Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Explodes on Offense Against UCF to Earn First Quad 1 Win of Season

Another edition in a rivalry that dates back to the AAC days.

Feb 5, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23) dunks during the first half against the UCF Knights at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats got off the mat on Wednesday night and exploded offensively with a 93-83 win over UCF.

Cincinnati ran the floor hard and got a stellar showing from Day Day Thomas (20 points, six assists, three rebounds) to get its third conference win of the season. The Bearcats finally played with some pace on offense again and it led to great success. Cincinnati attempted 65 shots and is now 6-1 this season when shooting at least 62 field goals.

Four different Bearcats scored at least 15 points in the game, and it marked Cincinnati's second-highest point total of the season behind the opener.

UC is now 18-5 all-time against UCF and returns home trying to parlay some momentum this weekend in a second matchup this season against BYU.

Hey Hey, Day Day

Cincinnati found its offense on Wednesday night and Thomas was the biggest catalyst. He posted a season-high in points and set that in the first half with a scorching 18 on 8-11 shooting in that frame.

Wes Miller made a great call starting him over the last two games and he took full advantage. UC has been desperate for adequate guard play in the conference slate and he provided more than that on Wednesday. His confident play setups and aggressive actions were huge for a normally slogging offense. Day Day Dimes was a good nickname for him at points.

Cincinnati upped the tempo in this game and Thomas's speed was a big reason why. It turned the worst power conference offense in the nation by efficiency into a buzzsaw for much of the game. Cincinnati is now 11-1 when leading at halftime and Thomas powered that push. It was a crazy outlier compared to the rest of the season, but maybe Thomas can parlay this into much more consistent scoring after entering the game shooting 35.1% from the floor (9-15 on Wedesday).

The rest of the campaign could be a lot more interesting if so. It marked just the second 20-point performance by a UC player this season.

Offense Comes Alive Down South

I mentioned that brutal offensive efficiency Cincinnati limped to over the first 11 games of conference play. Well, they got back to the basics of Bearcat ball on Wednesday. 

Thomas was the spearhead of a 56-46 advantage in the paint. Dillon Mitchell (season-high 19 points, six rebounds) and Aziz Bandaogo (16 points, six rebounds) rallied behind him with strong, heady plays around the rim and enough rebounding to keep feeding a hot offense. Mitchell slammed home a handful of lobs on actions that UC patented in the non-conference slate.

Cincinnati struggled from outside (5-16 from deep) but didn't bang their heads against the wall trying to force those shots. Tyler Betsey (conference slate high eight points, two made threes)) did enough with his shot to keep them honest on that front. He's now hit multiple threes in three consecutive games.

They got downhill early and were able to match one of the 25 fastest-paced teams in the country at their own game. UC took its third-most shot attempts in a game this season (14 fastbreak points).

Adding more volume and less time thinking in the half-court should be the formula moving forward. 

Three-Point Defense Travels

Cincinnati had to slow down the best three-point offense in the Big 12 and they did just that. The closeouts were strong and emblematic of a team that wasn't willing to have its season keep slipping away.

UCF shot 5-22 from deep (fourth-fewest makes this season) and only took 18 free throws after entering the game with the best percentage in conference play on that front. Cincinnati defended well enough (1.15 points per possesion allowed), and it led to that efficient energy on offense.

Keyshawn Hall (23 points on 8-18 shooting) got his numbers but didn't shred UC by any means as they kept UCF's trio of sharpshooters off-balance, leading to 16 turnovers. The Knights just never found a rhythm outside despite getting up plenty of attempts. Rebounding was an issue against UCF (39-27 in favor of UCF), but UC shot so well that it didn't end up crushing them.

Wednesday marked Cincinnati's first Quad 1 win of the season and just the seventh of the Wes Miller era. Maybe this can spark a strong finish to the 2024-25 season.

Next up is BYU at home on Saturday night at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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