New-look Cincinnati Bearcats set for 1st season in Big 12

Published Oct. 26, 2023 12:41 p.m. ET

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati has long viewed itself as a Power Five-caliber program.

With two national championships, six Final Four appearances, eight trips to the Elite Eight and more than 1,800 wins all-time, the Bearcats have a resume that stacks up with some of the top-tier programs in college basketball.

But this season, for the first time in program history, Cincinnati will play in a Power Five conference after making the jump from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12.

The move aligns the Bearcats with a conference that has produced two of the last three national champions, including Kansas, the overwhelming No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.

“Listen, this is the best college basketball league in America,” third-year Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “It’s undisputed in recent history. So, it’s neat and exciting to be a part of that. We haven’t experienced it yet, so will there be an adjustment? Absolutely.

“But like we talk about freshmen all the time, freshmen have adjustments to college basketball. There’s no way around it. Some make the adjustment quicker than others. I believe I have a group and a team that can make the adjustment quickly. I hope we do.”

The Bearcats are 41-28 under Miller. They finished 23-13 (11-7 AAC) and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT a season ago. But getting back to the NCAA Tournament is on the list of goals this season for the Bearcats, something they have done 33 times in their history but not since 2019.

NOTABLE RETURNERS

Cincinnati has six returning scholarship players, including big man Viktor Lakhin. The 6-foot-11 Russian is back for his junior campaign after averaging 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals and shooting nearly 62% from the field last season.

Miller said Lakhin will be expanding his range from behind the 3-point line a lot more after hitting just three of his 11 attempts from deep over his first two seasons.

“We’re now allowing Vik to stretch and shoot 3s,” Miller said. “People think it’s just an offseason thing. He got with a shooting coach early in the spring, worked hard on his shot the entire spring, the entire summer. We let him start actually shooting 3s in our live practice play in the summer, and he had great success. But what people probably don’t realize is that we started this process the offseason before. ... I do think he’s a real threat to stretch and shoot 3s now.”

Lakhin is joined by graduate wing John Newman III, graduate forward Ody Oguama and sophomore guard Dan Skillings Jr.

NEW FACES

Cincinnati will take the floor with eight new players, including four from the transfer portal. Kentucky transfer CJ Fredrick and former Butler guard/forward Simas Lukosius will look to make an immediate impact, while highly touted freshmen Jizzle James and Rayvon Griffith will need to adjust quickly to the college game.

BIG QUESTIONS

Cincinnati’s depth and size could be an issue. The NCAA denied the waivers for immediate eligibility for transfer big men Aziz Bandaogo (Utah Valley) and Jamille Reynolds (Temple). The school is appealing the decision. Miller said he’s hopeful both will ultimately be cleared to play.

EXPECTATIONS

Cincinnati was picked to finish 11th out of 14 teams in the Big 12 preseason poll. The Bearcats were projected to finish ahead of Oklahoma and fellow Big 12 newcomers BYU and UCF. Kansas and Houston, the other Big 12 newcomer, were picked to finish first and second in the conference, respectively.

SCHEDULE

The Bearcats open the season at home against Illinois at Chicago on Nov. 6. Twelve of Cincinnati’s 13 nonconference games are either at home or just a short drive from campus. The Bearcats have a road game at Howard in Washington, D.C., and a matchup at crosstown rival Xavier. They also have a “neutral site” game against Dayton in downtown Cincinnati. The Bearcats open their first-ever Big 12 slate Jan. 6 at BYU. Cincinnati heads to Kansas on Jan. 22.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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