Battle of the Bears, Cats defeat Baylor 67-57

Cincinnati improved to 11-10 (3-5 Big 12) on the season following its 67-57 victory over Baylor.

Baba Miller anchored the Bearcats as the senior forward finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds in the victory, notching his ninth double-double of the season.

Jizzle James finished with 17 points on 6-11 shooting (5-6 from three), in what was a really efficient night for him.

“I did not feel good about how we played on Saturday night vs Arizona State.” Wes Miller told reporters.  “Tonight was a character win, despite not having all of the personnel, we found a way to gut this one out. That was a really important win for our team. Proud of how those guys handled business like professionals after being stuck in Arizona for two extra days due to the snowstorm, and it was a less-than-ideal scenario. This group has been so resilient all season, and it showed tonight.”

Homecoming for Dan Skillings

Senior guard Dan Skillings made his long-awaited return to Cincinnati on Wednesday for the first time following his departure this offseason.

Skillings spent the first three years of his career at the University of Cincinnati before transferring to Baylor this offseason for his final season of college eligibility. Now, for many, his departure came as a shock following the 2024-2025 season, where he averaged nine points and four rebounds as a junior, despite missing time earlier in the season due to injury.

I caught up with Dan back in October at Big 12 Media Days to discuss the opportunity to return to Cincinnati in what would eventually be his final year of college eligibility.

“Returning home to Cincinnati this year will be emotional for sure,” said Skillings. “Cincinnati will forever be home for me. When the basketball doesn’t dribble anymore, I truly do think I could see myself moving back to Cincinnati. I could really see myself growing a family here.”

“Having the opportunity to return to the place where it all began will be fun. To see the fans that I love so much with or without the hate. That matchup is going to be really exciting. Obviously, when you get on that court, it’s nothing but work. I know the fans are going to boo me. I don’t mind. I just want them to know I did what I thought was best for me in order to take the next step in my career. I just needed a fresh start after coming off the knee injury I suffered last year. I love the Cincinnati fans with all my heart and forever will love the city and program.”

Now, for Skillings, the boos were loud on Wednesday night from the moment he was announced with the Bears starting lineup. As a matter of fact, the Bearcats student section booed Skillings for all forty minutes of play despite  giving his blood, sweat, and tears to the program over the three years.

Skillings finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds in the Bears' loss.

Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller and Skillings embraced in a long hug at the end of the game in the team handshake lines, where Miller shared a moment with Skillings that lasted nearly a minute, reflecting on the time spent together over the years.

“It will never sit right with me that Dan Skillings and Josh Reed don’t finish their careers here at Cincinnati.” Wes Miller stated. “They were such important parts of our program and basically grew up here. It will never sit right with me that they didn’t finish their careers here. I don’t blame them at all. I blame the adults for all the dumb crap they have done within college basketball. I don’t blame the kids. Hopefully, it will get fixed in the near future.”

“Those two guys, Dan and Josh, it will never sit right with me that they didn’t finish their careers here at Cincinnati. I love those guys. I don’t want to see or play against Dan while he is in a Baylor jersey. However, I can’t say I blame him either. I am pulling for him, other than tonight, of course. I told him I didn’t want to come in here and get thirty on us. I care deeply about Dan and our former players deeply, unless they are playing against the Bearcats.”

Injuries Pile Up for Cincinnati.

The Bearcats continue to get struck by the injury bug, just like they have the entire time under now fifth-year head coach Wes Miller.

Tonight, they were without Senicre Harris, Shon Abaev, and Jalen Haynes, while Tyler McKinley and Kerr Kriisa played limited minutes as they currently try to stay balanced, stemming from previous injuries.

Now, for Harris, it sounds like he was just under the whether dealing with an illness and tried to give a last chance effort to play despite getting treated with numerous IV’s before the game, before being unable to go.

Meanwhile, McKinley continues to deal with some knee pain stemming from an injury he suffered back in December and was only able to play ten minutes in this one, with all ten of those minutes coming in the first half.

