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2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

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2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record17–14 (7–13 Big 12)
Head coach
Associate head coachChad Dollar (4th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Andre Morgan (4th season)
  • Drew Adams (2nd season)
  • Jaylen Stowe (1st season)
  • Tim Buckley (1st season)
Home arenaFifth Third Arena
Seasons
2024–25 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Houston 19 – 1   .950 27 – 4   .871
No. 9 Texas Tech 14 – 5   .737 23 – 7   .767
No. 24 Arizona 14 – 6   .700 20 – 11   .645
No. 23 BYU 14 – 6   .700 23 – 8   .742
No. 10 Iowa State 13 – 7   .650 23 – 8   .742
Kansas 11 – 9   .550 20 – 11   .645
Baylor 10 – 10   .500 18 – 13   .581
West Virginia 10 – 10   .500 19 – 12   .613
TCU 9 – 11   .450 16 – 15   .516
Kansas State 9 – 11   .450 15 – 16   .484
Utah 8 – 12   .400 16 – 15   .516
Oklahoma State 7 – 13   .350 15 – 16   .484
Cincinnati 7 – 13   .350 17 – 14   .548
UCF 7 – 13   .350 16 – 15   .516
Arizona State 4 – 15   .211 13 – 17   .433
Colorado 3 – 17   .150 12 – 19   .387
† 2025 Big 12 tournament winner
As of March 8, 2025
Rankings from AP poll

The 2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represents the University of Cincinnati during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats, led by fourth-year head coach Wes Miller, play their home games at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio as second-year members of the Big 12 Conference.

Previous season

[edit]
Main article: 2023–24 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The Bearcats finished the season 22–15 and 7–11 in Big 12 play to finish in 11th place in the conference standings, thus earning the 11th seed in the 2024 Big 12 Tournament. They defeated West Virginia, and Kansas in the Big 12 tournament before losing to Baylor in the quarterfinals.[1]

The Bearcats were invited to play in the NIT, where they defeated San Francisco and Bradley before falling to Indiana State in the quarterfinals.[2]

Offseason

[edit]

Coaching staff changes

[edit]

Former assistant coach Josh Loeffler accepted the head coaching job at Loyola.[3] South Carolina assistant Tim Buckley was hired as an assistant coach.[4] Jake Thelen previously Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach accepted the head coaching job at Covington Catholic High School.[5] Former UC graduate assistant Jaylen Stowe who was an Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at High Point was hired as an assistant coach.[6]

Departures

[edit]

Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled in October 2020 that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player, thus giving all players the option to return in 2022–23.[7] Additionally, any players who have declared for the 2024 NBA draft—including seniors, who must opt into this year's draft—have the option to return if they make a timely withdrawal from the draft and end any pre-draft relationships with agents.

Cincinnati Departing Players
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
John Newman III G/F 6' 5" 215 Graduate student Greensboro, NC Completed college eligibility
Landen Long G 5' 11" 185 Graduate student Cincinnati, OH Completed college eligibility
Ody Oguama F 6' 9" 230 Graduate student Raleigh, NC Completed college eligibility
Viktor Lakhin C 6' 11" 240 Redshirt Junior Anapa, Russia Graduated; transferred to Clemson[8][9]
Jamille Reynolds F 6' 11" 275 Senior St. Petersburg, FL Transferred to South Florida[10]
Sage Tolentino C 7' 1" 240 Redshirt Sophomore Honolulu, HI Transferred to UNC Asheville[11][12]

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Cincinnati incoming transfers
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Old school Remaining Eligibility
Arrinten Page C 6' 11" 245 Sophomore Atlanta, GA USC Three years[13]
Connor Hickman G 6' 3" 200 Senior Bloomington, IN Bradley One year[14]
Dillon Mitchell F 6' 8" 205 Junior Tampa, FL Texas Two years[15]

Recruiting classes

[edit]

2024 recruiting class

[edit]
College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tyler Betsey
SF 		Windsor, CT St. Thomas More School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oct 6, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 87
Tyler McKinley
PF 		Cincinnati, OH Winton Woods High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Nov 8, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 83
Halvine Dzellat
PF/C 		Loir-et-Cher, France ADA Blois Basket 41 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sep 11, 2024 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Cincinnati 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com.
  • "2024 Cincinnati Basketball Commits". ESPN.com.
  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.
  • "Cincinnati 2024 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com.

