Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Survives UCF Road Matchup 76-74

UC is now 5-7 in conference play.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Feb 17, 2024 6:54 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats outlasted UCF 76-74 on Saturday in another nail-biting finish in the Big 12. Cincinnati led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but their massive rebounding advantage didn't keep things comfortable (45-33).

It marked a crucial Quad 1 win that Cincinnati needed as the regular season starts to wind down and a season sweep of the Knights. Dan Skillings Jr. (15 points, eight rebounds) led UC in scoring, while Darius Johnson (16 points, five assists) led UCF.

Cincinnati is now 5-7 in conference play as they gun for a .500 finish or better in Big 12 play.

Skillings Starts The Fire...Then Extinguishes

Cincinnati's go-to sixth man got the call as a starter for the fifth time this season and helped Cincinnati start strong and own the glass throughout the game in Orlando.

Skillings essentially filled in for Viktor Lakhin (who did not play a full minute in the game) in the starting lineup and connected the offense well to clean up the glass for easy scores and hunt contact. He didn't shoot the ball very well, but his energy was key, to go with some strong defense as well (one block, one steal).

Almost all of that damage came in the first half, as the shot went cold in the final 20 minutes. Although, he did hit a huge And-1 bucket in the final six minutes to keep UCF at bay.

Cincinnati worked well with a one-big lineup and Skillings was a huge reason they could give up the size but still own the glass in this game. He finished with a game-high plus/minus (plus-19).

Single Bigs Shine

Wes Miller shook things up on Saturday producing solid results with a single-big-man look that featured just Jamille Reynolds (six points, nine rebounds) and Aziz Bandaogo (13 points, eight rebounds).

Both thrived as the anchors inside as Cincinnati weaved for better looks and took some more chances on steals in the half court thanks to extra speed for recovery.

This was arguably Reynolds's best game at UC as he owned the block, shot an efficient 2-of-3 from the field, and played aggressive half-court defense on the other end. Bandaogo also returned to great form after a couple of off-games.

"I thought it was one of his best games as a Bearcat," Miller said about Bandaogo. "He's pretty hard on himself and he felt like he hasn't performed well lately. His approach was really good and I felt his play was really good."

He towered defensively with two blocks and an overall intimidating force that kept a normally downhill offense from getting in a rhythm.

UCF Veteran Guards Make Mark

It wasn't a very efficient outing, but UCF's guard action from Johnson, Jaylin Sellers (15 points, four rebounds), and Shemarri Allen (15 points, seven assists) almost drove a victory for the Knights.

All three impacted the game at different points, with Sellers starting the nice play, Allen taking it from him, and Johnson closing. They were the only Knights to launch more than five shots in the game and Cincinnati did well contesting on all but Allen.

Sellers struggled with his shot following that opening stint and it left UCF with only one solid creator in the final minutes. Johnson wasn't able to fully handle that crown and the Bearcats nabbed a huge road win thanks to it.

A 4-2 finish with one win in the Big 12 Tournament should punch a March Madness ticket for Cincinnati.

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