No. 11 Kansas hopes the adage that defense travels will hold true when the Jayhawks visit struggling Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon for a Big 12 showdown.
In Wednesday’s 74-55 conference win over Arizona State, the Jayhawks (11-3, 2-1) outscored the Sun Devils 38-13 in the second half.
“Defensively, that’s about as turned up as I’ve seen a team for an entire half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I was trying to get the message across of how we were gonna win this game. And then the guys came out and just competed in the second half.”
Kansas is led by All-America center Hunter Dickinson, who averages 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Zeke Mayo adds 14.6 ppg and Dajuan Harris Jr. is the third and final player in double figures in scoring at 10.3.
The Bearcats (10-4, 0-3) enter Saturday’s contest reeling from a three-game losing streak that has seen them fall from a No. 16 national ranking to out of the AP Top 25.
In its latest loss, Cincinnati was blown out 68-48 at Baylor on Tuesday.
“Going into the year, you know you’re going to hit tough stretches — that is part of this,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “It doesn’t make it fun, but it’s part of it. You’re going to hit a tough stretch in this league. Everybody in this league is going to hit that. It’s part of college basketball. It’s part of high-level competition.
“Going into the year, I (thought), when we do, we’re going to be OK because of who I have in the locker room.”
The Bearcats were led Tuesday by Dan Skillings Jr., who had 18 points and five 3-pointers in 30 minutes of action. Skillings has scored 18 points in all three Big 12 games this season, including losses to Kansas State and Arizona.
Cincinnati had only one other scorer in double figures against Baylor: Aziz Bandaogo with 11 points in 30 minutes.
The combination of Simas Lukosius and Jizzle James scored only 10 points, going 4-for-18 from the field.
Cincinnati is led this season by Skillings, who averages 13.1 points a game, Lukosius (13.0), James (11.1) and Dillon Mitchell (10.9). That foursome combined for just 28 points in the season-low 48-point output against Baylor.
The trip to and from Waco, Texas, for that game was a nightmare for the Bearcats. Cincinnati didn’t arrive in town until early Tuesday morning, and the team had to sit on the tarmac for the return flight, only to be sent back to the hotel because a new plane had to be found.
Miller complimented his team while acknowledging there will be challenges.
“This team has the right stuff, the right internal stuff and the right internal fortitude,” Miller said. “We’ll figure it out. It’s what you live for as a competitor. Nobody wants to lose three games in a row and start in league 0-3. But you want to do great things, right? You want to build a great program. You want to build sustainable success, championship-level play. We don’t get there the easy way, like nothing comes that easy.”
–Field Level Media
