2022–23 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

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2022–23 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record23–13 (11–7 AAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachChad Dollar (2nd season)
Assistant coaches
  • Andre Morgan (2nd season)
  • Mike Roberts (2nd season)
Home arenaFifth Third Arena
Seasons
2022–23 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Houston 17 – 1   .944 33 – 4   .892
No. 24 Memphis † 13 – 5   .722 26 – 9   .743
Tulane 12 – 6   .667 20 – 11   .645
Cincinnati 11 – 7   .611 23 – 13   .639
Temple 10 – 8   .556 16 – 16   .500
Wichita State 9 – 9   .500 17 – 15   .531
UCF 8 – 10   .444 19 – 15   .559
South Florida 7 – 11   .389 14 – 18   .438
East Carolina 6 – 12   .333 16 – 17   .485
SMU 5 – 13   .278 10 – 22   .313
Tulsa 1 – 17   .056 5 – 25   .167
† 2023 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2022–23 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats were led by second-year head coach Wes Miller. The team played their home games at Fifth Third Arena as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 23–13, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Temple in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament, before losing to Houston in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they defeated Virginia Tech and Hofstra before losing to Utah Valley in the quarterfinals.

In September 2021, Cincinnati and fellow conference members Houston and UCF accepted invitations to join the Big 12 Conference.[1] The schools had been contractually required to remain with The American through 2024, but all reached a separation agreement that will allow them to join the Big 12 in 2023. Accordingly, the 2022–23 season was the program's last season as a member of The American.[2]

Previous season[edit]

The Bearcats finished the 2021–22 season 17–14, 7–11 in AAC play to finish seventh place. They defeated East Carolina in the AAC tournament before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals.[3]

Offseason[edit]

Player departures[edit]

Cincinnati Departing Players
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Abdul Ado 00 F 6' 11" 225 Graduate Student Lagos, Nigeria Completed college eligibility[a]
A.J. McGinnis 2 G 6' 3" 180 Sophomore Huntsville, AL Transferred to Lipscomb[4]
Mike Saunders Jr. 3 G 6' 0" 185 Sophomore Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Utah[5]
Hayden Koval 25 C 7' 1" 225 Graduate Student Prosper, TX Completed college eligibility[a]
Sam Martin 31 G 5' 10" 180 Graduate Student Cincinnati, OH Walk–on; completed college eligibility
Rob Banks 43 F 6' 5" 210 Junior Bracknell, England Walk-on; transferred to Texas A&M-Commerce
Mason Madsen 45 G 6' 4" 200 Sophomore Rochester, MN Transferred to Boston College[6]
  1. ^ a b Ado and Koval were both graduate transfers in the 2021–22 season, with Ado having graduated from Mississippi State and Koval from UNC Greensboro.

Incoming transfers[edit]

Cincinnati Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Kalu Ezikpe 1 F 6' 8" 240 Graduate Student Lawrenceville, GA Transferred from Old Dominion after graduating. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.[7]
Landers Nolley II 2 G 6' 7" 208 Graduate Student Atlanta, GA Transferred from Memphis after graduating. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[8]
Rob Phinisee 10 G 6' 1" 187 Graduate Student Lafayette, IN Transferred from Indiana after graduating. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.[9]

Class of 2022[edit]

Cincinnati signed a three-man class consisting of Sage Tolentino, Josh Reed and Daniel Skillings.[10]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Sage Tolentino
C 		Honolulu, HI Hamilton High School (OH) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jul 15, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Daniel Skillings
SG 		Philadelphia, PA Roman Catholic High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sep 23, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Josh Reed
SF 		Atlanta, GA Pace Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oct 1, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 36  247Sports: 32
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Cincinnati 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  • "2022 Cincinnati Bearcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  • "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.

