no-lose Wheel of Fortune. Spin through the options, and one is bound to produce great results. UC's wheel came up with Dejulius in the Hall of Fame Classic finale.

The senior scored a season-high 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting. He was especially crucial early in the game when the Bearcats got off to another slow start. Dejulius scored seven of the team's first nine points across the opening ten minutes.

His paint pivot shot got things rolling early, working the ball deep into the basket then flashing a quick spinning pivot to fade away for the bucket. Dejulius showed off all of his shooting skills throughout this game. He made two pivot shots, two mid-range jumpers, two triples, and a few nice attacking layups.

The 24-point showing helped buoy a rare zero-point night from Jeremiah Davenport (one rebound, two turnovers in 22 minutes). Cincinnati missed the sophomore's energy after made shots and overall offensive gravity for opposing defenses. In his career, Davenport has never been held scoreless in any game where he's played at least 10 minutes. He went 0-for-4 in the first extended-playing time donut of his UC career.

Cincinnati is displaying great depth so far in the 2021-22 season, but that'll be more difficult to maintain if their top scorer lands the Wheel of Fortune on bankrupt.

The Bearcats are back in action at home this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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