Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Survives First Round of Big 12 Tournament 90-85 Over West Virginia

Cincinnati is living to fight another day in the Big 12 Tournament.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Mar 12, 2024 5:28 PM EDT

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats found a way to survive on Tuesday's 90-85 against West Virginia. UC trailed by as many as 16 points in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament, but two heroes saved the day as Cincinnati set a Big 12 Tournament record with 16 threes.

Simas Lukošius (career-high 31 point, four assists) had a second half to remember across his career-best day, while Day Day Thomas (29 points, two assists) drove the offense on a day where it needed every point. UC's defense was a far cry compared to Saturday's lockdown effort.

Still, it was enough to take on a battered Kansas team Wednesday night and start the tournament run with the first pairing of wins in conference play.

Matching Triple Halves

Lukošius and Thomas were fantastic in this game and did their focused damage in separate frames. Cincinnati needed all of the production to keep pace on the other end as the duo combined for a 14-of-22 mark from deep.

Thomas played solid defense compared to the rest of the squad and was an assassin in the mid-range. It was his best game as a Bearcat at the perfect time.

Lukošius was huge from deep in the second half, while cashing in on free throw opportunities that he created or WVU gaffed into. The Mountaineers gave up six free throws on technical foul calls in the second half that Lukošius went 100% on. It was huge in Cincinnati's 16-point comeback.

Overall, both guys played calm collected ball to keep a usually balanced offense steady

Defensive Letdown

The Bearcats lacked their usual defensive intensity on Tuesday, mere days after playing lights out on that end against this team. The focus wasn't there most of the afternoon, save for the huge run that got them back in the game.

The Mountaineers had a ton of open looks, hitting 10 threes to go with a 55.4% clip from the field. Yet, Cincinnati's offense matched it with 10 threes in the second half alone to squeak by.

UC could stay hot in this building on Wednesday against Kansas but they'll need to clean up their rotations and communication to outmatch a banged-up Jayhawks team.

KU is missing two of Big 12's top scorers (Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar).

Jayhawk Look

Kansas is vulnerable in what will still be a near-home for them in Kansas City. They just got destroyed by Houston 76-46 to close the season in a game Dickinson and McCullar got hurt in.

How they mix up the offensive hierarchy without them is a mystery but freshman forward Johnny Furphy figures to play a big role along with guard KJ Adams.

Cincinnati may end up favored in this when the betting lines release for Round Two as they eye another matchup against Baylor (62-59 loss earlier this season).

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