Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Destroys Detroit Mercy 93-61 Behind Outside Barrage

Cincinnati has paired double-digit wins to open the season.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Nov 10, 2023 8:55 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats basketball squad rolled Detroit Mercy 93-61 on Friday night in the eighth 90-point performance of the Wes Miller era. Cincinnati showed why Detroit has arguably the worst defense in Division 1 basketball by raining 16 threes and playing strong, balanced basketball.

They scorched the Titans in the first half (60 points) and regressed offensively following the break (35.3% shooting in second half), but it was still more than enough for one of the largest blowouts under Miller.

It was the opening win of UC's multi-team event this weekend as CJ Fredrick (14 points, one rebound) and John Newman (13 points, eight rebounds, three assists) III led the way with a combined 7-of-10 mark from deep.

Cincinnati is now 4-0 all-time against Detroit as six players scored 10-plus points in a balanced domination.

Three-Point Weaponry

Miller's team dropped in more threes than the entirety of the opening win over UIC within the first 15 minutes of the first half. The Bearcats did a great job of finding Fredrick in transition early and expanding the defense with deep attempts behind the line.

Once the Titans got into a blender with their defensive game plan, it was curtains. Cincinnati started moving the ball more fluidly around the edges and found multiple wide-open corner three looks. It looked like the peak rollout of a Miller offensive system.

The team dominated the glass 52-26 against an undersized Detroit team and got even more open deep looks because of it.

Now, Detroit entered the game ranked 351st (out of 362) in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. So this was more likely to happen than against most opponents, but it's always good to take care of business.

John "Wick" Newman III

Newman stood out the most on Friday night as a player who looks fully recovered from last year's season-long knee injury. He epitomized the quintessential 3-and-D wing with lights-out shooting and even better perimeter defense.

Newman earned a the second-best defensive rating on the team (79.4) in the win thanks to great fundamentals and heady veteran angles. The way Newman locks in on that end is just different from most players. Him slowing down the initial point of attack will be crucial as UC faces more talented driving backcourts without at least Aziz Bandaogo for the foreseeable future.

It's clear through the first two games how much of a connector Newman can be between different lineups. UC greatly missed him last season and he hasn't taken long to show a big impact

Say Hello, CJ Fredrick

If Bearcats fans didn't know how hot Fredrick can get as an outside shooter, they do now. The veteran Kentucky transfer is healthy and clearly feeling dialed in after cashing 4-of-5 from deep.

Off the trail, off the catch, off the dribble, Fredrick did it all from outside on Friday night. Landers Nolley II just posted one of the greatest three-point shooting seasons in program history and Fredrick could one-up him just a year later at this rate.

Health is the only thing that's kept Fredrick from being a high-level player over the past three years and so far, injury luck is rolling along in his hometown.

Jizzle James (13 points, three assists, four turnovers) deserves a shoutout for showing a strong attacking nature in his second college game. He improved on his opening scoring output and looks more than deserving of that backup point guard role. It'll be interesting to see how he and the rest of the Bearcats fair against a much tougher opponent on Sunday.

Eastern Washington entered the weekend ranked 184th on KenPom and was in a tight game with Ole Miss to start this MTE. It should be a decent test for UC's defense (EWU ranks 139th in adjusted offensive efficiency).

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