Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Cincinnati vs. Kansas Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Cincinnati and Kansas in our Bearcats vs. Jayhawks Big 12 Tournament men’s basketball second round preview.
Game 6: No. 11 Cincinnati (18-13) vs. No. 6 Kansas (22-9, 10-8)
Time, TV: 8:30 p.m. CT Wednesday, ESPN2
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Kansas 1-0): Kansas 74, Cincinnati 69 (at Lawrence, Kan.)
Winner: Advances to the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. vs. No. 3 seed Baylor.
Here is the full Big 12 men’s tournament schedule and results.
Projected starting lineups
Cincinnati: G Day Day Thomas, G Dan Skillings Jr., G John Newman III, G Simas Lukosius, C Aziz Bandaogo.
Kansas: F K.J. Adams Jr., G Johnny Furphy, G DaJuan Harris Jr., G Elmarko Jackson, G Nicolas Timberlake.
Players to watch
Cincinnati
G Simas Lukosius
After he dropped 31 points, including seven 3-pointers, on West Virginia in the first round and set a new career high, Lukosius mentioned that his previous career high was set in the Big East Tournament his freshman year. So maybe he liked the bright lights of March? Lukosius averages 10.2 points per game and he shoots 35% from the 3-point line. Between him and Day Day Thomas — who also set a career high with 29 points and seven 3-pointers — the pair could shoot any team out of the gym if they stay this hot.
Kansas
G DaJuan Harris Jr.
With both Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. out for the Big 12 Tournament, Harris’ scoring ability takes on added importance. He’s one of the best facilitators in the Big 12 and averages 6.4 assists per game. But he can fill it up when he gets hot. He’s averaged less than nine points per game, but he shoots nearly 39 percent from the 3-point line. The Jayhawks just haven’t needed him to fill it up — until now. If Kansas wins, he’ll have a big game.
Key storylines
Cincinnati
While the odds may not be in their favor, Cincinnati still has a shot at sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, and their win over West Virginia on Tuesday only improved those odds. The Bearcats would need a deep tournament run and some key losses from other teams in the field to increase their stock heading into March Madness. Cincinnati entered the Big 12 Tournament holding a NET rating of 45 and with multiple Quad 1 opportunities ahead of them in the later rounds of the Big 12 Tournament, the door is not completely shut on UC’s tournament hopes.
Kansas
What a weird season for Kansas. To some, they were the best team in the country coming into the season. But persistent depth issues and the McCullar injury didn’t help. Plus, several teams that have been chasing the Jayhawks for years finally have the means and talent to match up with them. The result was one of the most frustrating seasons of coach Bill Self’s tenure. Kansas has never lost eight games in Big 12 and the Jayhawks had their worst league loss total since the first year of the Roy Williams tenure. Self has vowed it won’t happen again. That doesn’t help right now, as Kansas not only as a postseason to play but has opted to sit both Dickinson and McCullar for the Big 12 Tournament.
Prediction
Cincinnati 75, Kansas 70. It’s hard to be optimistic about Kansas’ chances here. The Jayhawks know they’re in the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats need this win to help their credentials. The Bearcats also got the bad mojo out against WVU and they played Kansas hard in Lawrence back in January. While I put nothing past Kansas, Cincinnati moves on.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
