No. 14 Cincinnati aims to get back on track against Howard

No. 14 Cincinnati returns to campus Sunday and will look to rebound from its first loss of the season against visiting Howard.

Cincinnati (6-1) fell 68-60 at Villanova on Tuesday as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle. The Bearcats scored the first basket of the game, but that was their only lead as they shot a season-low 38.3 percent (23 of 60) from the floor. Villanova shot 48.9 percent (23 of 47), the highest rate the Bearcats have allowed this season, including 54.2 percent (13 of 24) in the first half.

"I didn't like us defensively in the first half at all," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said after the game. "I didn't think we carried over our game plan or did the things well that we value."

Jizzle James, the son of former NFL star running back Edgerrin James, led the Bearcats with 19 points. The sophomore guard's 14.6 points per game is second on the team behind Simas Lukosius' 16. Both Lukosius, a senior swingman, and James also rank in the top 40 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, at 3.6 and 3.3, respectively.

The Bearcats have also been without Dan Skillings Jr., who underwent a knee procedure last month. He played in only the season opener, when he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and his knee swelled after the game.

Even with the loss at Villanova, the Bearcats still rank among the top defensive teams. They are holding opponents to just 57.7 points per game, the fifth-lowest average in the country. On offense, the Bearcats' 51.5 percent shooting percentage ranks seventh nationally.

Howard (3-5) has lost three straight and is coming off a one-week break. The Bison lost 79-75 to Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 30 in a game where Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Bryce Harris did not play. The senior guard played just two minutes in Howard's previous game at Maryland-Baltimore County on Nov. 25.

Marcus Dockery, another senior guard, leads the team, scoring 14.4 points per game. He's shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Meanwhile, guard Blake Harper (13.9 points per game) has emerged as one of the top freshmen in the MEAC. He's earned the conference's Rookie of the Week honor four times already this season. Last week, he averaged 17.5 points in two games. He scored 16 in the Bison's season opener at Kansas and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

Cincinnati is the latest major conference school Howard will face this season. After losing 87-57 at Kansas on Nov. 4, coach Kenny Blakeney's team fell 77-62 at Missouri on Nov. 8.

The Bison are the two-time defending MEAC tournament champions and were picked in the preseason to win it again. During the MEAC's Media Day, Blakeney said scheduling power conference teams will help Howard prepare to defend their title.

"I think those games are really important, and especially early on," he explained. "If we can figure out and find out some of the answers on our team, sooner than later, we're able to work on those things and get better throughout the year."

--Field Level Media