Cincinnati is seeking a boost when the Bearcats play their final nonconference game against visiting Lipscomb on Monday night.
The Bearcats (7-5) are led by senior forward Baba Miller and graduate guard Day Day Thomas. Miller is tied for 13th nationally and leads the Big 12 with six double-doubles; he’s first in the conference and fifth nationally with 8.2 defensive rebounds per contest, and 10th in the country and first in the conference with 10.6 total rebounds per game.
Thomas ranks third in the Big 12 and 24th nationally in 3-point percentage (47.1) while leading the Big 12 and ranking sixth in the country with a 94.4 free-throw percentage.
Monday will mark the third game back for shooting guard Jizzle James since he was reinstated to the roster. James didn’t play the first six minutes of a 68-65 loss to Clemson but scored 10 points in 29 minutes off the bench. The Bearcats rallied from down 38-11 to make it a one-possession game late.
“You start to assimilate a player like Jizzle back into the team, there’s just a gravity he has on the floor,” Miller said. “He’s done a tremendous job of doing it with grace and being so humble. There’s a presence he has on the floor and that’s going to certainly affect rotations and lineups. There’s no way around it as we move into league play here.”
Cincinnati is in desperate need of the win heading into Big 12 play against Houston on Jan. 3.
The Bearcats could get two players back from injury Monday as Tyler McKinley and Jalen Haynes are close to a return after missing the first 12 games.
Lipscomb (7-5) has won six of seven, with the only loss coming to No. 3 Duke on the road. The Bisons are coming off a 123-60 blowout of NAIA opponent Blue Mountain Christian.
Grant Asman leads Lipscomb at 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Bisons have three other scorers in double figures: Mateo Esmeraldo (11.1), Ross Candelino (11.0) and Titas Sargiunas (10.0).
