Advertisement

Scouting report: Cincinnati big man Viktor Lakhin looks to stay hot against La Salle

keith jenkins, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

Viktor Lakhin has arrived.

The University of Cincinnati sophomore big man has been a model of consistency for the Bearcats this season, shooting at least 60% from the field in six of the last seven games. He's done it in eight of Cincinnati's 11 games this season.

Cincinnati basketball:David DeJulius, Bearcats thump in-state rival Miami RedHawks, 103-76

Cincinnati basketball:UC board approves extension for Bearcats basketball coach Wes Miller

Entering Saturday's clash against the La Salle Explorers, Lakhin is averaging career-highs across the board, including in points (12.1), rebounds (7.3) and blocks (1.1) per game.

"He's really grown into a heck of a player," teammate David DeJulius said. "That's a testament to all his hard work, his perseverance, coming from another country during COVID and continuing to stay at it. Now, he's experiencing some success. He will continue to get rewarded for that by us feeding him the ball and putting him in good spots to be successful, and he's been rewarding us in return."

The 6-foot-11, 240-pound Anapa, Russia, native is knocking down shots at nearly a 70% (57-for-82) clip, which leads the American Athletic Conference. Lakhin even stepped behind the arc in the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier and sank his first 3-pointer of the season (second of his career).

Cincinnati Bearcats sophomore forward Viktor Lakhin (30) is averaging 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds on nearly 70% shooting this season.
Cincinnati Bearcats sophomore forward Viktor Lakhin (30) is averaging 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds on nearly 70% shooting this season.

Lakhin has scored in double figures in seven straight games, but he seemingly still hasn't garnered the respect of opposing defenses.

"Honestly, I feel like they're not still doing enough to stop him," Cincinnati guard Landers Nolley II said. "If I was on the other team, I would send more (help). But I guess other teams haven't gotten that memo yet. So, we're going to keep feeding him until somebody gets the memo. And if they don't, we're going to keep killing them."

Lakhin and the Bearcats (7-4) seek their fifth win in six games Saturday against La Salle (5-5).

The game

Tipoff: 2 p.m. on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena

TV/Radio: ESPN+/WEBN-FM (102.7), then WLW-AM (700) at the conclusion of the football broadcast

Series info: Cincinnati leads the all-time series 8-2. The Bearcats and Explorers last played on Dec. 22, 2004. Cincinnati won 84-63 at Fifth Third Arena in front of just 2,000 fans due to inclement weather.

Scouting report

La Salle (5-5)

Coach: Fran Dunphy, first season (5-5)

Offense: 68.2 ppg

Defense: 70.1 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Jhamir Brickus (G, 5'11", 7.8 ppg)

Anwar Gill (G, 6'4", 9.5 ppg)

Hassan Drame (F, 6'7", 8.9 ppg)

Mamadou Doucoure (F, 6'9", 2.4 rpg)

Josh Nickelberry (G, 6'4", 11.7 ppg)

Cincinnati (7-4)

Coach: Wes Miller, second season (25-19)

Offense: 81.4 ppg

Defense: 70.6 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6’3”, 8.5 ppg)

David DeJulius (G, 6’0", 17.2 ppg)

Landers Nolley II (G, 6’7”, 15.2 ppg)

Jeremiah Davenport (G, 6'7", 9.4 ppg)

Viktor Lakhin (F, 6’11”, 12.1 ppg)

Players to watch

Anwar Gill

La Salle hasn't played in a week. The Explorers are coming off a 65-58 overtime loss to Drexel on Dec. 10. It marked their first loss at home this season (4-1). Anwar Gill led the way with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the defeat. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior guard can score in bunches. Gill dropped a career-high 26 points earlier this month in a win at Penn.

Landers Nolley II

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior Memphis transfer is coming off a 20-point performance in the Bearcats' 103-76 rout of Miami University on Wednesday. Nolley made eight of his 11 shots against the RedHawks, including a 4-for-5 showing from 3-point range. Nolley has improved his 3-point shooting by 10.7% from last season (33.6% to 44.3%). He's also shooting 50% (58-for-116) from the field, a 12% increase from a season ago.

Key to the game

Share the ball

When Cincinnati shares the ball, good things typically happen. The Bearcats are averaging 15.5 assists per game. They had 23 in Wednesday's blowout. Mika Adams-Woods had six assists for the third straight game. Cincinnati is 3-0 this season when it registers more than 20 assists.

Rankings

NET: La Salle (268); Cincinnati (141)

KenPom.com: La Salle (221); Cincinnati (71)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati basketball: Viktor Lakhin, Bearcats set to host La Salle