Utah Aiming For The 1-1 Road Trip Split Vs. Cincinnati
Feb 10, 2025, 7:13 PM | Updated: 7:15 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah basketball aims to split their two-game road trip with a win against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday.
The Utes fell to 13-10, 5-7 in league play on Saturday following a 72-61 loss to West Virginia.
Road wins in the Big 12 are hard to come by but Utah would greatly help their cause with one on Tuesday.
Cinci trip day 1 ✅ pic.twitter.com/elTpjq31Lu
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2025
Unique opportunity for Madsen twins
It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for the Madsen twins, as the two originally committed to Cincinnati out of high school.
Coach Smith desperately needs more production from them in this one as well.
The Madsen twins combined to score just 12 points on 17 shots against West Virginia. They were also 2-of-12 from 3-point range, which needs to improve.
Cincinnati played a stingy brand of defense against BYU and limited their shot-making, so this will be a challenge.
However, Utah has to find a way to get more out of these two to improve their chances of a win.
Keanu Dawes is proving to be a difference-maker
The sophomore recently led the team against West Virginia on the road and recorded his second career double-double. He scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.
That’s continued a positive trend for him recently. In the last five games, Dawes has been averaging 7.4 points with a team-leading average of 5.4 rebounds while shooting .571 from the floor.
After finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Dawes has to play more. In fact, play him next to Ezra Ausar and Jake Wahlin a lot more, which has become one of Utah’s more effective lineup trios.
Dawes just has an innate ability to be productive. He finished around the rim and has connected on 3-point shots at an effective rate. He adds a lot of defensive versatility and most importantly, rebounds at a very high level.
Smith must get him on the floor more often and keep him there moving forward.
Utah-Cincinnati Numbers
| Utah | Cincinnati | |
| 75.4 | Scoring Offense | 71.6 |
| 70.2 | Scoring Defense | 64 |
| 5.2 | Scoring Margin | 7.6 |
| 0.458 | Field Goal % | 0.455 |
| 0.334 | 3PT FG% | 0.324 |
| 0.324 | 3PT FG% D | 0.312 |
| 39.3 | Rebounds/Game | 35.2 |
| 4.7 | Rebound Margin | 2.3 |
| 18.1 | Assists/Game | 14.3 |
| 12.7 | Turnovers/Game | 10 |
| -1.6 | Tunrover Margin | 2.8 |
| 1.4 | AST:TO Ratio | 1.4 |
| 6.4 | Steals/Game | 7.4 |
| 4 | Blocks/Game | 4.6 |
Utah Ranks Overall, In Conference
Through games on Feb. 9, here are how the Utes and their players rank across the country.
- Points Per Game: 75.4 – 115th overall, 9th in Big 12
- Points Allowed Per Game: 70.2 – 107th overall, 12th in Big 12
- Assists Per Game: 18.1 – 7th overall, 1st in Big 12
- Rebounds Per Game: 39.4 – 29th overall, 2nd Big 12
- Effective FG%: 53.1% – 79th overall, 7th in Big 12
- Defensive FG%: 40.6% – 43rd overall, 5th in Big 12
- Bench Points Per Game: 27.2 – 46th overall, 4th in Big 12
- A/TO Ratio: 1.43 – 47th overall, 4th in Big 12
The Need-To-Knows about the Cincinnati Bearcats
The Bearcats’ season has not been what they expected, but they have started to turn a corner. Wes Miller’s squad is 14-9 overall and 4-7 in the Big 12, and coming off of a big 84-66 win over BYU on Saturday.
Cincinnati rallied from a 3-point halftime deficit to open the second on a 22-2 run. That run was the big factor in their 84-66 margin over the Cougars. However, the key to the win was the Bearcats defense, which clamped down on BYU to the tune of five points allowed over the final seven minutes.
Jizzle James, who was 4-for-32 from deep in Big 12 play, went 6-for-8 against BYU. He is averaging 19.5 ppg over the last two wins on 66.7 percent shooting. His 24 points on Saturday marked his and the team’s season-high and his third 20-plus point outing.
Day Day Thomas, in his first three starts of the year, is averaging 15.0 ppg on 52.6 percent shooting. Over his first nine Big 12 contests, he averaged 6.4 ppg on 35.8 percent
Josh Reed turned in the best game of his UC career, posting a career-high 12 points and helping shut down BYU’s prolific offense, from breakaway steals for slams, 3-pointers and fadeaway jumpers. It was only the second double-figure scoring game of his career, previously in December 2022 against Bryant as a freshman.
The Bearcats went 10-of-20 from beyond the arc against BYU, their fifth game with double-digit makes and first since Thanksgiving Eve. CJ Fredrick’s 3-pointer in the first half made UC 6-0 when he scores this year, including three Big 12 wins.
How To Watch Utah Basketball Vs. Cincinnati
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Tip-Off: 5:00 pm (MST)
TV: ESPN+
Online: WatchESPN.com
Eric Rothman will once again have the call while Tim Welsh serves as the analyst on the broadcast with the Runnin’ Utes looking to record their first in-season sweep of a Big 12 opponent against the Bearcats.