2025 recruiting class

[edit]
College recruiting information (2025)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Keyshuan Tillery
PG 		Albany, NY New Hampton School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sep 20, 2024 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 85
Shon Abaev
SF 		Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian Academy (Florida) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Nov 28, 2024 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Preseason

[edit]

Big 12 Preseason Poll

Big 12 Coaches Points
1. Kansas 215 (9)
2. Houston 211 (5)
3. Iowa State 194 (1)
4. Baylor 185
5. Arizona 179 (1)
6. Cincinnati 140
7. Texas Tech 135
8. Kansas State 133
9. BYU 116
10. TCU 90
11. UCF 83
12. Arizona State 64
13. West Virginia 62
14. Oklahoma State 46
15. Colorado 37
16. Utah 30
Reference:[16] (#) first-place votes

Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team

First Team
Player School
Caleb Love Arizona
LJ Cryer Houston
J’Wan Roberts
Tamin Lipsey Iowa State
Hunter Dickinson† Kansas
† denotes unanimous selection
Reference:[16]
Second Team
Player School
Norchad Omier Baylor
Jeremy Roach
Keshon Gilbert Iowa State
Dajuan Harris Jr Kansas
Coleman Hawkins Kansas State
† denotes unanimous selection
Reference:[16]

Roster

[edit]
2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Daniel Skillings 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Roman Catholic High School Blackwood, NJ
G 1 Day Day Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Kilgore College Columbia, SC
G 2 Jizzle James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Olympia High School Orlando, FL
G/F 3 Rayvon Griffith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr AZ Compass Prep School Cincinnati, OH
G 5 CJ Fredrick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Kentucky Cincinnati, OH
G 8 Connor Hickman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Bradley Bloomington, IN
G 10 Josh Reed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Pace Academy Atlanta, GA
G 11 CJ Anthony (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Putnam Science Academy Columbus, OH
F 14 Tyler Betsey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr St. Thomas More School Windsor, CT
G 20 JJ Rembert (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Nation Ford High School Queens, NY
F 22 Arrinten Page 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So USC Atlanta, GA
F 23 Dillon Mitchell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Texas Tampa, FL
F 24 Tyler McKinley Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Winton Woods High School Cincinnati, OH
G/F 41 Simas Lukošius 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Butler Kaunas, Lithuania
C 55 Aziz Bandaogo 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Utah Valley Dakar, Senegal
F/C 65 Halvine Dzellat 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr ADA Blois Basket 41 Loir-et-Cher, France
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 8, 2024

