After knocking off No. 18 Baylor, the BYU Cougars look for their first Big 12 road win as they take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Feb. 10 at noon ET.
PROVO, Utah — After knocking off No. 18 Baylor, the BYU Cougars look for their first Big 12 road win as they take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Feb. 10 at noon ET.
Matchup Breakdown
BYU is 2-0 against Cincinnati all-time, having won the first meeting this season, 68-58, in Provo.
All-Time: BYU leads 2-0
In Provo: BYU leads 2-0
In Cincinnati: 0-0
At Neutral Site: 0-0
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Opens in a new window BYU RadioBYU Cougars (13-11, 2-8 Big 12 Conference)
SHARING THE ROCK: The Cougars have assisted on 382 of 599 (.638) made field goals this season and 171 of 268 (.638) during conference play. BYU has had at least three or more players score in double figures in 19 of the first 24 contests. BYU was the first team to record 20 or more assists against Baylor since UConn dished out 23 assists in the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament.
MAGIC NUMBER...66 POINTS OR LESS: Coach Whiting prides her team on their ability to defend. Her defense has held opponents to 65.8 points per game while holding 13 of 24 opponents to 66 or fewer points. The Cougars are 12-1 in such games, including their upset of No. 18 Baylor.
THE MORE YOU SCORE, THE MORE YOU WIN: Last year, BYU scored more than 65 points in 15 of 33 games and garnered a 12-3 record when doing so. This season, the Cougars have exceeded the 65-point threshold in 18 of their first 24 games and hold an 11-7 record when scoring 65 or more.
LIGHTING IT UP FROM DEEP...AGAIN: The Cougars shot a blistering 47.5 percent from the floor as well as 38.9 percent from three in nonconference play, a top-10 mark in the country and top-2 in the Big 12. In the first six games of conference play, BYU struggled from downtown, shooting 34.6 percent, dropping as low as seventh in the conference in three-point percentage. Over the past five games, the Cougars have righted the ship, going 38-for-88 (.432) from behind the loop to lead the conference at 38 percent during Big 12 play (84-of-221).
Head Coach – Amber Whiting
Cincinnati Bearcats (12-10, 4-7 Big 12 Conference)
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: The Bearcats are finding their groove at the right time, having won their last two games and picked up their first Big 12 road win on Wednesday over UCF, 67-61. In Orlando, Cincinnati posted their best field goal percentage of Big 12 play, going 23-for-55 (.418). The Bearcats are averaging 70.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting in their last two wins over UCF and Texas Tech.
HAYES’ LEADING THE BEARCATS: The senior forward has been key for Cincinnati over their past couple of games. Hayes has recorded back-to-back double-doubles in wins over the Lady Raiders and Knights with 15.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, three blocks and 2.5 steals in the two victories. On the season, Hayes is the leading scorer for the Bearcats at 12.2 points per game, 8.4 boards, 1.2 steals and nearly a block per contest.
LOCK UP ONE-ON-ONE: The Bearcats have recorded 192 assists on the year, assisting on only 41.4 percent of all made baskets. Thus 272 of their 464 made baskets this season have been created in one-on-one scenarios.
NEW TERRITORY FOR CINCINNATI: With back-to-back wins over Texas Tech and UCF, the Bearcats NET ranking (No. 90) has climbed to the highest mark in program history since the NET rankings were instituted in 2018.
Head Coach – Katrina Merriweather