On Wednesday evening in Orlando, Florida, two Big 12 teams clashed in a game where both teams desperately needed to win.
Johnny Dawkins and the UCF Knights welcomed Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats to Addition Financial Arena for the 11th game of the Big 12 regular season. Both teams entered the game on losing streaks, with UCF having lost the last two and Cincinnati the last four. The groups went back and forth until late in the second half, when Cincinnati turned the tide and cruised to a win.
With that, here are the top three takeaways from Cincinnati’s 93-83 win over the Knights.
Day Day’s Day
It’s no secret that Cincinnati Basketball has been struggling to put up points offensively over the past few weeks, and many expected that trend to continue vs. UCF. One individual who disagreed with the notion was senior guard Day Day Thomas, who started off hot out of the gates in Orlando.
Thomas finished with 20 points in the contest, 18 of which came in the first half. UCF deserves credit for their second-half adjustment to corral Thomas in the final 20 minutes, but changing their coverage led to the floodgates opening for the rest of Wes Miller’s squad. Thomas led the team in scoring with 20 points, but the combination of Jizzle James, Dillon Mitchell, and Aziz Bandaogo stepped up and posted 50 total points that were crucial in UC’s victory.
Slippery Slope
UCF is in a bit of a tough spot. The group worked their tails off this season to stay in the bubble conversation for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but it appears to be fading fast. The Knights were recently listed as the First Team Out in ESPN’s latest bracketology update, and with a loss to Cincinnati (No. 85), the Knights will have to find a new way to bounce back.
Johnny Dawkins’ squad hung around for the majority of the game thanks to high output from the team’s starters, but could not keep up with the Bearcats down the stretch. Four of UCF’s starting five reached double figures, including Keyshawn Hall (23), Darius Johnson (21), Mooustapha Thiam (14), and Jordan Ivy-Curry (11).
While the three-game losing streak has been a brutal stretch for UCF, the road ahead doesn’t get much better, facing back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams in the next two games against Baylor and No. 8 Iowa State.
Good for Wes
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team where I felt the lack of effort collectively that I feel right now.”
Those were the words that Wes Miller stood on following Cincinnati’s 63-50 loss on Sunday. The group lacked focus, hustle, heart, and intensity.
Talk about an incredible response to a coach’s challenge!
Cincinnati looked like a completely different team against the Knights and took down a solid UCF team on the road.
What was the fix, you ask? Dodgeball.
Don’t believe me?
Sometimes, all it takes to shake things up is to take a breath, have some fun, and enjoy the company of friends, teammates, and coaches.
