Cincinnati: 74
Dayton 62
Cincinnati – 3-0
Dayton – 2-1
Cincinnati Survives Physical Battle with Dayton, Improves to 3–0
This one was a physical, grind-it-out kind of game — but Cincinnati did just enough to stay in front of Dayton on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
The crowd deserves serious credit. The 11,815 in attendance were electric from start to finish, and the Flyers’ faithful also traveled well, as expected. In the end, though, the talent gap between the Bearcats and Flyers proved too much for Dayton to overcome, as UC pulled away late to move to 3–0 on the season.
Day Day Thomas led the way for Cincinnati with 20 points, while Shon Abaev added 14. Three other Bearcats contributed between 8–9 points each, and Baba Miller came just shy of a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds. The offense flowed best through Kerr Kriisa, who posted 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists. Though he turned it over five times, his playmaking helped UC maintain rhythm when the half-court sets got stagnant.
Dayton was led by the trio of L’Etang (14 points, 8 rebounds), Montgomery (13 points, 8 rebounds), and Bennett (12 points). Derrick paced the Flyers with 4 assists, though UC’s defense made consistent ball movement difficult all night.
Highlights:
The Good
Cincinnati’s defense was elite once again, holding Dayton to 2-of-26 from beyond the arc — an abysmal 7.7% — helping solidify UC’s spot as the No. 2 defensive team nationally per Kenpom.com.
The Bearcats also controlled the glass with a 43–33 rebounding edge. Wes Miller’s emphasis on frontcourt improvement via the portal was evident, as Miller and Thiam combined for 17 rebounds. UC led for 39:44 of the 40-minute contest and also tallied 7 blocks, including 4 from Moustapha Thiam — a rim-protecting presence they’ll need consistently in Big 12 play.
Turnover Troubles
The biggest concern from the win? Turnovers, way too many of them.
UC coughed the ball up 24 times, with Miller (4), Kriisa (5), Thomas (3), and Abaev (3) leading the miscues. Dayton capitalized, scoring 25 points off turnovers and finishing with 12 steals.
If Cincinnati hopes to build a true NCAA Tournament résumé, that number must come down — ideally closer to 15 turnovers or fewer per game. Against elite Big 12 defenses, those giveaways will almost certainly prove costly. Cincinnati currently sits at a 18 turnover average, so it is absolutely reasonable to think that this team will improve as the year goes on and that # will drop some.
After the game, coach Miller had this to say about the turnovers: “This is exactly why most teams only talk about running in recruiting. I mean everybody says they run in recruiting, I mean everybody says we’re going to play fast, and then they talk about it in the summer and their practices, and maybe a little bit into the fall, but when you get to it and it gets a little wacky out there, you want to kind of get back in control. And if we’re ever going to be the kind of running team that I think we’re going to be, we have to play through some stuff. Now all these turnovers weren’t because of our pace of play. Some of them were breaking the press, some of them were footwork turnovers, some of them were casual turnovers. The other thing is, number one, nobody’s going to work on getting better more than I am after I get out of this press conference. But number two, we won. So let’s talk about winning too. Let’s not just talk about everything we didn’t do well. We just beat Dayton at home with a new team, and the team is trying to figure out how to get better. So, I’m not going to let you guys make it negative. We might get negative in the film tomorrow a little bit, but this should be about the fact that we won. First and foremost, we won the damn game, and that’s what matters.”
Foul Concerns and Free Throws
Discipline remains another area of concern. Cincinnati committed 25 fouls, sending Dayton to the line 27 times. On the other end, the Bearcats drew 23 fouls themselves, earning 37 free throw attempts — but converted just 23 of them (62%). The Bearcats are now 60-93 on the year fro the stripe, good for 65%.
For a team that doesn’t have an explosive offense, taking advantage of free opportunities at the stripe will be critical moving forward.
Final Thoughts
While not a perfect performance, Cincinnati continues to stack early-season wins. The defensive identity is clearly forming, and the rebounding effort has been consistently strong.
If the Bearcats can clean up the turnover issues and find a bit more efficiency at the line, this is a team capable of competing for a top end Big 12 finish — and eventually, an NCAA Tournament bid.
Postgame Player Press Conference:
Day Day Thomas’s Remarks:
All Photos Courtesy of Cincinnati Athletics
Leave a comment