West Virginia
Scouting report: 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win on road at West Virginia
UC’s Wes Miller,Thomas, Iowa State’s Jones, Otzelberger on Cyclones W
UC’s Wes Miller, Day Day Thomas, Iowa State’s Curtis Jones, TJ Otzelberger on Cyclones win
Trying to recover from their most uneven loss of the season, the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team is headed to Morgantown for a rematch with West Virginia Wednesday night.
Both teams were on the road Saturday, with UC taking on No. 10 Iowa State. West Virginia was in Waco against Baylor. Both played spirited games but home-court advantage ruled with the Bearcats fading in the second half to the Cyclones in Ames 81-70 and the Mountaineers falling in overtime to the Bears, 74-71.
“We’ve just got to go back, look at film and see what we’ve got to do better,” UC guard Day Day Thomas said. “We got outrebounded, so that’s something we’ve got to focus on in practice.”
The Bearcats were outclassed 37-19 on the boards against the bulkier Cyclones of Iowa State.
“I wasn’t pleased from where I was sitting with some of our awareness to go clear out weak side,” UC coach Wes Miller said. “Shoot, we work on that every day in practice.”
UC must go against grain to gain key Big 12 road win
Welcome to the Big 12 where the home floor is a considerable advantage. Both teams are now 15-10 and fighting for relevancy with West Virginia’s Big 12 record (6-8) slightly better than UC’s (5-9).
On Feb. 2, UC spotted the Mountaineers a 15-point halftime lead, then fell woefully short against West Virginia at Fifth Third Arena 63-50. UC had only one player in double figures as Day Day Thomas had 10 points. Jizzle James was held scoreless in 19 minutes and Aziz Bandaogo had just one basket in 18 minutes.
Since then UC has gone 3-1, with the Mountaineers just 1-3.
At WVU Coliseum last season, UC blew a 10-point lead with 6:22 remaining and was outscored 19-5 from there as the Mountaineers won 69-65. The Bearcats then beat West Virginia back-to-back on March 9 and March 12 scoring 182 points overall in those contests.
UC winning Wednesdays
UC is 3-0 this season with wins vs. Alabama State, at Colorado and at UCF. During Wes Miller’s four years with the Bearcats, they have enjoyed an 18-6 mark on Wednesday.
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball at West Virginia Mountaineers
1. UC’s mantra should be ‘Let’s get Small’
Javon Small led West Virginia with 19 points and nine assists Feb. 2 at Fifth Third Arena and last year helped Oklahoma State knock off the Bearcats at home. The senior has battled UCF’s Keyshawn Hall for the Big 12 scoring lead this season and averages 18.6 points per game. At Baylor, Small had 22 points and played 40 minutes.
Small has been held below double-digits just twice, with both coming in home losses vs. Houston and BYU. Obviously, that would be a goal for the Bearcats in Morgantown Wednesday.
2. Holding teams below 70 helps UC Bearcats chances
West Virginia has had just four losses at WVU Coliseum, all in the Big 12. Arizona beat them Jan. 7, 75-56 after beating UC by five. Arizona State beat them 65-57 Jan. 21 after losing to UC by seven. The Mountaineers lost to Houston at home, 63-49 Jan. 29 and to BYU Feb. 11 73-69 after the Bearcats beat the Cougars three days earlier by 18 points.
The common denominator is West Virginia was held below 70 points in all four losses.
3. Winning boards should lead to winning games
UC beat West Virginia on the boards 33-31 Feb. 2, but dug themselves a 15-point hole at halftime and shot just 31%. In all of the West Virginia home losses, they were decisively outrebounded. UC will have to hold down 6-foot-8, 240-pound Amani Hansberry who pulled down 11 to lead both teams in their last game.
For motivation, the Bearcats are coming off a game on the glass at Iowa State where they were dominated 37-19.
“There’s always going to be some plays where they get you with size or positioning but I think we’re going to look at those possessions on tape and see an inability to clear out the weak side and go body-to-body,” Miller said.
Among UC’s rebounding deficiencies this season, Dan Skillings Jr. is more than two rebounds below his 6.4 average last season at 3.7 per game. Aziz Bandaogo, held to three rebounds at Iowa State, is also nearly two rebounds behind last year at 5.8 per game compared to 7.4 rebounds. Dillon Mitchell tops UC at 6.4 per game, but that’s more than a full rebound below his figures at Texas last year of 7.5 per game.
Cincinnati Bearcats at West Virginia Mountaineers
Tip: 7 p.m. Wednesday (WVU Coliseum (14,000)
TV/Radio: ESPN2/700WLW
Series: Even 12-12 (West Virginia won 63-50 at Fifth Third Arena Feb. 2)
West Virginia Mountaineers scouting report
Record: 15-10 (6-8 Big 12)
Coach: Darrian DeVries (second year, 15-10)
Offense: 69.4 ppg
Defense: 64.4 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Toby Okani (G, 6’8″, 8.9 ppg)
Jonathan Powell (G, 6’6″, 8.4 ppg)
Javon Small (G, 6’3″, 18.6 ppg)
Amani Hansberry (F, 6’8″, 9.4 ppg)
Sencire Harris (G, 6’4″, 5.8 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 15-10 (5-9 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 78-53, overall 263-188)
Offense: 72.1 ppg
Defense: 65.1 ppg
Projected starters
(Position, Height, Stats)
Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 11.4 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 12.2 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 10 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 8.4 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 8.1 ppg)
Players to watch
Javon Small has had an impact at every school he’s played from East Carolina to Oklahoma State last season to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Small averages just over 18 points a game and has had a high game this season 31 against Gonzaga. Small leads the Mountaineers in points, assists and steals.
