Big 12 basketball: What we learned from Cincinnati Bearcats upset of No. 15 Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas – Facing the No. 15 team in the country Saturday evening in the windy Great Plains, the Cincinnati Bearcats pulled off a dramatic conquest downing Texas Tech 75-72.

With 35 seconds left Tech's Pop Isaacs delivered a 3-pointer for the 13th lead change of the game and a 72-71 lead. Undeterred, Simas Luko?ius delivered what would be the game-winning bucket 14 seconds later for a 73-72 lead and 14th and final lead change. One defensive stop later, John Newman III was all alone for the icing on the cake dunk.

Luko?ius led UC with 16 points, Dan Skillings Jr. had 14, Newman 11 and Aziz Bandaogo had the 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Isaacs led Texas Tech with 22 points. The Red Raiders drop to 16-5 (5-3 in the Big 12). It was their first home loss of the season. UC is now 15-7 (4-5 Big 12).

The streak ends

Texas Tech was 11-0 at home. Their last loss on the Lubbock lumber was March 4, 2023 vs. Oklahoma State. In 2021-22, the Red Raiders went 18-0 at home.

5 takeaways from UC's Quadrant 1 win at Texas Tech

1. A tape session made the difference after disappointment in Morgantown

For the second game in a row, UC had a road lead with less than six minutes to play. They relinquished it twice but put it away this time. With No. 4 Houston in town next Saturday, consecutive blown road games might have been too much to overcome.

"We tried to get the guys together, show some film and address some things," Miller said. "It's obvious that our guys responded. We tried to address the things that we were unhappy with from Wednesday."

The Bearcats were perfect from the foul line for the first time all season (10-for-10) and outshot the Red Raiders from behind the arc 35% to 33%.

"10-for-10 from the free throw line is humongous," Miller said. "Aziz going 4-for-4 is a huge lift because he can shoot free throws well but he has not."

Also giving the Bearcats confidence was Newman III starting after not practicing for two days. His nearly 33 minutes of playing time was second only to Luko?ius, who was on the floor for 35-plus minutes.

2. Luko?ius gets his moment

Isaacs was a master at drawing fouls in this game and made a huge trey late similar to what RaeQuan Battle of West Virginia did Wednesday against UC. This time Luko?ius would be the hero, hitting a jumper with 21 seconds left.

"I can't say I was thinking of what happened in the previous game," Luko?ius said. "I knew the play call, I knew that I had the ball in my hands. Nothing really changed. If Pop hit the three or didn't, the play call was going to be the same. I knew we were down one so I was ready to make a play."

3. "Please refrain from throwing objects on the floor"

This was the request from the Texas Tech PA announcer after Bandaogo was awarded two free throws with UC leading 53-50. The 7-footer drained both as the crowd booed and some violated the request from the PA. United Supermarkets Arena drew 15,098 for the game, but the Bearcats delivered going right at the student-section goal in the second half.

"I've never been here before," Miller said. "I've heard this is an underrated place. That's understated. This is a very difficult place to play. Grant (Texas Tech coach McCasland) is doing as good a job as anyone in college basketball this year. I was blown away with this environment and this building."

4. Good Bandaogo is good for Bearcats

Bandaogo had his first double-figure scoring effort since the win at then-No. 12 BYU. His plus/minus figure was 12, meaning the Bearcats outscored the Red Raiders by a dozen in his nearly 27 minutes of playing time. His 10 points and 10 rebounds were his fourth double-double, something he did 17 times at Utah Valley last season.

Said Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland, "I thought Cincinnati was extremely physical. They kept putting pressure on us by rebounding the basketball. They ended up with eight blocked shots. We weren't good enough to win. They were. Give them a lot of credit."

5. Pop not stopped, but deterred

While Isaacs scored 22 points, nine came from the free-throw line often by deking a Bearcat into the air. He finished just 5-for-19 shooting and 3-for-9 from the arc.

"Pop Isaacs, whooaa!" Miller said. "He's about as good an offensive player I've seen on the perimeter in college basketball this year. He's a tough, tough cover. Our game plan was make things as difficult as possible. He's terrific at drawing fouls."

Miller credited Newman and Day Day Thomas for their defense on the slinging sophomore. Luko?ius said the plan was to be aggressive on McCasland's marksmen.

"That was a big emphasis for us from the coaching staff," Luko?ius said. "We did specific drills to do that in practice. It kind of worked out pretty well for us."

Next game

The Bearcats have until next Saturday, Feb. 10 to prepare for a 4 p.m. tip with No. 4 Houston at Fifth Third Arena. The Cougars lost at No. 8 Kansas Saturday 78-65.

Bearcat women make it a Red Raider sweep

Coach Katrina Merriweather's crew beat Texas Tech at Fifth Third Arena, 74-56 earlier Saturday. Jillian Hayes had a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Observations from UC Bearcats Big 12 basketball victory at Texas Tech