Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Cruises 97-74 Over SMU On Senior Day

Cincinnati has now won 12 of its past 13 games against SMU.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Mar 5, 2023 4:31 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (20-11, 11-7) had little trouble dispatching SMU (10-20, 5-12) 97-74 on Senior Day.

The Cats' started red-hot from deep and used a lights-out day from Landers Nolley (24 points, 5 rebounds) to sweep SMU this season. Cincinnati's two healthy seniors that walked on Sunday, turned in nice outings as well.

Kalu Ezikpe (6 points, 4 rebounds) was a strong presence on both ends, while David DeJulius (30 points, 6 assists) continued his normal high level of play as the conference tournament looms.

Sunday marked a career-high in points for the guard.

Here's the Three Man Weave on Cincinnati's 12th win against SMU in their past 13 meetings.

Light It Up Landers

Cincinnati's leading scorer had one of the most efficient scoring games of his season on Sunday. Nolley's been under 45% shooting in seven of his past eight games. That all changed on Sunday as he posted a 7-of-13 line from the field.

Nolley led all players in efficiency and game score on Sunday as he got his patented three-point shot cooking against the 216th-ranked outside defense in the country.

Cincinnati hit every spectrum of three-point buckets. Nolley tossed in contested, wide-open, pull-up, and off-the-catch threes—as did his teammates. Jeremiah Davenport (12 points, 5 rebounds) got in on the three-point party as well.

Davenport had a strong game on the offensive glass again and streamlined his shot selection during an efficient day, just like Nolley.

JD helped spark a 24-14 second-chance points advantage. The senior's now snagged multiple offensive rebounds in three of UC's past four games.

Getting those extra chances next weekend is imperative. UC needs all the help it can get as it tries to finish its time in the AAC on a four-game winning streak.

Senior Swag

Rob Phinisee, unfortunately, couldn't play his senior swan song game on Sunday, but Cincinnati's other two walkers performed very well.

Ezikpe and DeJulius were impact players throughout the Bearcats' blowout victory. The Old Dominion transfer played 18 minutes and earned all of them each rotation on the floor.

His gritty effort and rebounding helped UC's second-chance points advantage, all while playing solid defense on the other end. He posted 1 block and 1 steal as Cincinnati's defense remained stout with him on the floor.

Viktor Lakhin (8 points, 6 rebounds) has now scored just 24 points since returning from injury after an up-and-down day on Sunday. UC needed that extra effort from Ezikpe in a big way.

DeJulius extended his nation-leading streak of five-plus assist games to 16 on Sunday as he maintained full control of the pace. The graduate player had over 20 family members in the building and he answered the bell.

His pace and control of games will be crucial next week. Veteran guards drive wins in March, and DeJulius gets his last shot at college glory very soon.

Zig Zag Zhuric

The Bearcats did a nice job stifling the Mustangs' leading scorer. He didn't get much in terms of reinforcements either. Phelps (17 points, 4 rebounds) stacked his numbers but it took 15 shots to do it.

Overall, it was a leakier performance than SMU could afford to have. The Mustangs one defensive calling card is turnovers and Cincinnati won that battle of strengths (SMU led 10-8 in turnovers).

Phelps is the AAC's top steal artist, averaging a league-best 2.3 steals per game. He posted zero on Sunday as UC's ball handlers did a great job not giving up easy transition opportunities.

Outside of Phelps, Efe Odigie and Mo Njie combined for 26 points and 11 rebounds, but guard Jalen Smith (10 points, 2 rebounds) was the only other Mustang to shoot 50% or better on three-plus shots.

Cincinnati now plays in the 4-5 seed matchup next Friday afternoon against Temple in the 2023 AAC Tournament. The game is scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. It's available via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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