Three Man Weave: Cincinnati's Defense Swallows FAMU

The Bearcats moved to 8-3 on the season with two non-conference games remaining.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 15, 2021 7:57 AM EST

CINCINNATI — Every Bearcat seemingly got in on the action during Cincinnati's (8-3) 77-50 blowout against Florida A&M (2-7).

UC played 13 players in the game, and 12 scored at least one basket. The mismatches coming in proved too much after the Bearcats got into a rhythm. Cincinnati had a major size advantage that paired with sound ball-handling—it gave FAMU no hope on Tuesday. Mike Saunders (nine points, six assists, three rebounds) sparked an 11-0 run early, and Cincinnati never looked back.

"It just feels good to get back in the win column," Wes Miller said after the game. "I am happy for our players because it has been a lot of doom and gloom around here. Certainly, I have not been in the best mood…We have been really demanding, as we should be, after the way we played and the way we have been. With that said, they have been trying pretty hard…Longer than I have ever pushed them day before a game. I thought they were trying to respond, and they did some nice things, and you saw the things we were working on in practice, in film session Sunday, and we saw some improvement there."

Here's the Three Man Weave on UC's bounce-back victory.

Tale of Two Davenports

Jeremiah Davenport (16 points, two rebounds) had shot under 31% in four of the past five games, but he got right against the Rattlers. The junior guard scored at all three levels of the floor on Tuesday and turned it on in the second half.

Davenport scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime. The confidence never left him after a shaky opening frame. It was his eighth game in double figures this season. Cincinnati is 7-1 in those contests.

When solid opponents can take away Davenport it puts a lot of pressure on the lesser shotmakers. Especially with A.J. McGinnis (seven points, one rebound) missing extended time in the non-conference slate. McGinnis returned against Xavier, and Cincinnati is now almost at full strength.

Sophomore guard Mason Madsen is out indefinitely with a hip injury, but the Bearcats have more than enough backcourt talent to hold up. Davenport is a big reason for that, and he showed once again how much of a winning impact he can have.

Back To Basics

When you get punched in the mouth, sometimes it's time to get back to your roots. That's what Cincinnati leaned into on Tuesday. The shooting struggles continued as a team, but it didn't matter on the other end.

FAMU is one of the worst shooting teams in the country, and those marks dropped more after Tuesday. They shot 30% from the field (18-for-59) and 15.4% from deep (2-for-13). Leading scorer MJ Randolph (game-high 22 points, seven rebounds) got his buckets, but it wasn't efficient (8-for-18). Cincinnati cycled hungry defenders with depth, and the on-ball defense was superb.

John Newman III led the way in that regard. His box score won't stand out (four points, five rebounds, four steals), but the steals show how active his hands were. He was constantly in passing lanes and made multiple deflections that led to turnovers. The four steals were Newman's most in a game since Jan. 14, 2020.

Great three-point defense requires sound rotations and stamina. It's not easy closing out on every deep shot for a full 40 minutes. Cincinnati is one of the 15-best teams in the country defending the triple, and that will be a crucial status to carry through AAC play.

Size Mismatch

The Rattlers had zero answers for Cincinnati's depth and more so the number of long bodies in that depth. It was clear how much energy FAMU had to spend early on to keep things close and that effort made sure they couldn't cover the 20-point spread at the end.

UC outrebounded FAMU 48-33 overall and 19-12 on the offensive glass. The difference was stark once the Rattlers showed fatigue in the second half.

The big fellas had a field day; four of the five UC players over 6-foot-9 had at least six rebounds. Abdul Ado (seven rebounds), Viktor Lakhin (two points, six rebounds), Ody Oguama (nine points, eight rebounds), and Hayden Koval (four points, eight rebounds) met little resistance from the Rattlers. There were a few possessions where the crew would snag multiple offensive rebounds.

Cincinnati shot 42.4% from the floor and 26.9% from deep, but the continued shooting struggles won't hurt them if they rebound like this and make their free throws (14-of-17).

The Bearcats take on another struggling opponent in Texas Southern (1-7) this Saturday at Fifth Third Arena. Tip-off is set for noon ET on ESPN+.

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