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 18, 2024
7:00 p.m. 		No. 20 Ohio State
CareSource Exhibition Game for Mental Health[17] 		W 80–62  –
  12 – Tied   7 – Mitchell   6 – Thomas  Fifth Third Arena 
Cincinnati, OH
Regular season
November 4, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 20 Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 109–54  1–0
  20 – Lukošius   11 – Skillings   10 – James  Fifth Third Arena (10,290)
Cincinnati, OH
November 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 20 Morehead State W 83–56  2–0
  14 – Tied   9 – Mitchell   6 – Lukošius  Fifth Third Arena (10,604)
Cincinnati, OH
November 15, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 17 Nicholls
Twyman-Stokes Classic[18] 		W 86–49  3–0
  19 – Tied   9 – Mitchell   6 – Lukošius  Fifth Third Arena (10,485)
Cincinnati, OH
November 19, 2024
7:00 p.m., FDSNOH 		No. 18 at Northern Kentucky
Twyman-Stokes Classic 		W 76–60  4–0
  18 – Lukošius   6 – Mitchell   6 – James  Truist Arena (7,485)
Highland Heights, KY
November 23, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ 		No. 18 at Georgia Tech W 81–58  5–0
  14 – Tied   11 – Mitchell   7 – James  McCamish Pavilion (4,970)
Atlanta, GA
November 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 16 Alabama State W 77–59  6–0
  16 – Lukošius   9 – Bandaogo   5 – James  Fifth Third Arena (10,970)
Cincinnati, OH
December 3, 2024
6:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 14 at Villanova
Big East–Big 12 Battle 		L 60–68  6–1
  19 – James   5 – Tied   5 – James  Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
December 8, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 14 Howard W 84–67  7–1
  18 – Lukošius   8 – Page   4 – Lukošius  Fifth Third Arena (10,913)
Cincinnati, OH
December 14, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 22 Xavier
Crosstown Shootout 		W 68–65  8–1
  14 – Lukošius   10 – Mitchell   5 – James  Fifth Third Arena (12,513)
Cincinnati, OH
December 20, 2024
8:30 p.m., ESPNU 		No. 19 vs. No. 22 Dayton
Simple Truth Hoops Classic 		W 66–59  9–1
  17 – Skillings Jr.   7 – Mitchell   3 – James  Heritage Bank Center (15,107)
Cincinnati, OH
December 22, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 19 Grambling State W 84–49  10–1
  15 – Bandaogo   7 – Mitchell   8 – James  Fifth Third Arena (11,175)
Cincinnati, OH
Big 12 regular season
December 30, 2024
7:00 p.m., CBSSN 		No. 16 at Kansas State L 66–70  10–2
(0–1) 		 15 – Mitchell   11 – Mitchell   4 – James  Bramlage Coliseum (9,970)
Manhattan, KS
January 4, 2025
2:30 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 16 Arizona L 67–72  10–3
(0–2) 		 18 – Skillings Jr.   9 – Bandaogo   5 – James  Fifth Third Arena (11,212)
Cincinnati, OH
January 7, 2025
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Baylor L 48–68  10–4
(0–3) 		 18 – Skillings Jr.   5 – James   5 – Lukošius  Foster Pavilion (7,500)
Waco, TX
January 11, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 11 Kansas L 40–54  10–5
(0–4) 		 10 – Mitchell   8 – Bandaogo   3 – Lukošius  Fifth Third Arena (12,003)
Cincinnati, OH
January 15, 2025
9:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Colorado W 68–62  11–5
(1–4) 		 16 – Lukošius   10 – Bandaogo   2 – Tied  CU Events Center (6,576)
Boulder, CO
January 18, 2025
2:00 p.m., CBSSN 		Arizona State W 67–60  12–5
(2–4) 		 14 – Mitchell   9 – Bandaogo   4 – Thomas  Fifth Third Arena (11,090)
Cincinnati, OH
January 21, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPNU 		Texas Tech L 71–81  12–6
(2–5) 		 17 – James   5 – Skillings Jr.   3 – Tied  Fifth Third Arena (10,790)
Cincinnati, OH
January 25, 2025
10:30 p.m., ESPN2 		at BYU L 52–80  12–7
(2–6) 		 14 – Lukošius   5 – Mitchell   5 – James  Marriott Center (17,483)
Provo, UT
January 28, 2025
10:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at Utah L 66–69  12–8
(2–7) 		 18 – James   6 – Mitchell   4 – Tied  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,570)
Salt Lake City, UT
February 2, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		West Virginia
rivalry 		L 50–63  12–9
(2–8) 		 10 – Thomas   10 – Mitchell   3 – Mitchell  Fifth Third Arena (11,085)
Cincinnati, OH
February 5, 2025
7:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at UCF W 93–83  13–9
(3–8) 		 20 – Thomas   6 – Tied   6 – Thomas  Addition Financial Arena (7,421)
Orlando, FL
February 8, 2025
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		BYU W 84–66  14–9
(4–8) 		 24 – James   6 – Bandaogo   4 – Thomas  Fifth Third Arena (12,217)
Cincinnati, OH
February 11, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Utah W 85–75  15–9
(5–8) 		 25 – James   10 – Bandaogo   6 – James  Fifth Third Arena (10,510)
Cincinnati, OH
February 15, 2025
4:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 10 Iowa State L 70–81  15–10
(5–9) 		 25 – James   5 – Mitchell   4 – Thomas  Hilton Coliseum (14,267)
Ames, IA
February 19, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at West Virginia
rivalry 		L 59–62  15–11
(5–10) 		 13 – Tied   10 – Bandaogo   3 – Tied  WVU Coliseum (10,683)
Morgantown, WV
February 22, 2025
12:00 p.m., ESPN2 		TCU W 75–63  16–11
(6–10) 		 18 – James   13 – Mitchell   4 – James  Fifth Third Arena (10,648)
Cincinnati, OH
February 25, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Baylor W 69–67  17–11
(7–10) 		 18 – James   9 – Mitchell   4 – Thomas  Fifth Third Arena (10,598)
Cincinnati, OH
March 1, 2025
4:30 p.m., CBS 		at No. 4 Houston L 64–73  17–12
(7–11) 		 19 – Thomas   8 – Bandaogo   5 – James  Fertitta Center (7,035)
Houston, TX
March 5, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Kansas State L 49–54  17–13
(7–12) 		 12 – Thomas   7 – Tied   5 – Lukošius  Fifth Third Arena (10,814)
Cincinnati, OH
March 8, 2025
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Oklahoma State L 67–78  17–14
(7–13) 		 17 – James   9 – Reed   4 – Tied  Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,597)
Stillwater, OK
Big 12 tournament
March 11, 2025
TBA 		(13) vs. (12) Oklahoma State
First round 		      T-Mobile Center 
Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[19][20]

