With Big 12 play approaching, Cincinnati faces Evansville

Field Level Media|published: Thu 28th December, 18:12 2023

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Dan Skillings Jr. (0) drives to the basket in the first half of the basketball game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Stetson Hatters at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. credits: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cincinnati gets one last chance to prepare for a rigorous Big 12 schedule and enter conference action with momentum when it plays host to Evansville on Friday night.

Sophomore Dan Skillings Jr. scored a career-high 29 points to go with 10 rebounds and lead Cincinnati (10-2) to an 83-75 win over Stetson last Friday. The Bearcats are 10-0 in Skillings's career when he scores in double figures.

"We need that Dan Skillings to continue," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "It doesn't mean he's got to shoot it like that every night. We need that kind of mentality. I believe in the kid as much as you can believe in a young person. We do need him to keep trending that way every night."

Jamille Reynolds, a transfer from Temple, has made an immediate impact for the Bearcats after being cleared to play. Reynolds is averaging 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in three games for the Bearcats after scoring 14 points in 20 minutes against Stetson.

Cincinnati big man Aziz Bandaogo has missed the last two games with a back injury that occurred in a Dec. 16 loss to Dayton.

CJ Fredrick Jr. returned against Stetson after missing a game against Merrimack with a hamstring injury, recording a career-high seven assists in a career-best 33 minutes.

Following an eight-day holiday break, Evansville (10-2) enters the contest following an 82-51 win over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 20. Evansville has doubled its win total from last season and has double-digit wins for the first time since 2018-19, when the Purple Aces won 11 games.

"Credit our group for having the right approach as we played three games in five days. We talked about mindset this morning and I feel like we had great urgency and executed well," Evansville coach David Ragland said. "We took a lead and kept building on it. Sometimes you can get complacent, but every time out, our group stayed connected and kept building."

The Purple Aces are led by newcomer Chuck Bailey III, who led a trio of double figure scorers with 18 points in the team's most recent game. Bailey, already a three-time Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week, was 6 of 9 from the floor and 2 of 2 from 3-point range.

—Field Level Media