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Bearcats Lose at Cintas Center AGAIN, Xavier Beats Cincinnati in Crosstown Shootout 79-74

A brutal loss for Cincinnati.
James Rapien|
Xavier Musketeers forward Tre Carroll (12) and Xavier Musketeers forward Filip Borovicanin (4) cover Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller (18) in the first half of the NCAA basketball game at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 2025.
Xavier Musketeers forward Tre Carroll (12) and Xavier Musketeers forward Filip Borovicanin (4) cover Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller (18) in the first half of the NCAA basketball game at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — The drought continues. The Cincinnati Bearcats lost to the Xavier Musketeers 79-74 on Friday night. They haven't beat Xavier at the Cintas Center since 2001. The Bearcats have lost 11-straight games to Xavier at Cintas.

Cincinnati falls to 6-3 on the season. The Musketeers took a commanding 13-point lead mid-way through the second quarter. Xavier led 56-43 with 12:21 left.

The Bearcats responded, but it wasn't enough. Cincinnati rallied to take a 68-67 lead with 2:39 remaining. Xavier went on a 9-2 run to take command of the game and secure the win.

Tre Carroll led the way for the Musketeers, scoring 30 points. He also had seven rebounds. Carroll's previous career-high was 24 points. This was his first Crosstown Shootout.

Shon Abaev scored 16 points for the Bearcats. Baba Miller had 10 points. He also led the team with 16 rebounds and six assists. Day Day Thomas had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Cincinnati shot just 37% from the field. Xavier shot 47% from the field. The Bearcats only made 11-of-22 free throws. The Bearcats made 11 3-pointers (33 attempts), which helped them get back into the game after they fell behind by 13 points.

Bearcats head coach Wes Miller falls to 1-4 in the Crosstown Shootout. Xavier has won six of the last seven matchups and 10 of the last 13 Crosstown Shootouts.

It's a brutal loss for a Bearcats team that entered the season with NCAA Tournament aspirations. Meanwhile, Xavier was "rebuilding" under first-year head coach Richard Pitino.

"It's amazing. It's why I wanted to come to Xavier," Pitino said when asked about the home crowd on the postgame broadcast.

Xavier improves to 7-3 on the season. The Bearcats have lost two of their last three games.

Up Next

The Bearcats have eight days to digest this loss. They play Georgia at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET.

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James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals, Reds and Bearcats On SI. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati and has spent a decade covering Cincinnati sports. He's the author of Enter The Jungle, a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals. Prior to joining SI, Rapien was a host and producer at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati.

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