• The Cincinnati Bearcats and West Virginia Mountaineers both seek their first Big 12 win of the season.
• West Virginia swept Cincinnati last season, winning both matchups between the two teams.
• Both teams are coming off losses to top-10 opponents to start their conference schedules.

Two teams that started the Big 12 campaign against Top 10 opponents clash in Morgantown Tuesday, Jan. 6, when the Cincinnati Bearcats face the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers, now coached by Ross Hodge, who came from North Texas, got whirled by the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones on Jan. 2, 80-59. A day later, UC had plenty of chances against No. 8 Houston, but the Cougars closed in the final minutes to win 67-60.

“We’ve got to learn how to finish, but we’re right there,” UC coach Wes Miller said. “The guys in the locker room know it. We’ve got to block out the noise and get ready to play.”

Neither team will want to start 0-2 in the treacherous league and UC has not yet won in Morgantown since being part of the Big 12. UC’s last road win in West Virginia goes back to Mick Cronin’s second Bearcat team (13-19) that pulled off a 62-39 upset of the Mountaineers in 2008. Diehard fans may remember the game for a mustard-colored suit Bob Huggins wore for the contest.

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Cincinnati Bearcats were swept by West Virginia last season

Last Feb. 2, West Virginia beat UC handily 63-50. Current Bearcat Sencire Harris didn’t score for WVU in the game but had four steals. Eighteen days later in Morgantown, the Mountaineers prevailed again 62-59 with Harris scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds against his future team. UC was led by Day Day Thomas in both games with 10 and 13 points, respectively.

Cincinnati Bearcats could be without Kerr Kriisa

Kriisa, a starter for 12 of the 14 games, got hit hard by Houston after a basket and left the game holding his shoulder. He came back to hit his lone 3-pointer, then had to leave again with pain.

Kriisa was recruited to West Virginia by Bob Huggins and played in 2023-24 for the Mountaineers, averaging 11 points and shooting over 42% on 3-pointers.

“Nobody’s dealt with more injury crap than Cincinnati,” Miller said. “We’re getting resilient and we’re getting tough because of that. We’re just going to keep coming. Injuries are tough. We’ve had more than damn anybody in the last four years in all of college basketball. This team’s had its fair share and we’re still right there.”

Miller was worried about Kriisa’s injury and he couldn’t lift his left shoulder after draining his only shot.

3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to win at West Virginia Mountaineers

1. Bring Houston intensity to West Virginia

UC had its best crowd experience at Fifth Third Arena against No. 8 Houston with a halftime lead and a 10-point cushion early in the second half. For just the second time this season, they lost a game when they had a halftime lead.

That’s now two games where they had a Top 10 team on the ropes and couldn’t finish (No. 6 Louisville at Heritage Bank Center and No. 8 Houston). They looked like a tournament team in parts of those games, but then lost to teams who showed why they are perennial tournament players.

2. Locate Huff, Floyd

It sounds like someone looking for a law firm, but Honor Huff and Jasper Floyd are both 40% marksmen from three-point range. Huff led the country in triples last season at Chattanooga and Floyd comes from Coach Hodge’s system at North Texas. The Mountaineers average over eight made 3s per game, which is how many Houston made vs. UC Jan. 3.

The Bearcats made only six of their 3-pointers against the Cougars, after making 11 in their previous game with Lipscomb Dec. 29. UC is 5-1 when making 10 or more treys, with the one loss being Xavier. Xavier also beat West Virginia 78-68 in November, shooting a torrid 16-for-25 from the arc.

3. Keep Mountaineers below 70

West Virginia has been held to less than 70 points in four of their five losses. The exception is the 89-88 double-overtime defeat at Ohio State. UC held Houston below their average at 67 and is in that ballpark for the season. The difficult thing is all of West Virginia’s wins have been at home and Hope Coliseum could have a crowd because, well, it’s Tuesday night in Morgantown.

Tip: Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at Hope Coliseum (14,000)

TV/Radio: ESPN2/700WLW

Series: WVU leads 13-12 (Mountaineers won at Fifth Third Arena Feb. 19, 2025, 62-59)

West Virginia Mountaineers scouting report

Record: 9-5

Coach: Ross Hodge, first season 9-5 (55-29 overall)

Offense: 74.9 ppg

Defense: 61.6 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Treysen Eaglestaff (G, 6’6″, 9.1 ppg)

Honor Huff (G, 5’10”, 16.6 ppg)

Harlan Obioha (C, 7′, 6.3 ppg)

Chance Moore (G, 6’6″, 12.9 ppg)

Jasper Floyd (G, 6’3″, 7.9 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 8-6

Coach: Wes Miller (90-65, fifth season; 275-200 overall)

Offense: 74.6 ppg

Defense: 65.6 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 13 ppg)

Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 11.5 ppg)

Sencire Harris (G, 6’4″, 6.9 ppg)

Baba Miller (F, 6’11”, 13.4 ppg)

Moustapha Thiam (C, 7’2″, 11 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers to watch

Guard Honor Huff helped Chattanooga win the NIT and nailed a record 131 trifectas last season for the Moccasins, shooting 41.6%. Now he’s West Virginia’s top scorer and is shooting at a similar rate from beyond the arc.

In their second games as starters for this season, UC’s “Buck” Harris and Jizzle James were off against Houston, shooting a combined 2-for-14. James had just four points and Harris two.