What a statement from Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats!
On Saturday afternoon, Cincinnati walked into Allen Fieldhouse and stunned Kansas 84-68, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the day and maybe of the season.
Winning in Lawrence is insanely difficult for anyone. Doing it the way Cincinnati did makes it even crazier.
The Bearcats shot 12 of 31 from three, spacing the floor and making Kansas pay for every defensive lapse. It was not a fluky night where everything just happened to fall either; they found holes everywhere in Kansas’ defense and kept finding the bottom of the net on those attempts.
Moustapha Thiam led the charge with 28 points and eight rebounds, delivering his most complete performance of the year in one of the toughest environments in the country. Every time Kansas threatened to seize momentum, Thiam had an answer.
Then there was Baba Miller, who quietly stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. That line tells you everything about how Cincinnati played. Connected, unselfish, and confident.
That win marked their fourth straight win for a team that looked left for dead not long ago.
So the question naturally follows. Is it time to put Cincinnati back on Berth Watch?
The short answer is maybe, but the margin is thin.
A road win at Kansas moves the needle massively. The selection committee notices that, but the Bearcats still have work to do. They likely need to win out in the regular season to have a real at-large case without sweating Selection Sunday.
That is a tall, tall order in this league.
Still, this changes the conversation. Cincinnati just proved it can beat high-level competition away from home. Four in a row. A massive road win. A team playing its best basketball at the right time.
Berth Watch feels fair again.
