Cincinnati looks to continue its offensive outburst and its winning ways when it hosts struggling Utah on Sunday afternoon in Big 12 play.
The Bearcats (13-12, 5-7 Big 12) have found their stride offensively in winning their last two games, reaching the 90-point plateau for the first two times in Big 12 action. Utah (9-15, 1-10) comes in on a six-game losing streak and has dropped 11 of 12.
After falling below .500 for the first time in the Wes Miller era and for the first time since the 2020-21 season, Cincinnati has responded with two resounding conference wins, 92-72 over visiting UCF last Sunday and a 91-62 victory at Kansas State on Wednesday. The point totals are the third and fourth-most on the season behind 94-point outputs against Western Carolina and NJIT.
Over the past two games, Jizzle James is averaging 19.5 points on 58.3% shooting (14 of 24) from the field and 69.2% (9 of 13) from 3-point range, while big man Baba Miller has averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 52.9% (9 of 17) from the field.
“I got in a rhythm (against Kansas State) and I kept trusting my work,” James said. “I’m glad they were able to go down. That’s something I’ve been working on consistently. We’ll just build on (the win), and now we’re just looking forward to our next game.”
Cincinnati shot a season-high 58.9% (33 of 56) from the field against UCF and connected on a season-high 16 threes against Kansas State. The games marked the two best 3-point shooting nights of the season (61.1% on 11 of 18 against UCF and 57.1% on 16 of 28 at Kansas State).
Utah, on the other hand, is looking for a win of any kind. The Utes are 0-8 on the road this season and have dropped all five road games in conference play.
The Utes are led by Terrence Brown, who is averaging 20.8 points, ranked fourth in the Big 12 as of Saturday, and shooting 44.9% from the field. Brown also averages 3.9 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
“Terrence needs to have more of a well-rounded, complete game, not just scoring,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said. “He’s got to do it with his defense and passing and he’s gotten better at that.”
Keanu Dawes has also been a bright spot for the Utes in their six-game skid. In the last five games since being held scoreless against Kansas State, the 6-foot-9 forward has averaged 15.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field. Dawes has pulled down double-digit rebounds in three of the last four games, including two resulting in double-doubles.
