Not too long ago Cincinnati was a regular NCAA Tournament team, making nine straight trips to the Big Dance in the 2010’s under Mick Cronin. Times have changed for the Bearcats in recent years, including their recent transition into the Big 12, and the work hasn’t been easy for Wes Miller picking up the pieces and trying to build a successful program again.
Despite heightened expectations last season, Cincinnati once again missed the NCAA Tournament and hasn’t danced since 2019. Miller’s fourth year resulted in a 19-16 record, with a disappointing tie for 12th place in the Big 12. Cincinnati had a strong defense but were overmatched several times in league play and settled for an invite to the Crown, coming just short of a third-straight 20-win season.
Miller built that team with talent and experience and was left assembling new pieces again in the offseason. Players like Aziz Bandaogo and Simas Lukosius ran out of eligibility while a few others like Dillon Mitchell left via the transfer portal. The Bearcats were dealt a rough blow late in the offseason when Jizzle James was removed from the program after being last season’s leading scorer as a sophomore.
Last season, Cincinnati returned a ton of talent and added some good pieces from the transfer portal but still underwhelmed. The expectations aren’t quite as high heading into what’s likely an important year for Miller and his staff, but that doesn’t mean this program is doomed by any means. We’ll look closely at the returning figures and the new pieces, take a peek at the upcoming schedule, and wonder if this team can be the one to break that NCAA Tournament drought.
Projected Starters
Guard – Kerr Kriisa (Senior)
Suddenly at his fourth school in four years, Kriisa starred at Arizona before limited action as a starter at West Virginia before he was limited with Kentucky last year. In his most recent full season, Kriisa averaged 11.0 points and 4.7 assists per game with the Mountaineers and previously led the Pac-12 in assists with the Wildcats. When fully healthy, he’s a dynamic offensive weapon who can knock down long range shots and put this offense in a great position for success.
Guard – Day Day Thomas (Senior)
A former JUCO star, Thomas enters his third season with the Bearcats, sliding back into a major role in the backcourt. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game last season, but played his best ball in the back half of the year. Expect another standout season from the 6-0 guard who hit 40% of his 3-pointers and was an above average facilitator last year.
Forward – Jalen Haynes (Senior)
Another well-traveled transfer, Haynes was a bench piece at Virginia Tech, a frontcourt menace at East Tennessee State, and is coming off a fantastic year with George Mason. Haynes put up 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game with the Patriots, making 57% of his 2-point attempts while notching First Team All-A-10 honors. Unfortunately, a recent lower body injury likely will keep him out to begin the season, though he could be an important weapon when fully healthy again.
Forward – Baba Miller (Senior)
Yet another major addition from the transfer portal, Miller comes Cincinnati’s way after impressive work at both Florida State and Florida Atlantic in recent years. The former ACC starter was phenomenal with the Owls last year, averaging 11.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in his lone season in Boca Raton. He was named Second Team All-AAC and is a reliable scorer and rebounder and has great size at 6-11 as well.
Center – Moustapha Thiam (Sophomore)
Cincinnati grabbed quite a transfer haul again but Thiam is the best of the bunch. He’s a 7-2 center out of Senegal who starred as a freshman down at UCF, putting up 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks a game. He’s a decent shot maker who can actually hit 3-pointers while also already becoming one of the nation’s best shot blockers as a freshman. Thiam spent last year in the Big 12 and isn’t facing some major adjustment, though the Bearcats hope a major step forward is coming in year two.
Key Reserves
Guard – Sencire Harris (Junior)
A Top 100 recruit who didn’t quite finding his footing at Illinois, Harris sat out a year before becoming a starting guard for West Virginia last season. Harris averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, though he wasn’t exactly known for his shot making. Now he slides into a key role as a reserve for the Bearcats, providing a strong backcourt presence off the bench, especially if he can become a more efficient scorer.
