Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Pulls Away From Virginia Tech 81-72 To Open NIT

Cincinnati is now 19-2 this season when out rebounding an opponent.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Mar 16, 2023 8:15 AM EDT

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Cincinnati Bearcats

Virginia Tech Hokies

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats are rolling into the second round of the NIT after an 81-72 home win over Virginia Tech. The Fifth Third Arena crowd helped power a second-half clamping of the Hokies to win a back-and-forth affair comfortably.

David DeJulius (21 points, 7 assists) and Landers Nolley II (15 points, 12 rebounds) answered the bell like they have so many times this season. Va Tech's Grant Basile (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Justyn Mutts (19 points, 6 rebounds) answered those performances, but their teammates didn't follow suit.

DeJulius dropped six assists in the second half and got to the free throw line at will to guide an offense that had five players finish in double-scoring figures.

The crowd was fantastic and had a different, more raucous vibe out of the lower bowl than in most games this season.

UC has now won seven-straight games against ACC teams, including 2-0 this year.

Here's the Three Man Weave on Cincinnati's final home game this season.

Rebounds Roll

The Bearcats moved to 19-2 this season when they outrebound an opponent after winning that tally 42-29 on Wednesday.

UC nearly doubled the Hokies' offensive rebounds, and it helped them get to the line 20 times in front of a raucous home environment.

“What a crowd," Wes Miller said after the game. "We are one of the unique places. it’s the NIT, and this is a program that goes to a lot of NCAA Tournaments and people come out and not just come out, come out in droves for the NIT. Not many places do that for the NIT, even in the places that they [fans] come out, they don’t always do that for the NIT. They came out in droves; they were loud and they lifted us tonight. I hate that we can't be back in here, but I want to thank everyone that came out and lifted our team tonight and supported us.”

Nolley had a lot to do with that dominant rebounding mark, as did Viktor Lakhin (9 points, 8 rebounds) and Ody Oguama (10 points, 6 rebounds). Va Tech's lesser size had no answer for that trio, as Nolley and Lakhin went a perfect 7-of-7 at the line.

Cincinnati is now 6-0 this season when Nolley posts a double-double.

No one shot particularly well outside of Oguama (5-of-7 FGs) and Jeremiah Davenport (12 points, 4-of-6 FGs), but that didn't crush Cincinnati because of its glass acumen.

DeJulius Bounces Back

DDJ didn't scorch as a shooter on Wednesday, but it was a nice all-around response to a brutal AAC Tournament.

He averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 assists on 15% shooting this past weekend while getting to the line for just five free throw attempts.

Against Va Tech, he hunted foul angles and turned up the distribution dial for six second-half assists. The 11 foul shots tied for his most this season and kept the pressure on the Hokies despite shooting 6-of-16 from the field.

"We have been a team that goes as David [DeJulius] goes," Miller said about his leader. "We wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament, but we have had a heck of a year. We have overcome things, we have improved, we have grown as a program and when David plays with that kind of energy, motion, and passion, which he has done all year long, the team follows suit. In the second half and starts picking up defenders at 94 feet, that energy, that fire, it was incredible how it affected everyone on the court. I thought our team responded and played really hard."

DeJulius did a great job on guard Sean Padulla throughout the game (5-of-14 FGs, 2 TOs).

The game featured 13 lead changes, but UC locked in throughout the final minutes to slow down the 37th-ranked offense in the country by adjusted efficiency.

Va Tech went 1-of-7 from the field to close the game. Cincinnati played at the Hokies slower pace (just 4 fastbreak points), but still found a way to overcome that task in the face of a four-point halftime deficit.

Onto Hofstra

Cincinnati is the higher seed in its next matchup but has to travel to Hofstra on Saturday for a 2 p.m. ET tip.

Fifth Third Arena has previously scheduled maintenance planned over the next few weeks. The school has to get construction done before the Spring Graduation ceremonies in the building.

The top seed in this region, Rutgers, faced the Pride at home and still fell 88-86 in overtime. Hofstra was the CAA regular season champion and should produce a nice home crowd behind them on Saturday.

Cincinnati would then travel to play the winner of Utah Valley and Colorado. It's a daunting remaining slate for a program that's 4-6 on the road this season. These types of games will only get tougher in the Big 12 next season, making the rest of this month so valuable, especially for players like Daniel Skillings (4 points, 3 rebounds).

Cincinnati battles the Pride at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ this Saturday.

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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