Cincinnati will look to overcome one of its most disappointing losses in recent memory when it hosts Tarleton State on Monday night.
Cincinnati (5-2) was beaten on its home field the day before Thanksgiving by Eastern Michigan, 64-56. The Bearcats trailed by 13 points at halftime and never led as heavy favorites against the Eagles, who lost by 41 two nights earlier at Louisville.
Cincinnati couldn’t find a way to deal with two major injuries. Big star Baba Miller missed the last two games with a hip injury while guard Jalen Celestine (lower body) was unable to play against Eastern Michigan, significantly affecting guard rotations and forcing head coach Wes Miller to use untested combinations.
These combinations resulted in a disjointed attack against Eastern Michigan. Monday’s game gives the Bearcats another opportunity to iron out their issues before Friday night’s cross-town rivalry game against Xavier.
“I’m very disappointed,” Miller said. “Adversity didn’t hit the way we wanted, but now we have to handle it the right way. That means we can’t accept it, we have to learn from it and we have to become a better team because of it. That will be our approach going forward.”
With Miller out, point guard Day Day Thomas leads the Bearcats with 13 points per game while Shon Abaev scores at an 11.7 clip. Moustapha Thiam averages 11.3 points.
As Cincinnati tries to forget its last game, Tarleton State (5-3) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit by outscoring Division II Midwestern State 42-21 in the second half, en route to a 67-57 victory Friday for its third straight victory.
The Texans won without two of their top three scorers, with Dior Johnson and Chris Mpaka not dressing. Johnson has come off the bench in all seven games he has played, averaging 23.6 points per game, while Mpaka is averaging 10.0 points in seven games.
Jordan Mizell led the Texans in scoring for the first time this season with a game-high 14 points while adding a team-best five steals.
–Field level media
