Before you hit the holiday break and travel to see friends and family, we’ve got one more game for the Clemson Tigers (9-3) this weekend against the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-4). The contest will be held in Greenville’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena, about 40 minutes from the Clemson campus, for. Expect a heavy population of orange in the crowd for Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
The Bearcats enter the game coming off losses to rival Xavier and Georgia, whom Clemson just beat a few weeks ago. Cincinnati also has a loss to fellow ACC member Louisville and a bad home loss to Eastern Michigan. It has not been the best start for head coach Wes Miller in his fifth season with the program, and a lackluster non-conference performance makes the road even tougher for the Bearcats to compete in the stacked Big 12.
Advertisement
This is a Cincinnati team that has struggled offensively the entire season. Taking a glance at KenPom metrics, the Bearcats are outside the top 200 in adjusted offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage, turnover percentage, offensive rebounding percentage, and 3-point percentage. To make matters even worse, Cincinnati is one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, shooting just 62.5% from the stripe. The Bearcats have failed to score 75 points or more in seven of their 10 games thus far, only averaging 74.3 points per game, which ranks 253rd in the nation. The cherry on top is that their leading scorer, Day Day Thomas, is from South Carolina!
The bizarre thing about this team is that, despite their unimpressive offensive performance, they are equally impressive on the defensive side, ranking within the top 30 in several defensive categories, including adjusted defensive efficiency (11th), turnover percentage (26th), and opponent offensive rebounding percentage (6th). They are tight in the paint, blocking shots at a high rate (16.2%) to couple with their impressive rebounding ability. This is an area where they can control the game against Clemson, as the Tigers are not known for their offensive rebounding abilities.
Some players to keep an eye on this weekend include Day Day Thomas, whom I mentioned earlier. A graduate student who will enjoy playing in his home state this weekend, Thomas is tied for the team lead in points per game with Baba Miller, who is undoubtedly one of the team leaders for the Bearcats. Some good news for Cincinnati this week includes the return of Jizzle James, who was initially removed from the team over the summer due to “personal matters” but has now rejoined the Bearcat roster. It is unclear how soon he will make an appearance on the court.
Following the win over South Carolina on Tuesday, Clemson is seeking another non-conference victory to bolster its resume after the disappointing losses to Alabama and BYU, two games that Clemson will spend the season wondering how they let slip away. If they can close the non-conference slate with three straight wins, the momentum heading into conference play will be huge. Road trips to Syracuse and Pitt are not easy, but Clemson will be favored to win those games.
Advertisement
Tipoff Sunday is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN.
If you’re still looking for a holiday gift (I know you are, actually), give our friends at Section 103 a visit. They’ve got all you need for the special Tiger in your life. Use our code STS10 at checkout for 10% off your order!
