FINAL | UCF defeats Cincinnati Bearcats in OT, 66-65
KANSAS CITY, MO –For a second straight year, the Cincinnati Bearcats go out in the second round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 tournament as they fall short against UCF in overtime, March 11, 66-65.
It was UC’s first overtime game of the season.
The Bearcats held a 12-point lead of 49-37 in the second half and led 58-50 with 2:17 to go before a flurry of turnovers led to the Knights’ dramatic, improbable comeback.
The Bearcats had 19 turnovers, the same amout they had in their regular-season loss at TCU March 7. Many came down the stretch. Day Day Thomas got the Bearcats within a point and UC had a final shot from Jalen Celestine, but it was off and so were the Bearcats.
The Bearcats drop the “rubber game” of the series with UCF and drop to 18-15 on the season, the identical record they had a year ago at this point.
Moustapha Thiam had an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double in the loss and Thomas finished with15 points. Celestine finished with 11 and Keyshuan Tillery had 10 points off the bench. Baba Miller had just four free throws, zero baskets, but 12 rebounds.
UCF goes to 21-10 and a likely NCAA Tournament bid. It’s their first win since beating BYU in Provo Feb. 24.
UCF got 17 points and 15 rebounds from Jamichael Stillwell and Riley Kugel added 15.
:55.1 OT | TO Cincinnati Bearcats down 1 to UCF
UC ball with 15 seconds on shot clock.
1:30 and running OT | Day Day Thomas 3-ball gets UC within point
66-65 UCF. UC ball.
OVERTIME | Cincinnati Bearcats, UCF Knights tied at 58
A desperation trey by Day Day Thomas misses as UC goes to overtime for the first time all season. They lead 58-50 with 2:17 left.
:00.2 2H | Cincinnati Bearcats coach Wes Miller calls timeout with game tied 58-58
Clock reset to 0.8
1:11 2H | Consecutive turnovers lead UCF to get with 2 of Cincinnati Bearcats
UC ball after TO. UC was up eight and UCF goes on 6-0 run in 55 seconds.
2:16 2H | Jalen Celestine 3 opens Cincinnati Bearcats lead to 6
Now Day Day Thomas free throws make it 58-50. Stillwell answers for UCF and it’s 58-52 at 2:07. UC ball.
2:57 2H | UCF cuts Cincinnati Bearcats lead to 3
Riley Kugel drives to the basket and scores and is fouled by Moustapha Thiam. UC’s lead is 53-50 and Kugel gets a free throw. It’s a 6-0 UCF run in 1:12. UC has no field goals in 4:34
6:32 2H | Cincinnati Bearcats lead is 9 over UCF. Baba Miller on bench with 4 fouls
Foul on Day Day Thomas so UCF shoots bonus coming back. UC shooting just 36%, UCF just 28%. Knights back in board lead at 38-36.
10:10 2H | Jamichael Stillwell picks up 4th foul for UCF. UC leads Knights by 9
UC ball. Bearcats edge on boards 34-31. UC leads game 46-37
11:58 2H | Timeout with Cincinnati Bearcats leading UCF by 7
Foul on Jalen Celestine. He has two. Baba Miller on bench with three. Devan Cambridge three for UCF, Jamichael Stillwell has two and looks to have H-back potential if the basketball things doesn’t work out. UC leads boards 33-29.
13:22 2H | Jizzle James 3-pointer gives Cincinnati Bearcats 7-point lead over UCF
James now has six points, both on treys. UC has made 8-of-15 with Moustapha Thiam making all three of his moon balls.
14:50 2H | Baba Miller gets 3rd foul. Cincinnati Bearcats lead over UCF is 2 points
34-32. UC goes small with Tillery, Thomas and James.
15:26 2H | Timeout with Cincinnati Bearcats leading UCF by 3
It’s 34-31 after a Jordan Burks bucket by UCF. Thiam has his seventh double-double of the season and ninth of his career. Thiam has 16 points and 11 rebounds.
