Cincinnati Bearcats ahead Baba Miller (18) drives the ball within the first half of the Phillips 66 Huge 12 Males’s Basketball Match between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Utah Utes, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at T-Cell Middle in Kansas Metropolis, MO. Jalen Celestine scored 19 factors and Baba Miller added 11 factors, 14 rebounds and 6 assists as ninth-seeded Cincinnati beat hapless, Sixteenth-seeded Utah 73-66 on Tuesday afternoon in a Huge 12 Convention event first-round recreation in Kansas Metropolis, Mo.
The Bearcats advance to face eighth-seeded UCF within the second spherical on Wednesday afternoon. The groups completed tied for eighth place after the Huge 12’s regular-season gauntlet, with the Knights incomes a first-round bye by holding a tiebreaker over Cincinnati.
Cincinnati (18-14) continues to be preventing for a spot within the NCAA Match and took a step towards that aim, with Tuesday’s win its seventh in its final 9 video games. The Bearcats could have an opportunity to bolster their resume when enjoying UCF, with whom they break up their season sequence.
Cincinnati weathered a ragged first 14½ minutes earlier than utilizing a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead at halftime. The Bearcats rapidly expanded their benefit to 48-33 when Baba Miller hit a jumper after which a layup, the latter with 12:58 to play.
Utah fought again, closing to inside 63-58 on Brown’s jumper with 4:35 remaining however by no means bought nearer than 4 factors the remainder of the best way.
Moustapha Thiam scored 14 factors and 10 rebounds for Cincinnati.
The Utes’ Terrence Brown led all scorers with 22 factors. Keanu Dawes added 15 factors and 12 rebounds and Seydou Traore hit for 12 factors as Utah (10-22) completed its season with six straight losses. The Utes’ 10 wins are their fewest in a marketing campaign since their 6-25 mark in 2011-12.
The Bearcats stumbled early on in Tuesday’s recreation towards convention doormat Utah, falling behind 15-6 after free throws by the Utes’ Don McHenry with 11:41 left within the first half. Cincinnati made simply two of its first 10 pictures over the sport’s first 8 1/2 minutes.
Cincinnati culled its deficit to a degree over the following six minutes, with a 3-pointer by Shon Abaev making it 18-17 with 5:23 left within the half. After layup by Utah’s Kendyl Sanders pushed the margin again to a few factors, the Bearcats discovered their stride in a giant method, closing the half with a 12-0 run capped by a jumper by Thiam with 23 seconds left to surge to the entrance and carry a 29-20 result in the break.
Celestine’s eight factors led all scorers earlier than halftime whereas Brown tallied seven factors to tempo the Utes. Utah shot simply 19.4% from the ground within the first half and went the ultimate 3:30 with no level whereas lacking its remaining 5 pictures.
–Area Stage Media
