Cincinnati Bearcats
21-22 Record: 18-15
Conference Record: 7-11 (AAC)
Last Year’s Stats:
Scoring: 69.4
Scoring Defense: 65.9
Rebounding Margin: -0.3
Turnover Margin: +2.0
Assists: 13.1
Shooting Percentage: 40.4
3-pt Percentage: 31.5
Free Throw Percentage: 66.9
What To Look Out For:
Key returners look to lead the charge
Cincinnati returns a nice array of talent from last year, especially at the guard position. Sr. David DeJulius is one that looks to lead the charge offensively, as he is coming off a season in which he averaged nearly 15 points per game and scored 20 or more points in 10 games last year. He should be a name that you frequently hear again in the AAC. But the Bearcats will also have starters like John Newman, who is a key versatile player that has plenty of experience, Mike Adams-Woods, a junior that made progress with his game last year and averaged nearly nine points per game, and finally Jeremiah Davenport, who is a junior prospect that can really stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting. All four were starters last year and should be some of the leaders with his group.
Adding more firepower
The Bearcats struggled at times offensively scoring points and ended the season averaging under 70 points per game. But, with the starters returning from last year, Cincinnati could be much better offensively with a few key guys now joining the program. The one prize that Cincinnati earned was Sr. Landers Nolley, who is a 6’7 prospect that was a key player for Memphis and Virginia Tech in the past and has plenty of experience (a 1,000-point scorer). They also added 6’8 forward Kalu Ezikpe from Old Dominion, who comes in racking up over 900 points and 600 rebounds; he should be able to help as well. Cincinnati would love to see and showcase an improved offensive gameplan and they have the players to do just that, as well as continue to be strong on the defensive end.
Needing the frontcourt to make their presence known
When you look at the roster for Cincinnati, they have plenty of weapons at the guard position but what will the frontcourt look like for the Bearcats' Ezikpe is one that should help and brings production to the table along with experience, but they will need players like Jr. Ody Oguama to continue to elevate his play and So. Vikor Lakhin to continue to use his 6’11 frame to help on the boards and make strides in being a presence in the paint. The Bearcats will also have 7’1 Fr. Sage Tolentine and So. Jarrett Hensley that can help provide depth if needed but Cincinnati’s frontcourt could be an interesting area to watch this year.