Three Man Weave: Kansas Takes Out Cincinnati With 54-40 Defensive Masterclass

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati offense was offensive across Saturday's 54-40 loss to No. 11 Kansas at home. It moved UC to 0-4 in conference play and firmly on the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas blew the game apart with a 16-3 run in the final seven minutes to show why they are national title contenders and Cincinnati is still searching for answers. Dillon Mitchell (10 points, five rebounds) was the only Bearcat in double figures during the worst offensive showing of the season.

Dan Skillings Jr. (nine points, three steals) made an impact as well.

UC is now 0-4 in conference play for the first time in the Wes Miller era. The result also marked two of the three lowest point totals over that period (UC's lowest point total since beating UAB 40-38 in 1993).

Fifth Third Rock Fight

Cincinnati and Kansas combined for some rough shooting outings that got squeezed out by great defense. Two of the top-10 defenses on KenPom met at Fifth Third Arena and those ends dominated.

UC couldn't find any jump-shooting success, as both sides shot under 35% for the game and combined for just five made threes. The fastbreak options never surfaced either, against a Kansas team so sound at getting back. UC had just four fastbreak points and most were in the early part of the first half.

Both teams did a fantastic job mixing coverages, but Kansas was just a little bit more sound and got more friendly rolls in a very well-disciplined game. It's one thing to play tight defense, it's another to do it without fouling. Both teams combined for just seven free throws. Cincinnati is now shooting under 40% over the last six games, and can't rely on any free-throw shooting to help them (less than 10 made free throws per game in that stretch).

Cincinnati posted arguably its worst offensive half of the Miller era in the second frame (15 points). No actions worked, the guards continued to wilt under pressure, and Kansas worked ahead with its veteran savviness.

Jizzle James and Simas Lukošius combined for five points on 2-16 shooting in another abysmal showing that's become the norm over the past few weeks. It's impossible to win at the highest levels of college basketball with bad guard play and Cincinnati is experiencing a double dose of that at a bad time.

James is spamming the mid-range jumper too often and not getting to the rim enough. He's attempted seven free throws in the past six games while constantly denying the ball screen and not being aggressive. It has to change or Cincinnati has to change its offense—because teams have them completely figured out.

Mitchell & Skillings At Your Service...For A Half

Cincinnati changed up its rotation against Kansas with Connor Hickman absent—but two constants came to play in a big way. Mitchell followed up his worst performance at UC with one of his best, impacting things in his patented way at both ends of the floor.

Skillings was monstrous again for a time. The forward has been UC's most consistent player this season and kept that going with active energy all game. The athletic star turned multiple steals into points, knocked down that corner three, and owned some moments on the court. Cincinnati has its overall alpha, and Mitchell is a fantastic complement, but they were held to three field goal attempts in the second half.

They just ran out of gas, like the rest of a roster that's searching on offense. Neither player is consistent enough at ballhandling to create for themselves in an isolation-heavy system. Kansas completely shut off passing lanes to Cincinnati's two stars in a 15-point second half.

Dickinson Steadies

The best player on Kansas's roster came to play enough on Saturday and cemented his impact in the second half. Hunter Dickinson led all scorers with eight points in the final 20 minutes to total 14 overall and 12 rebounds.

He was a huge reason UC got outrebounded 44-42 in the game and he kept a balance to an otherwise rudderless Kansas offense. Cincinnati gave up too many open threes but it didn't hurt them like it could have on a 2-21 night out of the Jayhawks. Dickinson went 0-3 on his wide-open shots, but he hit more than enough in a 7-16 showing.

The veteran center was the only player to hit six-plus shots in the game.

Cincinnati now travels to face Colorado on Wednesday in an effort for its first win.

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