16:28 2H | Baba Miller finally scores, Cincinnati Bearcats lead UCF
It’s 31-29 UC after Miller hits a pair of free throws, his first points of the game. Thiam drains a 3-pointer and it’s 34-29.
HALFTIME | Cincinnati Bearcats lead UCF Knights 27-26
UC leads by one holding the Knights scoreless after Celestine missed the front end of the bonus. Moustapha Thiam leads UC with 11 points and seven rebounds. Keyshuan Tillery hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points. UC is 6-for-12 from the arc. Baba Miller didn’t play the final minutes of the half after being assessed a technical and giving him two fouls. Miller had four rebounds, but has not scored.
UCF center John Bol leads UCF with seven points. The Knights lead on the boards 24-22. UCF is just 2-for-11 on triples.
:35.8 1H | UC timeout before half. Bearcats lead UCF by 1
27-26 UC with 22 on shot clock.
2:36 1H | Cincinnati Bearcats give up lead, gain it back
A Jamichael Stillwell bucket with 4:11 to go put UCF up 22-21. A technical foul on Baba Miller led to that comeback. Miller on the bench with two fouls. UC comes back with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer from Thiam to go back up 24-22. UCF leads boards 20-19.
7:54 1H | Cincinnati Bearcats lead UCF by 6
John Bol just had a putback for UCF and was fouled. UC leads 20-14. UCF has taken a 16-13 lead on boards.
8:32 1H | Cincinnati Bearcats extend lead to 10 over UC behind Keyshuan Tillery
Tillery broke a 4:30 scoring drought with a 3-pointer and just sank another to put UC up 19-9.
11:38 1H | Cincinnati Bearcats lead at 4 over UCF
UC hasn’t scored in nearly four minutes, meantime UCF is on a 5-0 run after being down 11-2. Bearcats lead 11-7. UCF ball coming back. UC 4-for-13 from field, UCF 3-for-13. UC up on the boards 10-9. Very physical game so far and sitting up close, there’s plenty of things not being called.
15:53 1H | Cincinnati Bearcats up on UCF thanks to 3-ball
Moustapha Thiam, Jizzle James and Jalen Celestine have all hit triples for a 9-2 Bearcats lead. Foul on UCF’s John Bol and UC ball coming back. UC 3-for-7, all triples. UCF 1-for 6.
Cincinnati Bearcats, men in black
As the visiting team with the No. 9 seed against the No. 8 seed UCF. UC is wearing the away black unis.
Pregame injury report for Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF Knights
UCF is listing forward Jamichael Stillwell and reserve center Jeremy Foumena as “game time decisions”. I would expect, given the ramifications of the game, that it will be all hands on deck this afternoon.
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KANSAS CITY, MO – Survive and advance is the mantra of many men’s basketball teams in March and the Cincinnati Bearcats did just that in their opening win over Utah.
The No. 16 seed Utes led the Bearcats by as many as nine in the first half and crept back from a 15-point deficit to pull within four with a little over a minute left. UC was able to then double their amount of made free throws in the final minute to survive and advance, 73-66.
That gives the Bearcats the “rubber game” opportunity with UCF, as the two teams split their series during the regular season.
Buy Cincinnati Bearcats tickets
On Jan. 11, UCF was ranked No. 25, but needed a Themus Fulks floater to beat the Bearcats 73-72 after Baba Miller had briefly given UC a lead. On Feb. 8, just after UC had wasted a 14-point lead against West Virginia, forcing multiple Wes Miller apologies, the Bearcats drilled the Knights by 20, 92-72.
What if Cincinnati Bearcats fail to make NCAA tournament?
The next option would not be the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), but would involve a return appearance in the Crown Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas. The start date for the Crown is April 1, which is the day UC coach Wes Miller’s buyout drops to $4.69 million, should that be a decision-making factor.
