Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Hot Streak Ends 80-68 Against No. 16 Texas Tech

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's four-game winning streak came to an end on the hardwood Tuesday night, 80-68 against No. 16 Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders didn't seem to miss star forward JT Toppin at all. They shot a scorching 51.9% from the field (second-highest against Cincinnati this season) and got a huge day from guard Christian Anderson (29 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists).

Cincinnati is now 2-10 in Quad 1 games this season, and got the historic win over Kansas sort of cancelled out by another road stomping to a good team in the Wes Miller era. They likely now have to reach the Big 12 Tournament Final to have a good chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

Moustapha Thiam (21 points, 10 rebounds) did all he could in a losing effort, but UC lost the rebounding battle by 16.

The Bearcats had won two of the three previous meetings between the two schools, including the only other matchup in Lubbock, a 75-72 victory Feb. 3, 2024. Texas Tech has now won two matchups in a row.

Anderson Annihilates

The Bearcats contained Darryn Peterson on Saturday, but the star player problems Bearcats fans know all too well cratered UC's defense on Tuesday.

Anderson scored the third-most points of his career and completely outplayed UC's backcourt on the other side. Jizzle James (12 points) got to his spots early and continued shooting well from deep, but he couldn't match the Anderson volume. Meanwhile, Day Day Thomas (six points, four rebounds) entered the game shooting 38% from the field over the past six games and went 2-8 shooting on Tuesday.

Cincinnati had to match an 80-plus point total in Lubbock, and the backcourt made that impossible. Cincinnati largely played just eight players in this game, in the second road game in the past three days.

Injuries are still taking their toll.

TTU shot its typical 40%-plus from deep and played clinical offense against a top 10 defense in the country from Cincinnati. Thiam played well for how much he had to shoulder in this one, but Baba Miller (12 points, four rebounds, four assists) couldn't keep his great play rolling. It left Thiam taking 19 shots.

The Red Raiders outwilled UC on the glass in a huge way, winning the rebound margin 40-24. Six different players had three-plus rebounds for the balanced squad. They snuffed out UC's hot streak with precision, board strength, and the best three-point shooting in the Big 12.

Cincinnati Player Of The Game: Moustapha Thiam

Thiam has been taking on a much bigger scoring load of late, and some consistency cracks showed on Tuesday, but he was still the main reason UC kept this game within 20.

The big fella went 7-19 from the field, 1-4 from deep, and 6-7 from the line. That outside jumper is so close to getting deadly with a little more refined touch. It will give him the needed space to really open up the rest of the paint like he's shown at times over conference play.

Thiam has scored two of his three highest totals in the past three days and is rounding into form, while Cincinnati faces clear depth issues because of health or rotation decisions. The sophomore has a few days before trying to do it again at home.

He was the only Bearcat to haul in over four rebounds or have a usage rate higher than 23%. Cincinnati takes on the Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday at 2 p.m. ET inside Fifth Third Arena.

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