The Kansas Jayhawks visited the Armory Fieldhouse just a few months after The Beatles appeared at Cincinnati Gardens in 1964. Then-coach Tay Baker’s squad beat them 76-72, which would be the last UC win in the series until last year’s Big 12 tournament.

After falling short at Allen Fieldhouse in January 2024, 74-69 UC beat the Jayhawks 72-52 last March 13 in Kansas City, just 47 miles from their home. To be fair, Kansas played without Big 12 First Team players Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr., but the game was in front of over 18,000 at the T-Mobile Center pulling for the Jayhawks.

Kansas coach Bill Self was none too pleased about exiting a tournament his team had owned for years. Now, Kansas is again a highly-ranked team with 7-foot-2 Dickinson back as they come to Cincinnati for the first time in over 60 years Saturday.

Saturday a tall order for Cincinnati Bearcats

This Kansas team has only lost three times. Wednesday, they came from behind against Arizona State at halftime to win by 19, 74-55. The Jayhawks fell against Quad 1 opponents in Missouri, Creighton and had a one-point home loss to West Virginia. The Bearcats and Jayhawks share one common opponent: Howard. Kansas began their regular season beating the Bison by 30, while UC beat them by 17 in early December.

The Bearcats are coming off their worst game of the season, a 68-48 thrashing at Baylor Tuesday in Waco. UC will look to bounce back with a sellout crowd at Fifth Third Arena.

“You know you’re going to hit tough stretches, that is part of this,” UC coach Wes Miller said of the 0-3 Big 12 start. “That doesn’t make it fun. It’s part of college basketball, it’s part of high-level competition. Going into the year, I went, ‘When we do, we’re going to be OK because of who we have in the locker room’. I’ve got high-character guys that are bought into this place and our program and they want to win.”

A boost from UC AD John Cunningham

Miller and company received support from athletic director John Cunningham Thursday as they await the powerhouse Jayhawks.

“It’s everything we always wanted when we got into the Big 12,” Cunningham said. “It does remind a lot of people of the competition we saw week in and week out when we were in the Big East. This is even more so.”

As for UC’s 0-3 start, Cunningham says the Bearcats are a really good team going through a tough stretch in a demanding league.

“I see no cracks in the armor in terms of the confidence of the team,” Cunningham said. “If I’m going to battle, I want Wes Miller and his staff right next to me. He’s the right man to get this thing moving the right direction. Honestly, sometimes the shots don’t drop. They’re going to start to drop.”

Tough travels for Cincinnati Bearcats

After waiting four hours to fly to Waco Monday night and arriving early on game day, the Bearcats were also delayed getting home. Though Miller mentioned it had nothing to do with the Baylor loss, he said UC didn’t arrive home until Wednesday afternoon due to flight complications. By NCAA rules, they took that day off and didn’t get back to practice until Thursday.

“We had to get a new plane so we slept in Waco and couldn’t leave until that morning,” Miller said. “This isn’t news to anyone who knows our program but the will, the want, the mindset, I believe it’s where he needs to be and I believe it’ll continue to be where it needs to be regardless of the results and circumstances. This team has the right internal stuff and internal fortitude. We’ll figure it out.”

A ‘Big O’ moment

On March 12, 1960 in an Elite Eight NCAA tournament game in Manhattan, Kansas, UC beat the Kansas Jayhawks 82-71 as Naismith Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson had 48 points and 14 rebounds.

3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Kansas Jayhawks

1. Seize momentum on your home floor

The University of Cincinnati winter semester begins Monday and Fifth Third Arena will be packed for a matchup with a team that has briefly been No. 1 and for the most part in the Top 10.

While the Arizona game drew 11, 212, students were not yet back and the intensity was nowhere near Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout levels. Of course, the Bearcats didn’t help matters getting behind by 13 at halftime. With an 0-3 Big 12 start, the Bearcats could use every piece of motivation they can find.

“You have to go through difficult moments, speed bumps and hurdles in order to do the things you have to do to become who you’re trying to become,” Miller said. “My fire burns in these moments. It burns brightest when things are at their most difficult times.”

2. Hound Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson

UC was able to hold him to 10 points and six rebounds in Lawrence last year thanks to foul trouble. They also outrebounded the Jayhawks 40-29 and the game was tied at halftime 35-35. Getting the prolific pivot in foul trouble would be beneficial again, as would the glass advantage.

Dickinson is often good for 16 points and 10 rebounds. He finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in their Arizona State win Wednesday.

“They’re the oldest team in the country, the most experienced team in the country,” Miller said of Kansas. “They’re a national championship contender. They present a load of challenges. The first is the depth and experience. You’re talking about guys on their roster that were the leading scorers at other high-major schools. They’re as deep as I’ve seen a college basketball team in the portal area.”

3. Let Dan Skillings Jr. get his minutes

Skillings was electric off the bench at Kansas last year with 16 points and even more so in the Big 12 tournament game when he popped in 25. When the 6-foot-6 wing is rolling, the Bearcats often follow suit. They didn’t on Tuesday, but maybe they do after a few spirited practices.

One solution might be to leave him on the floor. To date, Big 12 opponents are playing their starters more minutes than the UC starting five. No Bearcat has played 34 minutes yet and most games the starters are in for roughly 28 to 31 minutes of a 40-minute contest.

“We look at our coaching decisions after every game,” Miller said. “We always want to be consistent. I don’t ever want to be the guy that’s changing every game because I don’t think players can be effective like that. Over the course of time, we’re going to evaluate that. We have real data, real information, not just reactive information. We’ll adjust accordingly.”

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Tip: Saturday, 2 p.m., Fifth Third Arena (12,012)

TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW

Series: UC leads 5-4 (Bearcats won March 13, 2024, in Big 12 tournament 72-52)

Kansas Jayhawks scouting report

Record: 11-3 (2-1 Big 12)

Coach: Bill Self (21st season, 599-146)

Offense: 78.9 ppg

Defense: 63.6 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Hunter Dickinson (C, 7’2″, 15.9 ppg, 10.4 reb)

Dajuan Harris (G, 6’2″, 10.3 ppg)

K.J. Adams (F, 6’7″, 8.5. ppg)

Zeke Mayo (G, 6’4″, 14.6 ppg)

Shakeel Moore (G, 6’1″, 3.3 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 10-4 (0-3 Big 12)

Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 73-47, overall 258-182)

Offense: 75.4 ppg

Defense: 61 ppg

Projected starting lineup

Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 13 ppg)

Dan Skillings Jr. (G-F, 6’6″, 13.1 ppg)

Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 10.9 ppg)

Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 11.1 ppg)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 9.4 ppg)

Players to watch

Hunter Dickinson is a fifth-year player who reliably has been at or near averaging a double-double since he began in 2020. He has seven double-doubles this year. If UC has another game where they’re destroyed in the paint (40-16 at Baylor) that means Dickinson had his way.

Dillon Mitchell has been UC’s double-double leader with three but he’s coming off a scoreless game where he had just two rebounds. He hasn’t been held without a point since his freshman year at Texas. For the Bearcats to have a chance, Mitchell must be productive.

Rankings

KenPom.com: Kansas is No. 10, Cincinnati is No. 33

NCAA NET: Kansas is No. 9, Cincinnati is No. 35