Three Man Weave: Cincinnati's Second-Half Explosion Drives 76-58 Win Over Evansville

Cincinnati wraps the non-conference slate with an 11-2 record.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 29, 2023 8:58 PM EST

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CINCINNATI — Cincinnati went through another first-half scare on Friday but came out on top against Evansville 76-58.

The Purple Aces held an eight-point halftime lead but UC buckled down on defense in the second half to spark the transition game and dominate the frame.

John Newman III (16 points, three rebounds, two assists) and Simas Lukošius (15 points, six rebounds, three assists) were both highly efficient as the latter looked solid coming off of a one-game injury absence. Cincinnati now gets a week to try and bring CJ Fredrick and Aziz Bandaogo back into the fold from their injuries.

Cincinnati is now 5-8 against the betting spread this season as it wraps up a rather unimpressive non-conference performance.

Zone Hurts

The Bearcats had more trouble with zone defense on Friday as Evansville's mixture worked well for much of the game. Cincinnati stayed pretty stagnant in the half-court as they couldn't find cutting lanes to slice through the open space.

Things opened up more on offense thanks to open court fire from strong second-half defense, but the zone is a clear weakness for UC and something Big 12 opponents could throw at them. Day Day Thomas (10 points, six rebounds, seven assists) struggled shooting on Friday but he was the best zone-breaker on the team as he used lightning speed to cut through open spaces.

Thomas was the best passer on the floor and played pretty solid individual defense with his first multi-block and multi-steal game at UC. He was second on the team in defensive rating. A big reason Evansville shot less than 25% in the second half. The Bearcats' top ballhandler could be the zone-breaking key in the Big 12 if he can find his shot a little bit (2-of-10 FGs).

Simas Strong

Lukošius looked hungry in his return to the floor as he continues to elevate his play at Cincinnati. He tied a career-high with five threes on nine attempts and just had a fluid-looking shooting motion all night despite nursing the injured shoulder.

This is the type of production Cincinnati needs in a lead perimeter scorer and the Lithuanian looks like he can meet that mark while playing solid defense on the other end. He used his 6-foot-6 frame well to disrupt passing lanes and cause an overall half-court mess for Evansville in the second half.

Add in multiple assists and rebounds and you get Lukošius's most complete performance at Cincinnati ahead of conference play.

Cuff & Toumi Crush

Evansville got great production from its top two remaining wings behind the injured Humrichous. Tanner Cuff (13 points, four rebounds) and Yacine Toumi (17 points, nine rebounds) contributed on both ends and were a big reason why Evansville won the paint point battle (28-24).

Cuff brought the old-school baseline back down look to multiple defenders in the first half and less so in the second as Cincinnati continued to miss Aziz Bandaogo on the defensive end. The two sported some of Evansville's best offensive ratings and Toumi was a big reason why UC didn't absolutely overwhelm the Purple Aces with rebounds.

Both were strong with their court vision as they pinged the ball against UC's poor interior defense.

It was an impressive effort on one end and equally alarming on the other as the Bearcats were missing two key pieces, but are supposed to have the depth to overcome it more than this across 40 minutes as questions still remain with a week before the start of Big 12 play.

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