Cincinnati, Colorado battle for first Big 12 victory

Field Level Media|published: Tue 14th January, 20:37 2025

NCAA Basketball: Colorado State at Colorado

Dec 7, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Julian Hammond III (3) shoots the ball in the second half against the Colorado State Rams at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Either Cincinnati or Colorado will finally notch their first Big 12 win on Wednesday when the teams square off in Boulder, Colo.

The Bearcats (10-5, 0-4) and Buffaloes (9-6, 0-4) remain the Big 12's only winless teams in conference play, and Cincinnati's swoon has cost it a spot in the AP Top 25.

Colorado fell at home to then-No. 21 West Virginia 78-70 on Saturday. Julian Hammond III led the Buffaloes with 23 points in the loss and Assane Diop finished with 13 points. Colorado pared a 14-point second-half deficit to 59-57 with 7:29 left but missed nine of its final 11 shots.

"Obviously losing four games in row is frustrating, but we'll try to keep our team together and keep our guys together," Hammond said. "We have another game on Wednesday. So we got to be ready for that."

Colorado made more free throws (24) than field goals (20) in the sluggish effort.

"It's been like that now four games in a row," Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said. "So I take responsibility for this. I'm the head coach."

The Bearcats have fared no better over the past two weeks and scored their fewest points this season in a 57-40 loss at home to then-No. 11 Kansas on Saturday. Dillon Mitchell had 10 points and was the only Cincinnati player to reach double figures in a game that the Bearcats led 25-24 at halftime but were outscored 30-15 after the break.

Cincinnati ended up shooting 30.5 percent from the floor and missed 10 of its final 11 shots. The Bearcats' 40 points were their fewest at home since beating UAB 40-38 in January 1993.

"Everybody goes through bad stretches in these leagues," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "It's part of the deal. If you want to play at this level, it comes with it sometimes. We've got to respond to it, and I believe my team will."

Scoring may be at a premium on Wednesday as the Bearcats rank seventh nationally and second in the Big 12 in points allowed (60.5 per game) entering Tuesday.

Cincinnati has won seven of the eight all-time meetings with the Buffaloes. The teams last met in 1982.

--Field Level Media