After a Midnight Madness atmosphere in the CareSource Charity Classic vs. Ohio State over two weeks ago, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team plays a game that counts Monday night, facing Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Fifth Third Arena.

Coming off the high of defeating the Buckeyes in a charity exhibition and the low of falling to Pitt in a controlled “secret” scrimmage, Wes Miller is as excited as many fans to see what the men in red and black have to offer in 2024-25.

The Bearcats were picked No. 6 of 16 teams in the Big 12 and the five teams ahead of them are all in the first 10 of the Top 25 in both the AP and USA TODAY Preseason polls. Texas Tech, BYU and Kansas State also received votes in both polls and Arizona State received votes in the AP tally.

“I’m always grateful when I walk out of that tunnel that I coach at Cincinnati,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of people that care. Every time I run out of that tunnel I don’t ever take it for granted. I appreciate the people that are in their seats screaming and cheering for us.”

Come on feel the noise

Miller says Fifth Third Arena is one of the best environments in college basketball. At his weekly press conference, he implored fans to continue their vocal support this season but to do it even better.

New Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell, who played here for Texas last January, says the crowd can definitely be a factor to an opposing team not familiar with the territory.

“I’m excited to be able to play in front of these fans,” Mitchell said. “I’m telling y’all, when they’re out there and they’re loud, it is frightening for the opposing team. They’re going to help us win games this year.”

Is Day Day Thomas day-to-day for the Cincinnati Bearcats?

The senior point guard who started all 35 games he played in last season injured his foot before he was to fly to Kansas City as part of the UC representation (Oct. 22) at Big 12 media days. He has since returned to basketball activities, but did not participate in the Pitt “secret scrimmage.”

“We’re just not going to go from zero to 100,” Miller said. “He’s shooting. I don’t know if he’s going to miss time or not. You have to have depth in college basketball. That was important to us as we were putting our roster together. We have depth. There’s a number of guys who collectively should be able to fill a void, but no doubt about it, I’ll feel a lot better if Day Day’s playing.”

3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions

1. Get the kinks out early, play with controlled chaos

It would be somewhat normal for an early game to be sloppy. UC should expect sloppiness early, then adapt to the surroundings. Miller would prefer to play faster this season, so the expectation should be to frazzle the opponent, not be frazzled. What confuses the Golden Lions should appear to be another day at the office for the Bearcats. That said, last year’s UAPB team averaged over 80 points a game, so it’s not like they’ll throw it around for 30 seconds a possession.

2. Never take an opponent lightly

As CBS insider Jon Rothstein often writes early in the season, it can be the “epitome of brutality” losing a game to someone you essentially paid to defeat. Nine of Pine Bluff’s first 11 games are road pay days which include games at Tulsa, USF, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Texas. If you don’t want to be included in the “Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson” category, take care of business.

3. Leave the court unassisted

With Tyler McKinley already out for the year with a knee injury and Thomas aggravating a previous foot injury, healthy bodies are essential. Imperative to a team’s success is the ability to walk off the court on their own two feet.

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions

Tip: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW

Series: UC leads 5-0 (Bearcats last won 105-49 Nov. 27, 2018)

Scouting report Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB)

Record: 13-18 (8-10 SWAC) last season

Coach: Solomon Bozeman (fourth season, 30-63)

Offense: 80.1 ppg last season

Defense: 81.8 ppg last season

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Robert Lewis (F, 6’9″, 4.2 ppg last season)

Klemen Vuga (F, 6’9″, 2.3 ppg at Monmouth last season)

Zach Reinhart (G, 6’6″, 1.9 ppg last season)

Trejon Ware (G, 5’9″, 3.4 ppg last season)

Christian Moore (G, 5’11”, 1.3 ppg at North Texas last season)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 22-15 (7-11 Big 12) last season

Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 63-43 at UC, 248-178 overall)

Offense: 74.7 ppg

Defense: 68.2 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Dillon Mitchell (F. 6’8″, 9.6 ppg at Texas last season)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 6.6 ppg last season)

Simas Lukošius (G, 6’8″, 11.8 ppg last season)

Dan Skillings Jr. (G, 6’6″, 12.9 ppg last season)

Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 8.8 ppg last season)

Players to watch

Monmouth transfer Klemen Vuga is a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who two seasons ago averaged 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds at Monmouth and had a high game of 29 points vs. North Carolina A&T. He was on the 2021-22 Monmouth squad that knocked off UC 61-59 in November of that season but did not play in the game.

