It’s the second year for the Cincinnati Bearcats women’s basketball team in the Big 12 and the second year under coach Katrina Merriweather.
The former four-year letterwinner and point guard returned before last season to take over a program that had eroded since her day. She had won 151 games as a head coach at Wright State and taken it two a pair of NCAA Tournaments. She left for Memphis and took the Tigers to a pair of WNIT bids.
With the Bearcats her first season was a mixed bag. Cincinnati went 14-18 but won a game in the Big 12 Tournament before losing to West Virginia. But, the Bearcats still got a WNIT bid even with the losing record and lost to Purdue Fort Wayne in the second round.
Cincinnati hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002. That was after Merriweather graduated, but she was a graduate assistant for that team. Now she wants her alma mater to take the next step.
Here’s a preview of the Cincinnati Bearcats’ upcoming season.
Odds
Vegas Insider did not give Cincinnati odds to win the national championship. The Big 12 coaches voted the Bears to finish 13th in the preseason poll.
Three Players to Watch
F Jillian Hayes: This team will be built around her and the Bearcat coaching staff probably threw a party when she opted to use her COVID waiver. She was Cincinnati’s leading scorer and rebounder last season (12.9 points, 8.4 rebounds). Expect more of the same this season.
G A’riel Jackson: She took a jump from her freshman to her sophomore season, as her scoring average went up five points and she poured in nearly 10 points per game in 2023-24. If she makes another jump like that, the Bearcats will be thrilled.
F Alliance Nbida: Junior college transfers tend to need nearly a year to acclimate to the Division I game. But, could the 6-3 forward flatten the curve? She put up impressive numbers at Arizona Western, averaging 14 points and 11.8 rebounds last season.
Biggest Strength
The Big Three. What’s what we’ll call Hayes, Jackson and guard Reagan Jackson for now. They were three of the Bearcats’ top four scorers last season (Jackson averaged 8.2 ppg). Combined the trio put up more than 30 points per game. That was close to half their offense last year (Cincinnati averaged 62 ppg). At least to start the season, Cincinnati will need these three players to bring it and bring it often.
Biggest Weakness
Proven depth. The Bearcats have several players that redshirted, didn’t play much or didn’t produce enough to help Cincinnati get over .500. The list includes guard Aïcha Dia, guard Abby Holtman, forward Brianna Byars, center Destiny Thomas, center Delaney Snyder and forward Ramiyah Byrd (redshirted). Some of these players are going to have to come up bigger than they did a season ago.
Season Prediction
It’s worth noting the continuity at the top of the depth chart. There aren’t many teams in the conference that return three of their top four scorers from last year. The Bearcats brought in three transfers with potential, with Ndiba being the one that could make the biggest impact. But there are a lot of questions marks around the program, enough to project 15-17 wins going into the Big 12 Tournament.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
