Back for some home cooking, Cincinnati basketball hosts Temple Wednesday night
With three regular season games to play, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball finds themselves a win away from surpassing last year's victory total and two from reaching 20 wins for the first time since 2020.
That squad led by John Brannen finished 20-10 then traveled to the American Athletic Conference tournament in Texas, only to see it canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Edgerrin 'Jizzle' James:Future Cincinnati Bearcats guard ready to step up for Wes Miller
Now, head coach Wes Miller has three shots at 20 beginning with Temple's Owls Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena. The Owls took the first of the series on the first of the year in Philadelphia, 70-61. In that game, the Bearcats were up 27-20 with 7:16 left in the first half. Temple then got the sparse crowd into the game by going on a 17-2 run to end the half with a 37-29 lead. The Bearcats could not fight back, were outrebounded 46-28 and dropped their first conference game.
"You go back and look at the tape and it's not so much that you're not a good rebounding team at that time, you're going against a really good rebounding team," Miller said Tuesday."They're a great defensive team. They're in great position defensively and they're a great ball pursuit team, which is why they do such a nice job on the glass."
UC has led by seven or more in all of their AAC road games. Only Xavier, Houston and Memphis have downed the Bearcats on their home hardwood.
"Both teams have evolved since early January, but there's certainly things you can take from the last game," Miller said.
UC vs. Temple preview
Tip: 7 p.m., Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV/Radio: ESPN2/700WLW
Series info: Cincinnati leads 26-12
Temple Owls scouting report
Temple 15-13 (9-6 AAC)
Coach: Aaron McKie (51-53, fourth season)
Offense: 69.7 ppg
Defense: 69.2 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Damian Dunn (G, 6'5", 14.6 ppg)
Zach Hicks (F, 6'8", 9.3 ppg)
Hysier Miller (G, 6'1", 8.7 ppg)
Nick Jourdain (F, 6'8", 6.3 ppg)
Kur Jongkuch (F, 6'10", 2.0 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Cincinnati (18-10, 9-6 AAC)
Coach: Wes Miller (36-25, second season)
Offense: 77.1 ppg
Defense: 68.9 ppg
Projected lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Landers Nolley II (G/F, 6'7", 16.3 ppg)
David DeJulius (G, 6', 14.4 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6'3", 9.2 ppg)
Ody Oguama (F, 6'9", 5.0 ppg)
Kalu Ezikpe (F, 6'8", 3.6 ppg)
Players to watch
Khalif Battle
The 6-foot-5-inch, redshirt sophomore is Temple's leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, but hasn't started every game. He didn't start against UC on Jan. 1 but came off the bench with 14 points. He recently scored 27 against SMU on Feb. 8, but in the Owls' recent loss to Wichita State he was held scoreless. Battle missed Temple's win against Tulsa for personal reasons. If he's on the court Wednesday, he's a threat.
Viktor Lakhin
Like Temple, UC's player to watch may be someone you won't get to watch. Lakhin warmed up prior to the Central Florida game and at halftime, but Miller kept him on the sidelines out of precaution. Naturally, a 6-foot-11-inch shot changer would come in handy, especially against a team that outrebounded you by 18 last time. In addition to Temple having three starters ranging from 6-foot-8 to 6-foot-10, Jamille Reynolds comes off the bench at 6-foot-11 and 280 pounds averaging 9.9 points per game and 6-foot-7-inch, sophomore Jahlil White had a 14-point, 16-rebound effort against UC on New Year's Day.
A healthy Lakhin with the improvement and confidence in Ody Oguama and Kalu Ezikpe would give the Bearcats a formidable three-headed presence in the paint heading into March.
"He didn't have any setbacks," Miller said of Lakhin's warmups Sunday with the team. "Medically, he was cleared to play. I just thought it would be unwise to play someone who hasn't practiced at all."
Lakhin did return to practice Tuesday and will be evaluated based on how he responds.
Keys to the game
Give a hoot about the boards vs. the Owls
UC coach Wes Miller has been noticeably agitated twice after road losses where the Bearcats were less-than-pleasing in the rebounding department. The last came at East Carolina who out-fought them by 19 rebounds and earlier it was losing on the glass in Philadelphia to Temple 46-28. The numbers don't lie, UC is 15-1 when outrebounding their opponent. The only exception was their first loss to Houston at Fifth Third Arena when they outrebounded the Cougars 39-33 but lost by 13. Part of that was turning the ball over 17 times
Without Lakhin at UCF and with the Knights having 7-footer Michael Durr back, the Bearcats still won the Windex battle 31-24. Offensively, Ody Oguama has made 18-of-19 of his shots the last three games.
"He just keeps getting better," Miller said. "That's what you want to see of the guys in your program, that consistent growth. Some of the stuff that's happened with Ody has not been new to us because we're seeing it every day."
Like Oguama was at Wake Forest two seasons ago, Kalu Ezikpe was a regular at Old Dominion before becoming a Bearcat. Sunday at UCF he was one of five Bearcats in double figures with 12 points and tied Jeremiah Davenport for the rebounding lead with six.
"You lose Vik and you lose quite a bit," Miller said. "He's been able to step in and steady us at times. To have a game like he had at Central Florida should give him a lot of confidence. It was really important to our team."
Score more than 77 points
The Owls' defense allows just a shade over 69, but all opponents scoring 77 or more this season have left the court in victory. That includes Vanderbilt (89), St. John's (78), Penn (77), Maryland-Eastern Shore (86), Tulane (87), Houston (81), Memphis (86) and most recently Wichita State (79). When scoring 70 or more, UC is 15-4.
The odds go to Temple if the game is in the 50s. The Owls knocked off Houston at the Fertitta Center 56-55 on Jan. 22 for their biggest win. The Cougars trounced them by 16 Feb. 5 back in Philly.
Ratings
NCAA NET: Cincinnati is No. 80, Temple is No. 125
KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 63, Temple No. 116
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC basketball hosts Temple in AAC showdown at Fifth Third Arena
