Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Rolls West Virginia 92-56 on Senior Day

Cincinnati closed the regular season with Senior Day.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Mar 9, 2024 3:55 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The UC offense went off inside on Saturday as they took out West Virginia 92-56 on Senior Day. Their most points in a Big 12 game this season.

Cincinnati hammered WVU in the paint all game long and forced TURNS turnovers to drive the victory on the other end. John Newman III (14 points, six rebounds, four assists) was fantastic in his senior farewell outing to lead a group with four scorers in double digits.

The Bearcats are now 11-11 all-time against West Virginia after splitting the season series.

Air Aziz

The lobs started flowing on Saturday in a way the Bearcats have been searching for all season. Aziz Bandaogo (nine points, seven rebounds) received most of them as UC's passers did a great job putting it in his range and using fakes to give him space.

The three-point shot is a nagging issue for UC, but they were very efficient inside the arc to capture the victory (28-of-34 from two). Bandaogo got up on the other end as well. He and Day Day Thomas played another great defensive game (team leaders in defensive rating) as the big fella didn't wow with blocks, but had his hands disrupting plenty of WVU chances.

This type of efficiency should happen more and more next season as the big fella sharpens his offensive game and builds a full offseason of chemistry with the returning backcourt pieces.

Newman Owns His Day

The senior was lights out on both ends of the floor Saturday as he tries to will Cincinnati to a Big 12 Tournament title next week. Newman filled up the stat sheet in his final home game at UC.

He was a bulldog in the defensive backcourt which helped Cincinnati own a 17-4 fast fast-break points edge and kept their offense connected between cold stretches from outside.

He and Day Day Thomas were massive factors in a TURN turnover advantage for UC. It was a great way to close his UC home career in front of the home crowd.

Woeful West Virginia Defense

The Mountaineers own the worst scoring defense in the Big 12 and it showed on Saturday as UC got whatever they wanted around the basket.

No one could stop the barrage of rim rattles from the Bearcats as they stayed aggressive on the fast break. It was a mixture of low effort from WVU and nice execution by Cincinnati to take advantage of the worst defense they've faced in 2024.

It won't be that easy the rest of the season though. Cincinnati is on track to run this game back in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday if Kansas State upsets Iowa State (leading by 10 as of this writing). UC is the 11-seed matching up with the 14-seed Mountaineers.

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