Guard – Keyshaun Tillery (Freshman)
Tillery is a 6-1 point guard out of New Hampshire and is a 4-star recruit. A dynamic addition to the backcourt, he’s a feisty athlete with impressive ball handling skills and competitiveness. Expect Tillery to grow into a role as a top-level facilitator who can also score in bunches and become a leader for this program if he stays multiple seasons.
Guard – Shon Abaev (Freshman)
The key freshman addition for the Bearcats is Abaev, a 6-8 wing out of Fort Lauderdale who is widely considered a Top 25 prospect. What he brings to Cincinnati is largely on the offensive end, as Abaev rates as one of the best young scorers in the nation. If he can quickly adjust to the collegiate level, Abaev can become a force in this rotation and perhaps be in the starting lineup by season’s end.
Forward – Tyler McKinley (Freshman)
McKinley is a 6-9 forward who joined the Bearcats last season, but an injury forced him to take a redshirt year instead. Now back on the court, McKinley adds strength and versatility to the frontcourt, with solid rebounding ability and a big opportunity on this Bearcats team that doesn’t have a ton of other reliable options off the bench.
Guard – Jalen Celestine (Senior)
Celestine played parts of four seasons at California, with limitations due to injuries, before landing at Baylor last season. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds largely coming off the bench of the Bears, with decent shooting numbers and great potential. The native New York joins the Bearcats for his final collegiate campaign and not just provides depth but could be in line for a major role early with Haynes’ injury.
Schedule Outlook
There’s no big holiday tournament or major drama early on the schedule for the Bearcats, who actually won’t leave Cincinnati at all during the month of November. They open with winnable games against Western Carolina and Georgia State before a more notable clash against Dayton on November 11 in the Twyman-Stokes Classic. They’ll play host to Louisville a few weeks later as part of The Hoops Classic in what could be a very interesting matchup on November 21st.
Plenty of attention will be cast on the Crosstown Shootout, as they’ll head to Xavier on December 5th. Their first trip out of state comes a week later down to Atlanta, facing Georgia in Holiday Hoopsgiving. The last major test before Big 12 play begins comes on December 21st, as Cincinnati plays the Greenville Winter Invitational against Clemson.
Cincinnati are played zero favors early in league play, getting their first of two looks at Houston to kickstart the conference schedule on January 3rd. The Bearcats play UCF and West Virginia twice and have a few other tough breaks. Their matchups with Arizona, Kansas, and Texas Tech all come on the road, though they host BYU right at the beginning of March before ending the regular season at TCU on March 7.
Season Outlook
When last season began, Cincinnati had expectations of at least reaching the NCAA Tournament but those dreams did not come to fruition. The Bearcats haven’t spent these months panicking, even with James’ departure and other significant losses. Instead, Miller and his staff strapped in and grabbed more notable talent from the transfer portal to build a competitive starting lineup.
Since we’re talking transfers, it’s fair to start with Thiam, the brilliant 7-footer who instantly becomes the anchor in Cincinnati’s defense. We saw great potential out of him in the UCF lineup last year, leaving Miller and his staff hopefully that he can turn into one of the Big 12’s best frontcourt pieces in the near future.
Thiam is far from the only notable addition, as the Bearcats get veteran talent in the forms of Kriisa and Miller among others. Kriisa has demonstrated proficiency running an offense and if he can stay healthy he might be the catalyst of a successful bounce back season in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Miller becomes extremely important as a producer in that frontcourt, especially if Haynes misses significant time this season.
We can’t forget the contributions that Thomas will bring and has continued to bring to the Bearcats. There really isn’t a lot of returning talent from last season, meaning Miller is really going to depend on his senior point guard to take charge with all these moving pieces. Behind him on the depth chart, it really is worth watching to see both Abaev and Tillery and what kind of impact they can have early in their collegiate careers.
When looking at the big picture with this Cincinnati team it’s hard to know just what to expect. They’ll likely fall short of those top tiers in the Big 12 standings again, but if everything comes together and this team stays healthy, breaking that NCAA Tournament barrier seems possible. The Bearcats just need brilliance from newcomers like Kriisa and Thiam and for someone off that bench to really step up in league play.