Winners and Losers From Cincinnati's 74-72 Victory Over Kansas State

Cincinnati kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive as Kansas State's late comeback effort came up short.

Author:
Neil Meyer
Updated:
Mar 3, 2024 1:09 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats won a close battle against Kansas State 74-72 on Saturday thanks to a huge game-winning three from Simas Lukošius.

Check out our Winners and Losers from the game.

Winners

Cincinnati's backcourt tandem of Jizzle James and Day Day Thomas had arguably their best defensive performance of the season. Wes Miller has pleaded for fans all season for fans to be patient with the point guards and noted how they are still "rookies" at the Division I level. Saturday night was a testament to why fans had to be patient.

Thomas finished with 14 points, five assists, and four steals in the Bearcats heroic win. His defensive efforts made it difficult for Kansas State junior Cam Carter to find his groove, as he finished with just 13 points.

Thomas came away with two crucial steals down the final stretch of this one when the Bearcats desperately needed a stop. Thomas picked up Tylor Perry at halfcourt, resulting in a quick steal where he hammered home a ferocious windmill slam out in transition.

Thomas had arguably the play of the game as Arthur Kaluma would look to get downhill late in the second half with hopes of making this a one-point game.

Thomas thought otherwise after using his active hands which resulted in a Newman slam out in transition to give Cincinnati a 71-66 lead with 3:30 remaining.

James complemented Thomas very well as the freshman finished with 10 points and four assists in the Bearcats 74-72 victory. James and Thomas racked up nine of the team's 17 assists as they continued to flash their playmaking ability like they have done all season.

John Newman III had his best game over the last month after finishing with a team-high 18 points, three rebounds, and four assists, where he shot 8-of-12 from the field. The veteran forward led the Bearcats out of the break, where he scored nine points in the opening segment of the second half. Wes Miller knew they would need a big game from Newman on the offensive end with Dan Skillings Jr. out with a hip injury.

Newman was also brilliant on the defensive end which for Cincinnati fans is no surprise. Newman held Arthur Kaluma to just seven points on a 2-of-11 shooting performance on Saturday night. Newman knew he would have a challenge on his hands with the talented wing coming into Saturday but he stood his ground yet again for Wes Miller's Cincinnati team.

Last but not least, Simas Lukošius. What can we say, Lukošius has been one of Cincinnati's best players this season down the stretch and he proved it yet again on Saturday night. The Lithuanian was off to a hot start before taking a hard fall on a layup attempt in the first half, which had a lot of people questioning if he'd be able to finish the game.

He finished with 13 points and four assists over 33 minutes of play, a team-high. His biggest basket of the night came with ten seconds left after the Wildcats took a 72-71 lead seconds prior. Cincinnati drew up a play for James out of the inbounds, but the look for James wasn't there, so he kicked it out to the sharpshooter at the top of the key and he buried yet another clutch shot for Cincinnati.

That triple would be the game-winner for Cincinnati as they held on to defeat the Wildcats 74-72. He rose to the occasion from about three feet from behind the arch and sent Fifth Third into a frenzy during the final seconds.

"That was a player making a play," Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang told reporters following the game. "He was 3-4 feet behind the line, rose and buried it. That's a player making a play."

Losers

Skillings was unavailable Saturday night after suffering a hip injury in practice 24 hours before Saturday's contest. Wes Miller told reporters following the game that Skillings is set to have an MRI on his injured hip later today but is concerned about the severity.

"Dan is so important to this team it's a tremendous loss.," said Wes Miller. "He had two great days of practice and then a freak thing popped up with his hip. If he can play basketball, Dan Skillings will play basketball, but we have to get him back healthy."

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