Cincinnati enters its first season of Big 12 play while Illinois-Chicago continues its rebuild when the Bearcats host the Flames in the season opener for both teams on Monday.
The Bearcats, under third-year coach Wes Miller, finished last season with a 23-13 record. They reached the NIT quarterfinals before getting eliminated by Utah Valley.
Their final season in the American Athletic Conference saw them post an 11-7 mark, just missing a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament when they fell in the league tournament semifinals to No. 1 seed Houston.
Miller will rely on wing John Newman III — who missed most of last season with a knee injury — and big men Ody Oguama and Viktor Lakhin for returning leadership. The Bearcats feature seven newcomers, including transfers Aziz Bandaogo, CJ Fredrick, Simas Lukosius and Jamille Reynolds. Freshmen Rayvon Griffith and Jizzle James figure to see playing time, along with junior college point guard Day Day Thomas.
“The one thing we do have is we have a really solid nucleus of returners that make it feel like it’s not just a brand-new team,” Miller said. “I mean, Ody and Vik and in particular, John Newman. … Those guys bring that continuity and that older leadership to a group so it doesn’t feel like you’re just trying to work with a new team completely.”
The Flames are coming off a 12-20 season, including a 4-16 mark in their inaugural season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Coach Luke Yaklich is entering his fourth season on the job.
UIC entered its first-ever MVC tournament as the No. 11 seed and lost to sixth-seeded Missouri State to end the 2022-23 campaign.
UIC features nine new players and seven returning players. The Flames are led by senior guard Toby Okani (11.0 points, 7.1 rebounds per game last season) and junior forward Filip Skobalj (7.7 ppg, team-high 61 3-pointers).
The Flames are also looking for contributions from graduate student guard Marquise Kennedy, a Chicago native who transferred from Loyola Chicago, and senior guard Isaiah Rivera, who arrived from Colorado State. Those two top a group of six transfers.
–Field Level Media
