Cincinnati Beats Xavier In Crosstown Shootout For The First Time In 5 Years 68-65

It’s been awhile, and Wes Miller’s Bearcats desperately needed a statement win against their rivals in Norwood, and finally…they pulled it out. Xavier vs Cincinnati started looking a lot like Kentucky-Louisville of late: very one sided. Cincinnati fans finally have reason to celebrate, this one belongs to them.

Musketeers Shoot Themselves In The Foot Down The Stretch

Xavier, even in their coach Sean Miller’s own words, “shot themselves in the foot and beat themselves,” X had a total of 14 turnovers on the game. The Bearcats took advantage of them, to say the least. Miller went onto say, “It’s hard to beat UC when you’re playing them and yourselves, the turnovers killed us. We’re a team that simply can’t finish right now.” Pretty harsh words from their coach.

The Nati | “Dad” hat – Black

$25.00

Color: Black

SKU: 66D3455055CC0_Black

A Brick House Was Built From Downtown

No, literally. Both teams shot putrid from behind the arc. Xavier was 6 for 19 from 3, and Cincinnati was 5 for 20. 3 of UC’s conversions came from the bench, whereas Xavier’s starting 5 provided most of the support with Conwell and Foster leading the way.

If you’re box score watching, both teams shot 37.9% from the field, so the game was very balanced for the most part. X shot 9 less free throws than Cincinnati did and took advantage of the charity stripe, 15-17 from the line. Cincinnati on the other hand, was 19-26.

Depth Won This Game For The Cats

Xavier’s lack of depth really showed today against the Bearcats in Fifth Third Arena, Sean Miller only played 8 guys through the whole 40 minutes of play. Wes Miller, on the other side, played 10, and got production from his bench, unlike Xavier. Miller’s Bearcats got 19 points off their bench to Xavier’s 9.

Zach Freemantle lead the way for the Musketeers in scoring 18, as Simas Lukosious lead the way for the Bearcats scoring 14. This duo was both very bad from 3. The Bearcats had 6 steals and converted on the offensive side. That won them the game. The Cincinnati Bearcats got a much needed win today and are looking like they have enough depth to make it far into March.