Clemson Tigers Wrap Up Non-Conference Play with Neutral Site Battle

The Clemson Tigers (9-3, 0-0 ACC) will conclude non-conference play on Sunday afternoon by taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Greenville Winter Invitational at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the upstate will host the ACC-Big 12 matchup. Before the Tigers and Bearcats take the court, let’s take a look at Cincinnati and some storylines heading into the matchup.

Who will fill Zac Foster’s void?

In Clemson’s 68-61 win over South Carolina on Tuesday night, the Tigers lost talented freshman Zac Foster to a season-ending ACL tear. Undoubtedly, head coach Brad Brownell now faces a lineup crunch that he couldn’t have seen coming.

Clemson’s starting backcourt (Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter) projects to remain, though the bench rotation will be in question. Senior Butta Johnson and redshirt freshman Ace Buckner are the two primary bench guards who should receive more opportunities as a result.

Buckner is coming off a season-best 19 points in 30 minutes against South Carolina last time out. The Dallas native set new personal highs in field goal attempts, rebounds, and steals. How Brownell deploys him will be of utmost importance as the season continues.

Bearcats Struggling From Behind the Arc

Cincinnati ranks 306th in the nation in three-point percentage, hitting just 30.5 percent of attempts from deep. Despite blowing out Alabama State 88-51 last time out, Cincinnati shot just 8-for-35 (23%) on threes. Wes Miller is still looking for his team’s offense to hit its stride. Clemson has an opportunity to delay that for another game.

“We started that process weeks ago,” Miller said recently about Cincinnati’s offense. “It’s not about sweeping massive changes. We attacked that stuff a couple weeks back. And we’ve slowly been trying to install those things at the right time and work on those things every chance we get.”

Baba Miller Is the Player To Watch

After a disappointing 19-16 season in 2024, Miller hit the transfer portal looking for an instant-impact candidate for the 2025 team. Florida Atlantic forward Baba Miller ended up as the haul, and he hit the ground running in 2025. Averaging a double-double, the 6-foot-11 senior has received high praise from NBA Draft analysts.

As Matt Babcock said back in September, “Baba Miller has been an intriguing talent for some time. While he’s shown his versatility and physical tools, a full season of consistent production would likely boost his stock.”

Miller has put that production on tape all season long at Cincinnati. Despite his team struggling during several non-conference games, Miller has been the unquestioned engine of the Bearcat offense. Last time out, he piled up 26 points and 14 rebounds on 10-for-11 shooting against Alabama State. Clemson will no doubt be looking to slow down Miller’s torrid pace heading into Sunday’s contest.

Cincinnati Bearcats (7-4, 0-0 Big 12)

Head coach: Wes Miller (5th season, 15th overall, 89-63 at Cincinnati, 185-135 at UNC Greensboro)

2x SoCon Tournament Champion (2018, 2021)
2024 College Basketball Crown Quarterfinal appearance

Advanced Rankings*

80 in KenPom (Clemson is 33)
113 in NET (Clemson is 34)
63 in BPI (Clemson is 22)

* - out of all 365 Division I teams

Record by Quadrant

Quadrant 1: 0-2
Quadrant 2: 1-0
Quadrant 3: 0-1
Quadrant 4: 6-1

Notable wins: vs Dayton (74-62)

Notable losses: vs Eastern Michigan (64-56), vs Louisville (74-64), vs Georgia (84-65)

Stat Leaders

Leading scorer: F Baba Miller, 14.0 points
Leading rebounder: F Baba Miller, 11.0 rebounds
Assist leader: G Kerr Kriisa, 4.6 assists

Series History

Cincinnati is 4-1 against Clemson all-time, with the most recent matchup between the teams coming on December 17, 2003. The 16th-ranked Bearcats defeated the Tigers 79-56 in Cincinnati. The series dates back to 1927, when Cincinnati won the first meeting over Clemson.

Quick Facts

ESPN’s BPI favors the Tigers in the matchup, listing Clemson with a 73% chance to beat the Bearcats.
Clemson leads the ACC in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 9.0 for the season.
Cincinnati has one player from South Carolina (Day Day Thomas, from Bishopville). Thomas will be playing his first collegiate game in his home state.