LAWRENCE, KS –The Cincinnati Bearcats have run through the wheat fields of Kansas like the storm that sent Dorothy off to see the Wizard.
Ten days after winning in Manhattan, leading to the firing of Jerome Tang at Kansas State, the Bearcats took down the storied Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse 84-68 Saturday, Feb. 21.
The victory was the Bearcats’ fourth straight, following wins over UCF, at Kansas State and Utah.
UC, which has struggled finishing games, finished enough to send many of the 15,300 in attendance at Phog Allen Fieldhouse to the parking lot in disgust in the final minutes, less than two hours after they had done the traditional “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” chant.
There were nine lead changes in the first half and 12 in the game, but UC led for the final 16 minutes and 33 seconds. Darryn Peterson put Kansas up briefly, 40-39 at 17:22, then Moustapha Thiam answered less than a minute later and UC went up by one, eventually leading by as many as 19.
“This is a great moment for our program and I feel an incredible amount of joy for our players,” UC head coach Wes Miller said. “It has not been easy for us all year. We’ve been dealing with a lot of personnel stuff, illnesses, and sickness. To win a game in a place like this against a team like this, I feel a ton of joy for our players that they get to feel that reward.”
On his birthday, sophomore center Thiam led the Bearcats with 28 points and eight rebounds. Three other Bearcats were in double figures with Baba Miller adding 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, Jalen Celestine 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Day Day Thomas 10 points.
It was the worst loss for Kansas since they fell at Iowa State by 18 on Valentine’s Day. It’s their second loss at home, as Connecticut beat them 61-56 Dec. 2. Under Bill Self, it’s the third-worst loss at Allen Fieldhouse, behind TCU’s 23-point win in 2023 and Kentucky’s 18-point win in 2022.
UC is unranked and ESPN research shows that it was Kansas’ largest such loss since a 24-point defeat to Iowa State in 1973. Thus, the Bearcats snapped the Jayhawks’ 425-game streak of not losing in double digits to unranked teams.
“We played an NCAA tournament team today,” Self said.
The Jayhawks were ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press and No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll.
Did Kansas look past UC Bearcats?
Self didn’t concur with one reporter’s opinion when the term “overlook” was mentioned.
“I’m not going to buy that ****,” he said. “Respecting opponents more!? Maybe coming out with the same energy you have against Arizona and other people would equal respect, but don’t make something out of nothing. No team is on point and at a 10 in every game, regardless if you’re playing home or away. The bottom line is we didn’t bring it as a unit when they’re good.”
It’s UC’s first win in Lawrence since Dec. 15, 1962, when Ed Jucker was still at the helm, trying to win a third straight national championship.
The upset gives UC a 6-5 lead in the all-time series and puts the Wes Miller/Bill Self era of the series even at two. UC’s most recent win over Kansas came in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City in 2024.
The Bearcats improve to 15-12 (7-7 Big 12) as they turn around and tangle with a tough Texas Tech team Tuesday.
“It’s a big-time win, and that says a lot about Kansas and Coach Self,” Miller said, wet from a locker room celebration. “My biggest concern now is we can’t enjoy it too much because the Big 12 doesn’t stop and we’ve got another one here in a couple days.”
Kansas drops to 20-7 (10-4 Big 12) and hosts No. 2 Houston Monday. The Cougars just lost to No. 4 Arizona 73-66. Flory Bidunga led Kansas with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Top frosh Darryn Peterson had 17 points.
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Takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats at No. 8/No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks
UC Bearcats halftime lead luck
The Bearcats led Kansas 36-34, with the Jayhawks being down at the break for the first time since they knocked off No. 1 Arizona on Feb. 9.
UC took a late first-half lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Thiam and Celestine with under two minutes to play. Peterson came back to tie for Kansas, but another Thiam bucket put the Bearcats up 36-34 with 46 seconds to go in the period. UC would have a final shot, but a Jizzle James driving lay-up missed.
