West Virginia at Cincinnati Preview & Game Thread

The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-8, 5-4) head over the border to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats (11, 3-6) Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST and the action will broadcast on ESPN2.

West Virginia is coming off an unexpected loss to Baylor on Saturday that once again spotlighted the team’s offensive struggles. The Mountaineers endured back-to-back games with scoring droughts of seven minutes or longer and currently sit last in Big 12 Conference play in points per game (63.0). WVU also ranks near the bottom of the league in field-goal percentage (43.1%), checking in 14th overall. Despite those issues on the offensive end, the Mountaineers continue to rely on their defense, which remains among the conference’s best.

Senior guard Honor Huff leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game, though he struggled in the loss to Baylor, finishing 1-for-13 from the field. Senior forward Brenen Lorient ranks second on the team at 10.9 ppg and shares the team lead in rebounding (5.1 rpg) with senior center Harlan Obioha. Senior forward Treysen Eaglestaff is close behind at 10.5 ppg, while senior guard Chance Moore rounds out the group of double-figure scorers, averaging 10.1 points per contest.

Cincinnati returns home after a 76-54 loss at Houston over the weekend. Like West Virginia, the Bearcats have struggled to find consistency on the offensive end, ranking near the bottom of the Big 12 in most major statistical categories. Defensively, however, Cincinnati has been more competitive, placing in the top half of the league during conference play.

Senior forward Baba Miller leads the Bearcats with team highs of 13.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Senior guard Day Day Thomas is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg while also pacing Cincinnati in assists (3.7 apg). Sophomore center Moustapha Thiam adds 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and Jizzle James completes the quartet of double-figure scorers at 10.1 ppg.

West Virginia leads the all-time series 14-12.

GAME THREAD

Timeout WVU: Cincinnati has opened the game with an 11-2 run, forcing WVU head coach Ross Hodge to take a timeout and the first media break. The Mountaineers have started the contest 1-4 from the field while the Bearcats are 5-8. 16:16 mark of the first half.

U12 Timeout: The Bearcats stretched their lead to 12, but a 4-0 spurt by the Mountaineers have trimmed the advantage to eight, 14-6.

U8 Timeout: West Virginia is 4-12 from the floor, including 0-7 from three-point range and have committed five turnovers to trail 21-10.

Another WVU timeout forces a media timeout with 4:08 remianing in the half as Cincinnati is rolling, 27-14.

HALFTIME: Cincinnati leads 30-20. West Virginia shot 8-20, 0-9 from three, and have nine turnovers as Huff and Eaglestaff were held scoreless in the first half. Lorient leads the Mountaineers with eight points. Miller and James both have a first half high of 10 points.

West Virginia is on a two-minute scoring drought while Cincinnati has built a 14-point lead, 37-23, and forcing Hodge to take a timeout and leading into the first media timeout of the second half at the 16:06 mark.

U12 Timeout: Huff has scored 12 straight points to cut the Cincinnati lead to three, 40-37.

U8 Timeout: West Virginia constructed a 14-0 run to take its first lead of the game, stretching it to 16-2 for a 44-42 lead.

Media Timeout 2H 4:30: The game is tied at 46. The Mountaineers have held Cincinnati to 29.4% from the field (5-17).

Cincinnati Timeout 39 secs: West Virginia built a six-point lead after five staight from freshman forward DJ Thomas, but a James three from the corner has the Bearcats with three, 55-52.

FINAL: West Virgnia 59, Cincinnati 54. WVU - FG: 21-48 3PT: 6-21 FT: 11-21 REB: 33 UC - FG: 20-55 3PT: 7-23 FT: 7-9 REB: 34

GAME THREAD

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