Cincinnati won 12 of its first 14 home games before dropping its last two contests in front of its fans.
The Bearcats (16-9, 5-7 Big 12) bid to end that skid and add to Oklahoma State’s ever-growing road woes on Wednesday when the teams reconvene in Cincinnati.
The Bearcats countered a pair of close defeats to ranked teams with a narrow 76-74 victory at UCF on Saturday.
Dan Skillings Jr. collected 15 points and eight rebounds and Aziz Bandaogo had 13 and eight, respectively for Cincinnati. Skillings averages a team-best 12.3 points per game, while his 6.2 boards trail only Bandaogo (7.9) and Viktor Lakhin (6.4).
“Anytime you can win in this league (you take it), it’s that difficult of a league,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “If you can win on the road, I think there’s an extra edge to that.”
Oklahoma State (11-14, 3-9) wouldn’t know how that feels this season. The Cowboys are saddled with an 0-7 record away from home, although they did manage to pull an upset at home on Saturday with a 93-83 victory over then-No. 19 BYU.
Jamyron Keller made the most of his first collegiate start by scoring 22 points to pace Oklahoma State. He made all eight of his field-goal attempts — including four from 3-point range — and sank both tries from the foul line.
Brandon Garrison chipped in 21 points and Quion Williams added 15 for the Cowboys.
“It’s a step forward for these guys,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “The way they competed for the entire game was something that every coach kinda hopes you see every game. And things always look better when the ball goes in, and we shot the ball well (on Saturday) as well.”
Javon Small is leading the Cowboys this season in average points per game (14.2) and foul line percentage (85.9). The East Carolina transfer made 8 of 16 shots and finished with a team-high 23 points in the Pirates’ 83-55 loss to Cincinnati in 2022-23.
–Field Level Media
