Scouting report: Cincinnati Bearcats basketball faces West Virginia on Senior Day

Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball will say goodbye to a pair of grad student players, then attempt to keep any postseason hopes on life support as they face West Virginia.

On Tuesday, UC spent the day on the edge of bubble teams then allowed another big lead to dissipate in a 74-71 loss at Oklahoma.

The Bearcats still have respectable NCAA NET and KenPom.com rankings but can't squander another game to West Virginia, which sits last in the Big 12. In Morgantown Jan. 31, the Bearcats couldn't hold a 10-point lead with 6:19 to go, losing 69-65.

That puts the Bearcats among the four Big 12 victims of the Mountaineers and they're all respectable teams. WVU also took down Kansas when the Jayhawks were No. 3 and then-No. 25 Texas, as well as UCF. They've been a different story on the road at 0-8.

Playing in their final regular home games are John Newman III and Ody Oguama. Both have been with Wes Miller for his first three seasons. Walk-ons Chase Kirkwood and Landen Long will also be recognized.

John Newman III

Newman transferred to UNC-Greensboro from Clemson, then followed Miller to Cincinnati. From Greensboro, he has known Miller since he was a seventh-grader. He has started all but two games for the Bearcats when healthy the past two seasons.

This season, he's been a constant with his best game being 20 points vs. TCU in the overtime win. In the UC win over Texas Tech, Newman overcame a rib injury to score 11 points and held Red Raiders marksman Pop Isaacs to a 5-for-19 shooting day.

Ody Oguama

Oguama recently became the third men's basketball player to win the Jean Stephens Memorial academic award and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Oguama was a reserve his first season, then moved to the starting lineup in January 2023. Among his standout games last year were 18 points on 9-of-9 shooting against USF and a 16-point, 13-rebound effort at Tulane in a game where Viktor Lakhin was injured.

This season, when transfers Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds became eligible, Oguama went into a reserve role.

3 keys to sending out Newman, Oguama with a W

1. Stop Jesse Edwards

The Mountaineers center had a bum hand in the last game in Morgantown and still hammered the Bearcats for 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. He was only 3-for-9 on free throws, but it didn't matter. With Viktor Lakhin more than likely out with an ankle injury, having a constant body on Edwards will be crucial. Edwards had 36 points and 13 rebounds in their Wednesday loss to TCU.

2. DON'T FOUL 3-POINT SHOOTERS!

The Bearcats fouled Oklahoma on 3-point attempts four times Tuesday which resulted in the Sooners going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. The Sooners' strategy was planned.

"They were trailing you really hard," Oklahoma's Le'Tre Darthard said. "It's either you shoot it, you let us shoot or you're going to foul us, one of the two."

Said Rivaldo Soares, "Just knowing that they play you hard on defense. It was an emphasis, especially for Le'Tre coming off the screens. If a guy is trailing you and he's flying, stop on a dime and rise up. He can't run into you."

If the whistles continue the recent two-game trend (59 free throws to 17) something must change. The Mountaineers shoot roughly 34% from 3-point range, so not fouling would give you a 66% chance of no points as opposed to sending a shooter to the free throw line repeatedly.

3. Take a lesson from Oklahoma

The Sooners were on the verge of losing their Senior Night and their last home game in the Big 12. Their top scorer, Javian McCollum was injured. With 1:30 left, UC had an 81.2% probability of winning according to ESPN projections.

Out of respect for Newman and Oguama and to give Kirkwood and Long game time, the Bearcats need to do what they haven't yet done at home in the Big 12: win decisively.

Cincinnati vs. West Virginia

Tip: Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m. (Fifth Third Arena 12,0112)

TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW

Series: WVU leads 11-10

West Virginia Mountaineers scouting report

Record: 9-21 (4-13 Big 12)

Coach: Josh Eilert (interim, first season, 9-21)

Offense: 69.8 ppg

Defense: 75.9 ppg

Projected lineup

(Position, Heights, Stats)

Jesse Edwards (C, 6'11", 15.3 ppg)

RaeQuan Battle (G, 6'5", 16.6 ppg)

Kerr Kriisa (G, 6'3", 11.2 ppg)

Quinn Slazinski (F, 6'9", 12.4 ppg)

Akok Akok (F, 6'10", 3.1 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 17-13 (6-11 Big 12)

Coach: Wes Miller (third season, 58-41)

Offense: 74.2 ppg

Defense: 68.2 ppg

Projected lineup

Ody Oguama (F, 6'9", 2.6 ppg)

Day Day Thomas (G. 6', 10.3 ppg)

Simas Luko?ius (G, 6'8", 10.1 ppg)

John Newman III (F, 6'5", 9.5 ppg)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 7.1 ppg)

Players to watch

In addition to Jesse Edwards, RaeQuan Battle is West Virginia's top scorer. He gave WVU the lead for good in the last meeting with a back-breaking 3-pointer.

It's a guess that Oguama would start on Senior Day and it would seem that Dan Skillings Jr. would be best served coming off the bench in this instance. Either way, he toughed through his hip injury and almost pulled off a double-double in Oklahoma with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Rankings

NCAA NET: UC is No. 45, West Virginia is No. 147

KenPom.com: UC is No. 44, West Virginia is No. 134

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 3 keys for UC Bearcat basketball to get a Senior Day win over WVU