Brian Thornton is a former Xavier Musketeer, but also is the Big 12’s Vice President for Basketball. Before answering a question on the Crown, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark deferred to Thornton.
“It will be our two highest NET teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament,” Thornton said. “It is a contractual obligation we have with one of our trusted partners. We look forward to our teams going and representing in Las Vegas at a very good tournament.”
Currently, the two highest NET teams would be UC and UCF.
Differences in Crown basketball tourney for 2026
Thornton pointed out the transfer portal opened last season at the start of the NCAA tournament. This year it doens’t open until the end of the tournament, which could allow more teams to have more available players. For instance, UCF lost eight players to the portal before playing UC in the Crown quarterfinal last season.
How to watch Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF Knights in Big 12 tournament
Tip: Tuesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. Central/3 p.m. Eastern, T-Mobile Center (18,972)
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WLW-AM (700)
Series: UC leads 18-7 (Bearcats won 92-72 at Fifth Third Arena Feb. 8)
How to watch Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF Knights in Big 12 tournament
Tip: Wednesday, March 11 at 2 p.m. Central/3 p.m. Eastern, T-Mobile Center (18,972)
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WLW-AM (700)
Series: UC leads 18-7 (UC won Feb. 8, 92-72 at Fifth Third Arena)
UCF Knights scouting report
Record: 20-10 (9-9 Big 12)
Coach: Johnny Dawkins, (10th year, 188-130, overall 344-245)
Offense: 82,2 ppg
Defense: 79 ppg
UCF Knights projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Jordan Burks (F, 6’9″, 13.3 ppg)
Themus Fulks (G, 6’2″, 14.4 ppg)
John Bol (C, 7’2″, 5.8 ppg)
Riley Kugel (G, 6’5″, 14.7 ppg)
Jamichael Stillwell (F, 6’8″, 11.6 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 18-14 (9-9 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (100-73, fifth season; 284-208 overall)
Offense: 73.4 ppg
Defense: 67.5 ppg
Cincinnati Bearcats projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 11.4 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 11,1 ppg)
Jalen Celestine (G/F. 6’7″, 8.5 ppg)
Baba Miller (F, 6’11”, 13.3ppg)
Moustapha Thiam (C, 7’2″, 12.6 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats, UCF Knights to watch
Riley Kugel tops UCF in scoring at nearly 15 points per game, followed by Themus Fulks at 14. Both guards shoot 40% from the 3-point arc. Fulks beat UC in Orlando, making a shot with 14 seconds remaining that held up for a 73-72 win.
For the Bearcats, Moustapha Thiam has played inspired in his previous two games against UCF as he played with the Knights last year. Thiam went 10-for-15 shooting in the first meeting with 24 points and added 15 points and seven rebounds in the second meeting.
Baba Miller had 17 points and 10 rebounds in UC”s win over the Knights and was 30 seconds away from having the game-winning shot in the first game in January. Both Thiam and Miller must eat vs. UCF as they did vs. Utah with dueling double-doubles.
Cincinnati Bearcats, UCF Knights rankings
KenPom.com: UC is No. 43, UCF is No. 53
NCAA.NET: UC is No. 46, UCF is No. 51
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF betting odds
Spread: UC -2.5 (via Draft Kings)
Over/under: 147.5
Money line: UC -155, UCF +130
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF prediction
This is the proverbial “rubber game,” and UC probably has more to play for as the Knights seem to have a better chance at an NCAA bid, win or lose. It would be hard to imagine the Bearcats getting a second look if they don’t down the Knights. Neither team will have a strong fan presence in Kansas City, so fans may “adopt” a team. Given the Bearcats knocked off Kansas and Kansas State this year, it might not be UC.
It’s an odd game as UC can score 90 ore more on UCF, having done it twice in the past two seasons. But, defensively, it might be better to play a disciplined game, particularly if your team is having trouble throwing to its own teammates. Bearcats need this and get it 82-76.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats basketball loses to UCF in Big 12 Tournament
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
