LAURENT — Kansas basketball will look for a third straight victory Saturday on the road in Big 12 Conference play against Cincinnati.
The No. 12 Jayhawks (11-3, 2-1 in the Big 12) are coming off a home win against Arizona State. The Bearcats (10-4, 0-3 in the Big 12) lost on the road to Baylor in their last game. Cincinnati isn’t just looking for an upset win, but its first Big 12 victory this season.
Keep a few of these things in mind and check out a prediction before the tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) in Cincinnati:
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Bill Self hasn’t forgotten last season’s Big 12 Tournament loss, but isn’t dwelling on it
If anyone has forgotten, Cincinnati was the team that knocked Kansas out of the Big 12 tournament last season. The Bearcats routed the Jayhawks, winning 72-52 before coach Bill Self’s team even had a chance to reach the quarterfinals. But Self made sure to point out Wednesday that in that game last season, even though Cincinnati crushed his team, KU was also without Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr.
Looking ahead to this upcoming game, Self described the Bearcats as a quality team. He pointed out that even though Cincinnati is unranked at the moment, it’s not like the Bearcats were sitting well inside the top 25 that long ago. He pointed out how close Cincinnati’s road loss at Kansas State was, as well as the home loss to Arizona, and mentioned that Kansas will have to play with the energy it showed in both last matches to have a chance.
Self-scouts for this year’s Cincinnati team
He himself describes Cincinnati as a good all-around basketball team. He likes the Bearcats staff and mentioned that junior guard Dan Skillings Jr. is someone who thrived against Kansas last season — for example, scoring 25 points in the Big 12 Tournament victory that Cincinnati took advantage of. Skills can score at all three levels.
Self’s praise for Cincinnati extends to the fact that although the Jayhawks won 74-69 at home last season against the Bearcats, it took a lot for KU to come away with a win this game. It was also with McCullar and Dickinson playing this game. From Self’s perspective, Cincinnati got the best out of his team when you put those two games together.
Rylan Griffen expects the best from Cincinnati
Kansas junior guard Rylan Griffen did not play in the Jayhawks’ games against Cincinnati last season because he was playing for Alabama. But it’s not as if the newcomer, by way of transfer, needs any explanation as to why this matchup has the chance to be difficult. Not only does he view it as a must-win game for his team, but he knows the Bearcats have lost three games in the Big 12 to date, which brings with it a certain level of urgency for his opponent.
Griffen expects to get Cincinnati’s best effort and even went so far as to expect a sellout. There’s no doubt in his mind about everything Kansas will have to do to win. The Bearcats have only lost once at home so far this season.
Kansas vs. Cincinnati basketball prediction
It’s true that Cincinnati is a difficult team to beat at home. However, it looks like Kansas is starting to figure things out early in Big 12 play. While the Bearcats will pose a challenge, the Jayhawks should pull out an 80-69 victory.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas sports at the Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association Sportswriter of the Year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article was originally published on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas vs. Cincinnati Basketball: Scouting Report, Big 12 Prediction