The Bearcats saw Dillon Mitchell go a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds against Ohio State. They also made 10 of their 26 3-pointerswith Simas Lukošius and Jizzle James both hitting a pair.

James seems to have improved defensively, which will help the team.

“To get to the next level, you’ve got to play both sides,” James said. “In this conference (Big 12) you’ve got to be a dog on defense. This is the best defensive conference.”

If Thomas doesn’t play, look for Bradley transfer Connor Hickman and holdover C.J Fredrick to get key minutes. Hickman averaged 14.5 points for Bradley and scored 14 against UC in the NIT. He shot over 40% from three-point range last season, while Fredrick hit nearly 43%.

Rankings

NCAA NET: Cincinnati No. 37 last season, UAPB No. 328

KenPom.com: Cincinnati is No. 17, UAPB No. 355

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ four Republican U.S. House members face challenges in this year’s election from Democratic rivals who are mounting uphill battles to break the GOP’s hold on the state’s federal delegation.

Republican U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman are seeking reelection in the heavily GOP state. Republicans have held all of the state’s U.S. House and Senate seats since 2013.

Crawford, who has represented the 1st Congressional District since 2011, faces a challenge from Democratic nominee Rodney Govens. The 1st District covers eastern Arkansas and includes the cities of Jonesboro, West Memphis and Helena-West Helena. Libertarian Steve Parsons is also running for the seat.

Crawford is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and has said he will seek the top Republican spot on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the next Congress.

Govens, a Cabot resident who has worked in the telecommunications industry, has called for improving the Veterans Administration system and foster care across the country. Crawford has said he wants to address the nation’s debt by enacting permanent spending controls.

Hill, who was first elected to the 2nd District in 2014 and is vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is running against Democratic nominee Marcus Jones. The 2nd District seat covers central Arkansas, and it includes Little Rock.

Democrats have tried unsuccessfully in recent years to try to reclaim the district, hoping to rely heavily on turnout in Little Rock despite the state’s further lurch to the right. The majority-GOP Legislature in 2021 redrew the redistrict lines, moving thousands of predominantly Black voters out of the 2nd District.

Hill has focused heavily on immigration in his reelection, calling for more border security, and on measures he says will help tackle inflation. Jones is a retired Army colonel who served as senior Army adviser to the Arkansas Army National Guard at Camp Robinson. Jones has called for expanding the child tax credit and legislation to increase rural health care access.

Womack, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, was first elected to the 3rd District in 2010 and is running against Democrat Caitlin Draper, a clinical social worker from Fayetteville.

The 3rd District covers northwest Arkansas and includes the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale and Fort Smith.

Womack, the former chairman of the House Budget Committee, was the only one of the state’s House members to face a primary challenge in March, defeating state Sen. Clint Penzo. Womack had the backing of the state’s top Republicans in that contest, including GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Womack has cited border security as a priority and has said he believes he has the experience to find bipartisan solutions in a closely divided Congress.

Draper, like other Democrats running for House seats in Arkansas, has said she supports legislation at the federal level protecting access to abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down Roe v. Wade. She has also said cited climate change and health care as top issues.

Libertarian Bobby Wilson is also running for the seat.

Westerman, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, was first elected to the 4th District in 2014. He is running against Risie Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff.

The 4th district covers southern Arkansas and includes Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and Texarkana.

Westerman, a former state legislator and the only forester in the House, has touted his work on forestry legislation and said his priorities in the next Congress also include energy and mining issues. Howard has said she wants to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and protect Social Security.