Kerr Kriisa is still dealing with some shoulder discomfort stemming from the injury suffered in the Houston game and was limited in this contest after being limited in practice over the recent days.

Shon Abaev missed the game tonight due to a knee injury and was spotted on crutches prior to the game.  Abaev’s injury is expected to sideline him for an extended period of time, it appears.

“Heartbroken for Shon. I was so pleased with the direction he was heading and figured out some of the winning stuff. Everyone knows the talent is there. I think he is going to be out for an extended period of time, but not sure on the exact timeline as of yet.”

The Rundown

Cincinnati jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after starting the game 3-3 from the field, following a three-point shot by Jizzle James. Despite both teams cooling off over the course of the next three minutes, they shot a combined 0-10 (Cincinnati 0-4, Baylor 0-6) from the field.

That was until a layup from Skillings silenced the scoring drought. James then responded for Cincinnati, with his second triple of the night to extend the lead back to five with 14:34 to play.

That made three from James, sparked an 8-0 run in favor of the Bearcats as they extended their lead to 10. A run that was highlighted by a great defensive stand from freshman guard Keyshuan Tillery on the defensive end in transition. Tillery then followed up with the midrange floater, followed by a corner three, sparking a personal five-to-zero run.

Baylor answered back with seven unasnwered following a corner three from Obi Agbam. The veteran guard then followed right back with another dagger three to tie the game at 15. Cincinnati silenced a near three-minute scoring drought following a feed inside to Miller for the two-handed slam. The Bearcats then got a stop on the opposing end and turned it into points immediately after a made three from Thomas.

Cincinnati controlled a 22-15 lead with 7:01 to play following a midrange floater from Jizzle James.

Both Baylor and Cincinnati exchanged bucket for bucket down the stretch before the four quick points from Jalen Celestine silenced the Bears' momentum. Tounde Yessoufou silenced the run with a made three to cut the Bearcats' lead to five with 2:36 to play in the first half.

Cincinnati controlled a 35-28 lead at the half, following ten points and eight rebounds from Baba Miller over the first twenty minutes of play. The Bearcats did a great job limiting the turnovers, just three in the first half, which was a positive for Wes Miller and his squad.

The Bearcats finished the first half shooting 43% from the field, while shooting 36% from behind the arc, which was the difference maker. When Cincinnati has shown the ability to take care of the ball and see the three-ball fall consistently, they have been a really fun team to watch. However, the Bears continue to hang around in this game due to their ability to rebound the basketball, where they won the battle of the glass in the first half, 20-16.

Moustapha Thiam got the scoring started for the Bearcats seconds into the second half. Which sparked a seven-point swing, forcing an early Baylor timeout with Cincinnati leading 42-33. Baylor silenced the run after Dan Skillings snuck through the back door of the Bearcats' defense for the reverse layup.

Cincinnati’s offense would go stagnant as they went one for their next eight from the field over a four-minute span, with the only bucket coming via Miller's dunk. Now, for the Bears, they started to slowly chip away at the Bearcats' double-digit lead as they trailed 56-46 with 8:16 to play.

Baylor’s leading scorer, Cameron Carr, was non-existent over the first 32 minutes of play, where he started 0-8 from the field. That was until he got his first bucket to fall with just over seven minutes to play, as Baylor trailed 64-50.

Scott Drew would pick up a late technical foul after Jizzle James poked it away from Cameron Carr on the penetration, which would have resulted in a wide-open layup on the other end for Thiam, but the play was whistled dead after Drew, upset with the play, charged the court to stop the play. Day-Day Thomas knocked down the pair of free throws to extend the lead to 66-50 with 4:45 to play.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati was able to close the game out despite not having a field goal over the span of the final 7:16.

Up Next

The Bearcats (11-10, 3-5) will travel to Houston on Saturday for a marquee matchup with Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, with tip-off set for 12pm.”