Rankings

[edit]
See also: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP201718161422191716RVRVRV——————
Coaches201716141423201717RV————————

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cincinnati's Big 12 Championships Run Ends in Quarterfinals". gobearcats.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "Bearcats Fall Short in Quarterfinals to Indiana State, 85-81". gobearcats.com. March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Josh Loeffler Named Men's Basketball Coach at Loyola". LoyolaGreyHounds.com. Loyola University Maryland. March 30, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tim Buckley Joins Men's Basketball Staff as Assistant Coach". gobearcats.com. University of Cincinnati. June 3, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Dyer, Mike (June 7, 2024). "Covington Catholic High School names Jake Thelen as its new basketball coach". WCPO.com. WCPO. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  6. ^ "Men's Basketball Welcomes Back Stowe As Assistant Coach". gobearcats.com. University of Cincinnati. July 1, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  7. ^ "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Smith, Kaiden (April 2, 2024). "Cincinnati center Viktor Lakhin enters NCAA transfer portal". on3.com. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Heltman, Russ. "Former Cincinnati Bearcats Forward Viktor Lakhin Transferring to ACC School". si.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  10. ^ Rapien, James (April 4, 2024). "Cincinnati Bearcats Forward Jamille Reynolds Transferring to American Athletic Conference School". si.com. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Heltman, Russ. "Cincinnati Forward Entering Transfer Portal". si.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  12. ^ @@Knickoson42 (April 24, 2024). "Former #Bearcats center Sage Tolentino has committed to UNC Asheville, he announced on Instagram" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Heltman, Russ. "Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Lands Commitment From USC Center". si.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Heltman, Russ. "Bradley Transfer Guard Commits to Cincinnati". si.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Knickoson, Keegan. "Texas F Dillon Mitchell will transfer to UC". 247sports.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c "Kansas Selected As Big 12 Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite, KU's Dickinson Named Preseason Player of the Year". Big12sports.com. Big 12 Conference. October 10, 2024.
  17. ^ "CareSource Announces Exhibition Games for Mental Health". CareSource.
  18. ^ "Twyman-Stokes Classic Set for Nov. 15 Against Nicholls". GoBearcats.com. University of Cincinnati Athletics. October 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "Wildcats to Host Cincinnati in Big 12-BIG EAST Battle". villanova.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  20. ^ Heltman, Russ. "Report: Cincinnati Finalizing Another Matchup Against Dayton". si.com. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
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