Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Season Hopes Collapse Across 66-65 Loss To UCF

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati basketball's main goals this season are off the table after a 66-65 overtime loss to UCF in the Second Round of the 2026 Big 12 Tournament. Moustapha Thiam (18 points, 16 rebounds) led the way for UC, but the Bearcats blew a 12-point lead down the stretch in classic fashion this season.

A slogging contest didn't go the Bearcats' way. UC shot 33.9% from the floor, and their 11 threes weren't enough to hit the 70-point mark in 45 minutes. UCF didn't even make a field goal in the final three minutes of OT, but UC still wet the bed with 19 turnovers and now may be getting a new head coach this offseason.

Wes Miller had multiple timeout situations he let pass by with two of them in his pocket down the stretch and then one left in the final moments of overtime down one point. It was a microcosm of this whole UC basketball experience in the 2020s, all the way down to star player Baba Miller posting four points and seven turnovers.

"We threw it back to Moo (Moustapha Thiam) I was okay if he shot it once I saw him, kind of put the dribble down I tried to call time out," Miller said about the last moments in regulation. "And then I thought we executed really well in that side out play. I have to watch the tape. I don't know if the lob was there or not, but Day Day (Thomas) was kind of wide open for a three there."

Cincinnati had to win this game to have any realistic chance of having its name called on Selection Sunday.

"If it's about the best teams at this point, we're one of the best teams in the country, like we're an NCAA Tournament team," Miller said his team's case to get in the tournament. "If it's about the overall resume, I'm sure that you can make some arguments that we're not, but I think we've won seven out of our last 10 Big 12 games. Is that right? Seven out of 10? When's the last time somebody won seven out of 10 in the Big 12 and didn't play? And didn't play in the NCAA Tournament? Honestly?

"Like we won seven out of 10 in this league, including a 20-point win on the road to Kansas. I mean, again, I don't know what goes on. I certainly feel that we belong. I know tonight would have helped, but it wasn't like we got run out of the gym tonight. I mean, we have a three or four-possession lead there late in the game. So again, if it's about the best teams, I do believe we'd be in the field. But again, I don't pretend to understand what goes on, so certainly we'll hold out hope. But I realized tonight, tonight was difficult, and I think everybody in our locker room understands that."

Ugly Battle Kills The Season

They completely shut down the Knights' strong three-point shooting offense (3-21) for a 36.3% shooting team from outside in conference play (third-best). Cincinnati did a nice job defending that area, but UCF missed a bunch of open looks as well on the dynamic glass court. The new environment was familiar to the Bearcats from yesterday, and they scorched from deep (while missing all over from close range).

Cincinnati has one of the oddest shooting lines in recent memory, going 11-26 from outside but 9-33 from two-point range. That disparity was the ultimate difference on a day where UC couldn't make any bunnies. Jalen Celestine (11 points) cemented himself as Cincinnati's third-best player this season, and he's been arguably the best over the last two games, but not enough to get to the quarterfinals on Thursday.

He did make a few big buckets to keep showing why Cincinnati valued him so highly in the transfer portal this past offseason, but UCF made more, led by JaMichael Stillwell (17 points). He bruised the paint in a big way down the final minutes of the game and was huge in the Knights' 12-point comeback.

They shot just 33.8% overall and 56.5% from the free-throw line, but forced 19 UC turnovers to even the playing field. Some of the UC gaffes were flat-out astounding and evidence of an understandably tired team desperate to make plays in its third game in five days.

The desperation left them just short of possibly flipping from a First Four Out spot into UCF's Last Four In spot with one more made basket. The bubble is historically bad this season, but Cincinnati needed another Quad 2 win at least for its entrance case.

Bearcats Player Of The Game: Moustapha Thiam

The big man continued his consistent, strong play on Wednesday against the Knights with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Thiam has balled out every game this season against his old team, posting 15-plus points in all three outings.

Thiam got the three-ball cooking a bit on Wednesday (3-4), triples that UC needed badly on a rough shooting day overall from the team. He smacked the glass all day as well, showing his improvement as a rebounder throughout the season. Thiam's ability on the glass was a huge factor for UC to keep the overall rebounding battle close against UCF.

Thiam has scored at least 14 points in nine of the past 11 games as a fringe 2026 NBA Draft candidate. It's a big decision for him to make this offseason as he weighs his basketball future. Scouts love to see that three-ball fall at his size, and he went 1-1 from the free-throw line on Wednesday. If he can keep improving that touch that's already great in the midrange (95%-plus percentile mid-range shooter nationally this season), then Thiam will be an impactful NBA talent.

Cincinnati awaits the fate of Wes Miller and will not play in a postseason tournament if he is fired.

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