UC’s James was held scoreless vs the Mountaineers in their last matchup, only the second time in his career that he didn’t score. Since then, his game has picked up and he seems to be playing with much more confidence. His games at Fifth Third Arena vs. BYU and Utah were his first back-to-back 20-plus-point games since the last two games of the NIT last March. He made it three when he scored 25 at No. 10 Iowa State, despite fouling out with nearly three minutes left.
Rankings
KenPom.com: West Virginia is No 46, Cincinnati is No. 54
NCAA.NET: West Virginia is No. 44, Cincinnati is No. 45
Trump says soaring college football costs are hitting sports
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (March 6) said the soaring cost of paying for football at colleges was harming school sports in general and the problem would need to be addressed by legislation, adding he might sign an executive order about it.
FRISCO, TX − West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez made a public plea for some reason and logic to return to major college football after decades of conference expansion, contraction and realignment from coast to coast.
He made his pitch at his news conference at the annual Big 12 Conference media days here Wednesday, July 8. Rodriguez proposes about 60 teams to come together, share their money and divide themselves into regional sections, sort of like how college football used to be with the former Big East, Pac-12, Big 12, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conferences.
“Can’t we all come together and shake hands and give each other a group hug and then have an Eastern regional and a South regional and a North regional, and then everybody share the money?” Rodriguez said. “And, you know, with this money for everybody, we all can get along, like 60 of us or so. I think that would be great. I don’t know. Did anybody else say that? Probably not. They might be afraid. Hell, I don’t care.”
PRESEASON COACHES RANKINGS: Big Ten | SEC | ACC
Rodriguez, 63, made his comments in the context of his team not playing rival Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl again until 2029. They used to play regularly as independents and then members of the Big East before Pitt left to join the ACC in 2013. Since then, realignment has ripped apart regional leagues such as the Pac-12, which saw four marquee West Coast teams depart in 2024 to pursue more money in the Big Ten while others left for the Big 12 and ACC.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a bill, the Protect College Sports Act, that would allow the pooling of television rights between more than 100 schools. It aims to spread the wealth more beyond just two dominant leagues.
“I’m not speaking for anybody other than Coach Rod, that he would love for all the Power Four teams to come together, shake hands, and then, hey, let’s pick the biggest TV package in the history of TV packages,” Rodriguez said. “And then we could have Pitt, Virginia Tech and Penn State and Maryland and Cincinnati and maybe Virginia or North Carolina, one of those, all right there. And our fans could drive to it. You know, we have a rivalry every year, and everybody makes money. Nobody gets fired. Players did good.”
Rodriguez noted his pitch might not fly in today’s world but wanted to throw it out there before it’s too late. He previously served as head coach at Michigan and Arizona.
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” he asked. “Can we put that together? I got all the (athletic directors) out there shaking their head like I’m nuts. I’m just, I mean, this is, you know, I got more time, a lot more time behind me than ahead of me. I want to just get this thing right before I leave.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
West Virginia
West Virginia town’s entire police force fired after ex-sergeant claims evidence room was broken into
A tiny West Virginia town has been left without a police department after every officer was fired following a dispute over an apparent break-in at the department’s evidence room.
The Barrackville Police Department announced in a Facebook post Tuesday that, effective immediately, every member of the department had been relieved of duty by the Barrackville Town Council and Mayor Tom Straight.
A former sergeant, identified only as Sgt. Hunt, told 12 News he arrived at the department Tuesday morning and found the evidence room had been broken into.
Hunt said he immediately called a meeting with Straight and the town council.
According to Hunt, council members had previously said they wanted to inventory the department without any officers present.
He also claimed a council member admitted to taking a set of police keys.
After accusing members of the town government of breaking into the evidence room, Hunt said he and the department’s only other officer were immediately removed from active duty.
Hunt said the department’s police clerk also resigned, leaving the town with no police staff. He said he informed the mayor and council that he would be seeking whistleblower protection.
The mass firing came less than a week after Barrackville Police Chief Zachary Freeburn resigned. Hunt said the chief quit over what he described as repeated clashes with the town council over how much control it had over the department.
Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham told the station that deputies will continue responding to calls in Barrackville while the town of 1,288 people is without a police department.
Resident Isabella Pham said she hopes the turmoil comes to an end.
“I just think that the town right now is in a little bit of a mess,” Pham told the West Virginian Times.
“We’ve gone through a lot of different people, and I’m just hoping that at the end of this, we can get a little bit of stability, transparency and security, and get back to having a stronger community versus a town of pitchforks and torches.”
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