Both Cincinnati and West Virginia carry three-game losing streaks into Sunday afternoon's tilt as the Mountaineers start the first of a two-game road swing against the Bearcats.
WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.
SERIES: Cincinnati leads 12-11
LAST MEETING: Mar. 12, 2024 in Kansas City —UC 90, WVU 85
TELEVISION: ESPN+ (Eric Rothman and Tim McCormick)
Tip-off: 2:00 PM ET
COACHES
Darian DeVries, West Virginia
13-7 (1st season at WVU), 163-62 (7th season overall)
Wes Miller, Cincinnati
75-51 (4th season at UC), 260-186 (14th season overall)
LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati enters Sunday's contest off a two-game road swing against BYU and Utah. The Bearcats lost both games, falling to BYU 80-52, and Utah, 69-66. The Bearcats missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation in the loss to Utah.
West Virginia enters Saturday off a 63-49 loss to Houston. The Mountaineers trailed by 20 at haltime but got within five points twice during the second half before the Cougars pulled away. WVU shot 4:for-18 from beyond the arc, as they went 47 percent from the field.
By The Numbers — Cincinnati (12-8, 2-7 Big 12)
Cincinnati comes into this game near the bottom of the Big 12 in scoring offense at 71.0 points per game. They are also shooting 44.8 percent from the field, which is 11th in the Big 12. Defensively, UC has the second-best scoring defense, holding opponents to 63.0 points per game, while opponents are shooting 40.5 percent from the field against UC.
From beyond the arc, Cincinnati has the second-worst 3-point offense, making 31.7 percent of their shots from distance. Defensively though, they are fifth in the Big 12 in 3-point defense. UC is 4th in the Big 12 in turnover margin.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Jizzle James, Dan Skillings, Simas Lukosius, Dillon Mitchell, and Aziz Banaogo, who have played 18.8 percent of the minutes together.
Lukosius leads Cincinnati with 12.2 points per game, and there are three other scorers on the Bearcats averaging at least 10.5 points per game. Mitchell leads UC in rebounding at 6.5 per game, while he also has 32 steals to lead them as well.
Cincinnati comes into the game ranked 48th in the NET and 56th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 2 game for Cincinnati.
By The Numbers — West Virginia (13-7, 4-5 Big 12)
West Virginia will look to get their offense going, as they have scored more than 57 points just twice in their last five games. That offense for the Mountaineers is scoring 70.1 points per game this season but has only averaged 61.0 points per game during Big 12 play.
The Mountaineers are shooting 42.5 percent from the field this season which is 13th in the Big 12. From beyond the arc, they are shooting 32.7 percent this year, which is 12th in the league.
Defensively, WVU is third in the league in scoring defense, and fifth in opponent field goal percentage. However, they are first in opponent 3-point percentage, at 28.9 percent this season.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Eduardo Andre. This lineup has been used 19.4 percent of the time.
WVU's leading scorer is Small, who leads the Big 12 in scoring as well, averaging 19.1 points per game this season. Small was held to a season-low in points against Houston earlier this week, finishing the game with eight points.
West Virginia is ranked 43rd in the NET, and 48th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for WVU.
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