It’s a battle of 12.
The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Cincinnati Bearcats today, starting at 2 pm ET, and it’s the matchup everyone has been waiting for. The last time KU and Cincy faced off the Bearcats took home 20 points against the Jayhawks in the conference tournament. But this season, the tables have turned a bit for them in the Big 12, as they are currently 0-3 in conference play and looking to bounce back from their losing streak.
Meanwhile, KU is currently 2-1 in the Big 12—good for fourth place in the conference—and holds the No. It will be the first time the two programs have met in Cincy since ’64.
If there’s one thing you need to know about both of these squads, it’s that they don’t play well when it comes to defense, especially the Bearcats who can easily paddle the offensive boards.
“Our defense on the field, man-to-man, has been the most reliable we’ve had all year,” coach Wes Miller said after the loss to Baylor. “I even heard tonight that when we were locked in between the five of us, we felt that there would be progress. Give them credit—they got a few baskets in transition and our defense had a lack of rebounding effort.”
They will need to bring the same energy and more against KU, as the Jayhawks defense is so high, they have been shutting down opponents. Add in the fact that they’ve got the 24th most efficient offense according to KenPom, and you’re looking at a very dominant team that can be seen on both ends of the floor.
“We played good defense,” coach Bill Self told the media after beating Arizona State. “Who would have thought that we shot the ball more in the second half from 2? We shot it really bad from the 3 and held them to the 11, and then they got a touchdown there right at the end. But that was unusual.”
It will be a scam. To get excited about the game, we have a special college collection of Kansas and Cincinnati gear. Lock it.
