Scouting report: 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win in Mountain Time at BYU

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Coming off a disappointing home loss to Texas Tech, the Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team makes its second trip to the Mountain Time Zone in 10 days with a late Saturday night tip against the Brigham Young (BYU) Cougars.

The two teams met last year in UC’s Big 12 debut in Provo with the Bearcats coming from seven down at halftime to win at the Marriott Center 71-60. BYU was No. 12 in the country at the time.

Their previous coach Mark Pope has since moved on to Kentucky and has been replaced by Kevin Young. Young was previously in the NBA as a coach from 2016-2024. He was the Associate Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns before BYU.

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23) and Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Chance McMillian (0) fall Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena. UC missed a chance at a quadrant 1 win losing to Texas Tech 81-71.

The Cougars turned a two-point halftime lead at Colorado into a 15-point win late Tuesday, giving both UC and BYU wins in Boulder.

UC had a quadrant 1 win opportunity vs. Texas Tech, but lost the lead late in the first half and never regained command. The Red Raiders ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Top 25, hit a dozen 3-pointers and beat the Bearcats 81-71.

“They can rain threes like Texas Tech can do,” UC head coach Wes Miller said of BYU. “They probably get to them slightly differently, but you’ve got to get set in transition and not give them up. You can’t give them up on offensive rebounds like we did against Texas Tech.”

BYU Cougars have international flavor

The Cougars roster includes players from Australia, Russia, Serbia, Senegal and Mali. UC’s international flavor is limited to Aziz Bandaogo from Senegal and Halvine Dzellat from France.

Bandaogo played for nearby Utah Valley University in Orem and faced the Bearcats in the 2023 NIT. He appeared comfortable in his return to the state last year, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 22 minutes against the Cougars.

In addition to having Colorado as a common opponent, BYU beat…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/scouting-report-3-keys-cincinnati-050525573.html

Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-01-24 05:05:00

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