5. Cincinnati (9-1)
Recent history has been unkind to Cincinnati basketball ever since Mick Cronin left the program in 2019. After nine straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats haven’t been back since his departure but look like they have the team that can get over that hump this season. A talented, experienced roster has looked great for this year and finds themselves in the national rankings.
That talented lineup is led by senior guard Simas Lukosius, who’s putting up more than 16 points and has made 48% of his 3-pointers. Sophomore Jizzle James is another big name in this lineup, putting together a fantastic second year with the Bearcats while dropping 5.1 assists per night. There’s strength in the frontcourt too, including 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo and former Texas forward Dillon Mitchell, a pair of productive bigs who have been around for a few years.
Despite the improvement and the potential, Cincinnati’s schedule has been pretty awful. The good news is that they’ve taken care of business and won a pair of games on the road along the way. Unfortunately, their loss came in a tough road performance at a Villanova team that’s been struggling, though they’ve avoided any kind of real upset. One week after beating Xavier, they got an even better win over a ranked Dayton squad on Friday night.
These Bearcats rebound and block shots and really get the job done on the defensive end. The loss to Villanova saw the Wildcats score 68 points, the largest total that Cincinnati has allowed this season. Obviously that defense will see significant challenge in Big 12 play and likely relent in the coming months, but they have the pure talent to win important games in this league, it’s all about if some iffy shooting doesn’t let them down.