Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Cincinnati vs. Baylor Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Cincinnati and Baylor in our Bearcats vs. Bears Big 12 Tournament men’s basketball quarterfinal preview.
Game 10: No. 11 Cincinnati (20-13) vs. No. 3 Baylor (22-9, 11-7)
Time, TV: 8:30 p.m. CT Thursday, ESPN/ESPN2
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Baylor 1-0): Baylor def. Cincinnati, 62-59 (at Waco, Texas).
Big 12 Tournament Results: Cincinnati: def. West Virginia, 90-85 (first round); def. Kansas, 73-53 (second round); Baylor: Tournament opener.
Winner: Advances to the Big 12 semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against the Game 9 winner.
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.
Baylor: F Jalen Bridges, C Yves Missi, G Jayden Nunn, G Ja’Kobe Walter, G RayJ Dennis.
Players to watch
Cincinnati
G Dan Skillings Jr.
He’s been a starter and he’s been a sixth man. Either way Skillings gets things done for the Bearcats. After their win over Kansas, coach Wes Miller gushed over his guard’s play, talking more about the effort than about the 25 points and seven rebounds he finished with. While he only had two assists, Miller said his movement set up far more scoring chances than that. Skillings is a perfect blend of outside shooting and slashing ability, and when he’s unleashed he can be trouble for an individual defender or a collective opponent. He shot a high volume against Kansas. Miller is hoping for more efficiency against Baylor.
Baylor
G RayJ Dennis
Dennis transferred to Baylor from Toledo, where he was the 2022-23 unanimous MAC Player of the Year for the Rockets. In that season he averaged nearly 20 points and led the MAC in assists per game (5.8) and assist-turnover ratio (3.0). He made a quick transition to high-major basketball and earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors from the coaches and from Heartland College Sports. His scoring average dipped to 13.5 points, but that’s because he was playing alongside several offensive weapons and the Bears asked him to facilitate. He also had 3.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.4 steals as he helped keep the Bears among the upper echelon of teams in the country.
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 two wins in this Big 12 Tournament has only improved their odds. The Bearcats now have 20 wins this season but may still need 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 a Quad 1 win under their belt after beating Kansas, the door is not completely shut on UC’s tournament hopes.
Baylor
The last run of Baylor’s great guards transitioned out of the program last season and coach Scott Drew had to start over with a relatively new crew. Fortunately, two top freshmen joined the team — Ja’Kobe Walter and Yves Missi — along with RayJ Dennis and Jayden Nunn as transfers. As always, Drew figured it out. He trusted Walter and Missi to be starters early and they delivered. He kept Langston Love on the bench and it emerged as one of the league’s better sixth men and they missed him when they got hurt. Plus, forward Jalen Bridges had his best college season. Drew maxed out what he had, overcame a three-game losing streak — which included a three-overtime loss to TCU — and managed to claim a double-bye in the Big 12 Tournament. Is it enough to get a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament? We’ll see on Sunday.
Prediction
Baylor 71, Cincinnati 69. Their first meeting was close. This one will be closer. It will be Cincinnati’s third game in three days and Baylor is at full strength. This might be the end of the line for the Bearcats.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
