Three Man Weave: Xavier Drops Cincinnati 84-79 in Crosstown Shootout

UC continues to struggle shooting the ball on the road.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 9, 2023 9:10 PM EST

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CINCINNATI — Time is a flat circle.

UC's Crosstown Shootout losing streak extended to six straight outings as Quincy Olivari (27 points, season-high 6-of-8 from deep) went nuclear from outside for the second straight game in an 84-79 Xavier win.

Cincinnati will have gone 23 years without a road win against the Musketeers when they visit Cintas Center in 2025.

UC's outside shot was nonexistent as three-point artists CJ Fredrick (0 points, 0-of-4 FGs) and Simas Lukošius (1-of-9 FGs all in first half) were terrible in the first real test of the season thus far. Viktor Lakhin (17 points, eight rebounds) also put up a brutal first half that UC ultimately couldn't overcome.

The Bearcats won the boards battle (45-41), but couldn't level the three-point tally as the woes in this rivalry continue.

Wasted Paint Dominance

Both teams struggled to shoot in this one as two top-35 defenses nationally battled all night long. Xavier found the more favorable side of the whistle by a little bit as there was plenty of contact on both ends, but UC took only 16 free throws to the Musketeers 26.

Credit to the Musketeers for drawing out Lakhin early and often and not succumbing to the rebounding power of the two big lineups. Still, UC outscored Xavier 50-32 in the paint, but was horrific shooting from outside on the road for a second straight time this season.

The stat you're about to see is not a typo. Cincinnati is a combined 8-for-41 from deep this season in two road games. If that continues into Big 12 play, it's going to be nearly impossible to keep pace in America's best college basketball conference.

Jizzle Jumpstarts

One of the only UC players who came ready to play from the first moment in this latest Crosstown Shootout was the electric freshman. Jizzle James (19 points, one rebound) played great basketball as the rest of UC's offense floundered to a 1-of-13 start from three in the first half.

James hit the only triple in that frame as he played with an aggressive, attacking mindset near the rim and in the mid-range. The highly touted recruit is showing why he may need to be the lead ballhandler for this squad sooner rather than later.

John Newman III (18 points, 7-of-10 FGs, eight rebounds) has to get a mention here. He and James were the best guards for UC as the veteran kept things steady and led the team with a 23-efficiency score.

It wasn't all great for James as Xavier's offense got cooking more succinctly with James out there (118.2 defensive rating), but the offense made up for it.

He did have a couple of nice rim contests, including a block.

Without him, UC may have gotten run out of the gym in the first half. His craft package of moves around the rim should only keep improving throughout the season.

Olivari Ooos

The Musketeers' best player came to play throughout the contest. He was in control of the pace all night and launched a sniper three-point shot into UC's heart.

He added a perfect 9-of-9 night from the line to drive a dagger into the heart of UC fans everywhere. He led all players in game score with a 20.2 mark and it felt like he controlled the entire game-high 36 minutes he played.

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