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    • 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win at NKU Norse Tuesday
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    3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win at NKU Norse Tuesday

    Vaseline Posted on

    The University of Cincinnati Bearcats’ latest visit to Truist Arena was torture in its truest form. After using the Northern Kentucky University field for home games while the Fifth Third Arena was being renovated, then-UC athletic director Mike Bohn agreed to a few future trips across the “Big Mac” Bridge to play the Norwegian.

    During the visit of Coach Wes Miller’s second UC team two years ago, the Bearcats led 40-36 at halftime, then scored just 11 points the rest of the way as NKU’s Norse stormed the court with a 64 win -51. UC had the Maui Invitational ahead of it with Arizona, Ohio State and Louisville on the ledger and may have looked at palm trees prematurely.

    “That was really hard when we went there two years ago,” Miller said. “I know this, Darrin Horn is a great coach. They lost a tough game at the buzzer (Nicholls, last week) with the lead down the stretch. They will respond and be ready for the Bearcats. We have to get our team ready. “

    Return to Highland Heights

    Tuesday marks UC’s return to the spooky scene, albeit with a better team. UC defeated NKU 90-66 at Fifth Third Arena last year, now they must exorcise the Nordic demons that haunted them on November 16, 2022. Current Norwegian starters and local products Sam Vinson (Highlands) and Trey Robinson (Hamilton) remain out of the group that defeated the Bearcats. Vinson had 15 points on the night and Robinson had five. Josh Reed is the only Bearcat who was in the Norse Nightmare, so he may need to point out what motivation Miller doesn’t address.

    “You’re the ones who get to write the stories about where we are, where we aren’t and all that nonsense,” Miller said after UC’s latest win, an 86-49 win over Nicholls Friday night. “The only thing I can control is training on Sunday and I hope we have a good training and get better.”

    3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat NKU Norse

    1. Bearcats need to take care of business

    The non-conference slate can sometimes create false confidence or make a team look ahead. Both are, as Miller has preached, dangerous. Even with lopsided wins, Miller has found fault with UC rebounding without Dan Skillings Jr. in its last two games. They even tied Morehead State 30-30. They still had fourteen rebounds against Nicholls, but the Huskies outscored them on the offensive boards 17-15.

    “If people can come in here and get 17 offensive rebounds, we’re going to be really disappointed in this (Big 12) league,” Miller said.

    2. Respect your opponent

    UC’s No. 17 ranking likely won’t affect the Norse, who have played Florida State and No. 14 Purdue on the road. They played in front of 14,876 people at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. When NKU beat UC, they had 8,503 at Truist Arena in 2022. Whatever the turnout, you have to take the opponents out of the game.

    UC’s depth could be the answer. Miller recently played 10 Bearcats in the first half. The last two games saw 11 players reach the box score, with Skillings Jr. and Day Day Thomas were unavailable. Thomas is currently medically cleared, but Miller is taking it easy with the point guard who made 35 starts last season.

    “We have the ability to have so much versatility in the lineup because all these guys are so interchangeable,” Miller said.

    3. UC must guard the perimeter

    The Northmen aren’t shy about making three-point shots. In their early games they shot 28, 23 and 23 from behind the arc. If they fall, it could be the great equalizer. Unfortunately, NKU only connects on 24% of their triples, while opponents hit 31%. Josh Dilling is just 7 of 28 for 25%, Hubertas Pivorius is 4 of 9 for 44%. UC’s Simas Lukošius has hit 10 of 14 on home rims so far, with UC hitting 43% of their long shots, compared to 26% for the opposition.

    Going into Saturday’s game, Lukošius was among the top five in Division I NCAA statistics in three-point percentage, as his 71% was just behind leader Koby Brea of ​​Kentucky. Brea played against the Bearcats last year as a member of the Dayton Flyers.

    Cincinnati Bearcats vs. NKU Norse

    Tip: Tuesday at 7 p.m

    TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW has the call of UC, 55KRC with NKU’s

    Series: UC leads 5-1

    NKU Norwegian scouting report

    File: 0-3

    Coach: Darrin Horn (sixth season, 0-3, 98-59 overall)

    Offence: 57 pages

    Defense: 69 pages

    Projected starting lineup

    (Position, Height, Statistics)

    Trey Robinson (G, 6’7″, 10.7 ppg)

    Keeyan Itejere (F, 6’9″, 8.3 ppg)

    Hubertas Pivorius (G, 6’2″, 5.3 ppg)

    Sam Vinson (G. 6’5″, 5.7 ppg)

    Dan Gerezegher Jr. (G, 6’4″, 2.7 ppg)

    Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

    File: 3-0

    Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 3-0, 66-43 at UC, 251-178 overall)

    Offence: 92.7 pages

    Defense: 52 pages

    Projected starting lineup

    Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 12 ppg)

    Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 9 ppg)

    Simas Lukošius (GF, 6’8″, 17.7 ppg)

    Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 15 ppg)

    Connor Hickman (G, 6’3″, 6.3 ppg)

    Players to watch

    Coming off the bench, 6-foot-1 student guard Jos Dilling leads NKU in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He is a transfer from Northern State in South Dakota. He had 18 points against Florida State and Nicholls, but No. 14 Purdue held him to seven.

    Even without it Dan Skillings Jr. who hopes to return from a knee procedure in a month or less, the Bearcats are deep with several weapons. Simas Lukošius has been consistent and Jizzle James is always dangerous, even if he has a slow start. Both were reliable in the early games. Lukošius is shooting 75% from the field and 71% from beyond the arc at a clip that bests UC’s overall free throw accuracy of 63.5%. James is shooting 58% and both have 16 assists to share the team lead.

    Rankings

    NCAA NET: Cincinnati No. 37 last season, NKU No. 183

    KenPom.com: Cincinnati No. 10, NKU No. 188

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