On Monday night in Manhattan, Kansas, two Big 12 teams clashed in an exciting matchup on CBS to kick off the Big 12 regular season.
Those two teams were 16th-ranked Cincinnati and Kansas State, who tipped off conference play with an incredible game that saw the Wildcats knock off Wes Miller’s group. K-State took home a 70-67 win to end their three-game losing streak and gave the Wildcats their first win over UC since the 1957-58 season.
With that said, here are three takeaways from the contest.
Hello Big 12!
To say that the first game of the Big 12 regular season did not disappoint would be an understatement at this point, as the Wildcats and Bearcats bounced back and forth possession after possession.
Cincinnati entered the matchup as a 3.5-point favorite on the road and was given a 74.1% chance of winning by ESPN’s matchup predictor. Kansas State didn’t get the message, as the Wildcats led for nearly the entirety of the game. The two teams went back and forth, trading big plays, defensive stands, deep threes, and everything in between.
If this is what’s in store for the 2024-25 Big 12 regular season, sign me up.
The Right Change
One necessary change that had a major impact in Monday night’s game was the addition of Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel into the starting lineup. McDaniel made his first start of the season and proved to be a difference-maker in the role.
The DC native posted a near season-high 17 points, alongside two rebounds and two assists. The starting lineup has been relatively fluid for Jerome Tang and company this fall as the fanbase witnessed multiple different combinations in terms of primary ball handlers. UIC transfer CJ Jones took the bulk of the starts through the first batch of games, followed by true freshman David Castillo, who recorded back-to-back starts against Drake and Wichita State.
Kansas State heads to Ft. Worth on Saturday, January 4th, to clash with TCU, a game where McDaniel is expected to continue his time among the starting five.
An Early Trend Forms
With the loss to Kansas State, Cincinnati drops to 10-2 overall. While the team has been really impressive to start the season, even in their loss to the Wildcats, the Bearcats have planted the seeds of a troubling statistic.
Cincinnati has hit the road four times through the first 12 games of the year, and in their three true road games against Power opponents, UC has fallen to 1-2. Their first loss of the season came on the road against Villanova, an eight-point loss in late November.
Now, in Manhattan, Cincinnati has dropped their second-straight road game.
The road ahead is a bit of a mixed bag for the Bearcats with a home game vs. Arizona, a preseason Top 10 team, followed by a road game in Waco vs. No. 25 Baylor. After that, Cincinnati clashes with one of the top-ranked Big 12 teams, No. 7 Kansas, at Fifth-Third Arena.
