The Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team has gotten off to a fast start this season in more ways than one.
The No. 16 Bearcats have raced to a 5-0 record while outscoring their opponents by more than 31 points per game, with just one team (Northern Kentucky) coming within 16 points. Cincinnati is averaging a robust 87 points per game with one of the more efficient offenses in college basketball.
Cincinnati will look to continue that hot streak when it plays host to Alabama State in nonconference action Wednesday evening.
Cincinnati has punished opposing defenses in a variety of ways this season. Despite being the No. 14 offense in the nation in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings, the Bearcats aren’t among the nation’s leaders in pace.
Still, they take advantage of those opportunities when they are there.
“Us playing fast is something we want to do,” Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell said. “When I was being recruited here, that was something Coach (Wes) Miller wanted to do.
“There could be games where we’re not making shots or something is off, but one thing is we’re gonna push the ball, play hard and play fast. That’s something he preaches. We’ll be in shape and get rebounds.”
Mitchell is fresh off a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Cincinnati’s 81-58 road win at Georgia Tech Saturday. He is one of four Bearcats to average double figures in scoring this season.
That balance was on display once again against the Yellow Jackets, with Connor Hickman and Jizzle James also scoring 14 points each and Simas Lukosius contributing 12 points.
In that game, Cincinnati sank 51.6 percent of its shots while regularly getting out into transition with 16 fastbreak points, while winning the rebounding battle 36-29.
“Any time you get a road win over a quality, Power 4 team, you’re gonna feel good about it,” Miller said. “I was pleased with our effort.”
Lukosius is scoring 16.6 points per game, while James is at 14.0 points, followed by Mitchell at 12.4, while he also grabs a team-best 8.6 rebounds.
Alabama State (3-3) has a tough task ahead, especially when considering its 97-78 loss at Akron Sunday, which ended a three-game winning streak. The Hornets allowed the Zips to shoot 46.4 percent from the field and were 53-32 in the rebounding battle.
Alabama State gave up a season high in points, after playing the likes of LSU and UNLV earlier this season.
Akron standout Nate Johnson lit up Alabama State for 25 points, as the game got away from the Hornets in the second half to keep them winless in true road games.
Alabama leading scorers CJ Hines and TJ Madlock still got theirs against Akron, scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively. They were joined in double figures by reserve Tyler Mack (18 points), but recent history says they’ll need more help to keep up with the Bearcats.
Hines leads the Hornets with 15.7 points per game, while Madlock contributes 14.5 points.
In previous Akron Basketball Classic wins last week against Omaha and Lamar, Alabama State featured at least four double-digit scorers in each game.