After winning the first half by two, the Bearcats won the second half by 14 to send the Jayhawks into a brief tailspin as they await to play No. 2 Houston. The Cougars had their hands full Saturday with No. 4 Arizona.
The Bearcats are now 14-3 when leading at the break, with the only losses being to Louisville, Houston and West Virginia. UC has won 84 of 104 games under Wes Miller when leading at intermission.
Moustapha Thiam Bearcat birthday
Saturday was the 20th birthday for UC’s 7-foot-2 center, who began playing basketball at age 14. He came out with great confidence against the Jayhawks, making 5-of-10 shots for 11 points with five rebounds in the first half. He finished with 28 points, a career-high.
“This was definitely my best birthday,” Thiam said. “Thank you to my teammates and the staff and everybody. We came out focused, trying to get the win and we got it.”
Thiam shot more than any other Bearcat, going 11-of-17.
UC’s Thiam vs. Flory Bidunga of Kansas
UC recruited Bidung heavily and he didn’t miss a shot until late in the first half. He finished 8-of-10 but also had four turnovers. UC beat Kansas in points off turnovers 15-3.
“He’s a terrific player,” Thiam said of Bidunga. “I’ve been playing against him since I was in high school. When I come out, it doesn’t matter what big man I’m going against. I just approach it like every game and try to compete and get the win.”
Said Self, “It didn’t make any difference who we put on Thiam or Miller. Flory can’t guard them both. Someone else is going to have to guard the other guy, and we didn’t do that very well at all.”
UC Bearcats dominate on the boards
UC had a commanding 20-14 rebounding lead at halftime, even though team leader Baba Miller had just one. They are now 10-6 when outrebounding their opponent. UC was dominant on the glass 40-29.
“We haven’t been at our best the last couple weeks on the backboards,” Miller said. “We had a bye week, which was much needed. Rebounding was the emphasis.”
Cincinnati Bearcats 8-man rotation
Wes Miller said he addressed the playing time in the locker room.
“It was addressing the combinations, in this building, it can get away from you,” Miller said. “Some of the decisions weren’t normal rotational decisions. Everybody wanted to do whatever they could do win. I didn’t play Halvine (Dzellat), I limited Tyler’s (McKinley) minutes. Jizzle doesn’t go back in with four fouls. Buck’s (Sencire Harris) weren’t quite as extended. I thought the guys just had the right mentality as a group.”
UC’s Keyshuan Tillery with extended minutes
James went out with 13:30 to play with his fourth foul and Tillery played the rest of the way, ending up with UC’s best plus/minus total (21) of the game. The freshman finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists.
“We didn’t bring Jizzle back because he (Tillery) was playing so well,” Miller said.
Tracking Darryn Peterson’s Kansas minutes
Peterson, who has periodically and mysteriously sat at times for Kansas, played 32 minutes, but it didn’t change the result. Peterson finished with 17 points but went just 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 schedule
UC next heads to Lubbock as its most difficult road stretch of the season continues. Texas Tech was ranked No. 13 in the most recent polls. The Red Raiders ran away on their home floor with Kansas State 100-72 Feb. 21.
The Red Raiders are without 6-foot-9, 230-pound JT Toppin, who had been averaging 21 points and close to 11 rebounds per game. Toppin tore his ACL last Tuesday, Feb. 15 in an upset loss at Arizona State. Texas Tech had just knocked off then-No. 1 Arizona in Tucson in their previous game.
UC/BYU tip-off changed for Senior Night
Senior Night for the Cincinnati Bearcats against BYU on March 3 has been switched from a 7 p.m. tip-off to a 9 p.m. start by ESPN and the Big 12. The game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2, to be determined later.
Cincinnati Bearcats women’s hoops
The UC women celebrated Senior Day with a 73-60 win over UCF at Fifth Third Arena Saturday. Mya Perry led four players scoring in double figures with 15 points.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats basketball stuns No. 8 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
