Baba Miller career night, leads Bearcats over Alabama State

The Bearcats improved to 7-4 on the season following their 88-51 victory over Alabama State on Wednesday night.

Senior forward Baba Miller anchored the Bearcats, scoring a career high 26 points, while snatching 14 rebounds in the victory. The Florida Atlantic transfer finished the night shooting 11-12 from the field and was clearly the most efficient player on the court tonight.

“Baba Miller, when he is playing with good intention and the right mentality, he shows that he can be pretty special.” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller told reporters. “He played 26 minutes the right way tonight, and I challenged him to be consistent. When you look down and see 26 points and 14 rebounds on 11-12 shooting, that is pretty special.”

Shon Abaev also chimed in with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. While Abaev hasn’t been scoring the ball like many have maybe expected to start the season, he really flashed his game in other facets this evening. His ability to make the right read and showcase his passing ability was very great to see this evening.

Jizzle James Makes his 2025-2026 Debut.

Earlier this morning, Wes Miller announced that Jizzle James had been reinstated to the team, just four months after being dismissed from the program. Now, for those wondering, James has been back in Cincinnati for the last few weeks and was still enrolled in classes throughout the semester while working out and using the facilities to stay in shape.

The junior point guard finished with 16 points on six of nine shooting in his return to play, while notching four rebounds and two assists in just twenty minutes.

“Jizzle has been back in town now for a while. He came back knowing it was unlikely that he would play this year. We had told him that he probably wouldn’t play this year, and he still wanted to come back and be a Bearcat and part of the team,” said Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller. “I thought that was really special. Jizzle has worked really hard to be in the position to come back. He made amends with all the guys and has been working out in the facilities.”

“We added him to the roster weeks ago so he could practice with the team. I can’t give you that exact day, however. He has been on the roster, though or else he wouldn’t have been able to practice. He has been back practicing for a couple of weeks. He’s assimilated back within the team, which has been really neat to see. It was a difficult summer. He made some errors and has owned those errors and put in a lot of work to get to this position. The guys have accepted him back as well.”

“It honestly, for a number of reasons, felt like the right thing to do. The players did have some say in that as well. However, it felt like the right thing to do. We have had a couple of games where guys haven't been available on the day of the games. It felt like the right thing to do”

“But I will tell you guys, I am prouder of him for the stuff outside of basketball,” Miller stated. “But it was certainly great for me and the team to see him on the court tonight. My love for Jizzle is so far beyond basketball and our program. I never gave up on him personally. That’s because of the relationship and bond that we have. Jizzle had been here for two years before this all happened. We have had a relationship for three years. I don’t pretend to be anyone’s parent, because I am not, but that is the meaningful part of coaching.”

“For a while, it had nothing to do with basketball. We just wanted to be there for him. Jizzle did his part to give himself a chance to be a Bearcat again. Now, in terms of second chances to play, that is different. He has had to earn the trust of the players and make amends. He went through that process. As a coach, being in his life and helping him and being a part of his ability to improve his life and what he was dealing with was most important.”

There was no intention of playing him this year. Now, over the last week or so, guys on the team were echoing those things, and it made sense with availability stuff. He deserved that.”

The Rundown

Baba Miller got the scoring started for Cincinnati after burying a straightaway three for the game's first points. Shon Abaev followed suit after being fouled on his first field goal attempt of the night, where he went to the line and knocked down three free throws to give Cincinnati an early 6-0 lead. The Bearcats extended their lead to eight after Baba Miller grabbed the team's first offensive rebound of the night for the easy putback.

Alabama State rattled off six unanswered before Jizzle James scored his first points of the season to convert the three-point play.  Cincinnati controlled a 15-10 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. Cincinnati then rattled off a nine-point run to take a 22-12 lead following a Miller slam off the Abaev assist.

From there, it was all Cincinnati, as they extended their lead to 35-16 following a corner three from James to cap off a ten-point run, forcing an Alabama State timeout. Since then, Alabama State’s offence went ice cold, scoring just nine points over the final six minutes following James's made basket.

The Bearcats controlled a 50-25 lead at the half, with Abaev and Miller each recording thirteen first-half points. James also recorded nine points in eight minutes of action. However, Cincinnati ended the first half shooting 51% from the field, but really controlled the game on the inside, as 26 of those 50 came in the paint.

Cincinnati just poured it on Alabama State coming out of the half, led by Miller and Thomas, as they combined for all 16 of the Bearcats' second-half points, as they led 66-35 with 12:59 to play.

Keyshaun Tillery found a slashing Baba Miller in the open court for the two slam to give Cincinnati their largest lead of the game with 7:27 to play. The Bearcats continued to pound the ball inside and score with ease around the basket, which was something they’ve been emphasising over the recent weeks.

Cincinnati extended its lead to 85-47 with four minutes to go after James knocked down the midrange jumper to cap off a 10-0 run in favor of the Bearcats. Meanwhile, Alabama State would go ice cold as they went nearly seven minutes without a field goal over that span.

Up Next

The Bearcats (7-4) now travel to Greenville, South Carolina, for a matchup with Clemson in a neutral site matchup with tip-off set for 3pm.