Class of 2023[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Rayvon Griffith
SG 		Cincinnati, OH AZ Compass Prep 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 1, 2022[11] 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 83
Jizzle James
PG 		Orlando, FL Olympia High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) October 4, 2022[12] 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Preseason[edit]

AAC preseason media poll[edit]

On October 12, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[13]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Houston 100 (10)
2 Memphis 87 (1)
3 Cincinnati 82
4 Tulane 74
5 Temple 66
6 UCF 51
7 SMU 43
8 Wichita State 35
9 South Florida 33
10 Tulsa 21
11 East Carolina 13

Preseason Awards[edit]

Roster[edit]

2022–23 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Daniel Skillings 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Roman Catholic High School Philadelphia, PA
F 1 Kalu Ezikpe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Old Dominion Lawrenceville, GA
G 2 Landers Nolley II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Memphis Atlanta, GA
G 3 Mika Adams-Woods 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr New Hampton School Syracuse, NY
G 5 David DeJulius 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Michigan Detroit, MI
G 10 Rob Phinisee Injured 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Indiana Lafayette, IN
G 11 CJ Anthony (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Putnam Science Academy Columbus, OH
G 13 Josh Reed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Pace Academy Atlanta, GA
G/F 15 John Newman III Injured 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Clemson Greensboro, NC
G 21 Chase Kirkwood (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Arkansas Phoenix, MD
G 24 Jeremiah Davenport 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Hargrave Military Academy Cincinnati, OH
F 30 Viktor Lakhin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So CSKA–2 Anapa, Russia
F 32 Jarrett Hensley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So UNC Greensboro Merriam, KS
F 33 Ody Oguama 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Wake Forest Raleigh, NC
C 44 Sage Tolentino Injured Current redshirt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Hamilton High School Kane'ohe, HI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 6 Oct 2022

  • November 15, 2022: John Newman III injured his knee, leading to him missing the rest of the season.[14]

Schedule and results[edit]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 7, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Chaminade W 98–55  1–0
  24 – DeJulius   6 – Tied   8 – Phinisee  Fifth Third Arena (9,043)
Cincinnati, OH
November 10, 2022*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cleveland State W 69–58  2–0
  18 – DeJulius   12 – Lakhin   6 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (9,227)
Cincinnati, OH
November 13, 2022*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Kentucky W 87–69  3–0
  22 – DeJulius   12 – Ogauma   4 – Adams-Woods  Fifth Third Arena (9,103)
Cincinnati, OH
November 16, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Kentucky L 51–64  3–1
  9 – Tied   9 – Lakhin   4 – Phinisee  Truist Arena (8,503)
Highland Heights, KY
November 21, 2022*
11:30 p.m., ESPN2 		vs. No. 14 Arizona
Maui Invitational Tournament quarterfinals 		L 93–101  3–2
  33 – Nolley II   5 – Tied   5 – DeJulius  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 22, 2022*
5:00 p.m., ESPN2 		vs. Ohio State
Maui Invitational Tournament consolation round 		L 53–81  3–3
  12 – Lakhin   4 – Tied   1 – Tied  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 23, 2022*
7:30 p.m., ESPNU 		vs. Louisville
Maui Invitational Tournament 7th–place game 		W 81–62  4–3
  26 – DeJulius   6 – Tied   6 – Davenport  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 30, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		NJIT W 86–60  5–3
  22 – DeJulius   10 – Lakhin   2 – Tied  Fifth Third Arena (8,769)
Cincinnati, OH
December 4, 2022*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bryant W 97–71  6–3
  16 – Lakhin   13 – Tied   7 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (9,273)
Cincinnati, OH
December 10, 2022*
3:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Xavier
Crosstown Shootout 		L 77–80  6–4
  22 – DeJulius   8 – Lakhin   6 – Adams-Woods  Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
Cincinnati, OH
December 14, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Miami (OH) W 103–76  7–4
  22 – DeJulius   4 – Tied   6 – Adams-Woods  Fifth Third Arena (8,976)
Cincinnati, OH
December 17, 2022*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		La Salle W 78–60  8–4
  17 – Tied   8 – Davenport   6 – Nolley II  Fifth Third Arena (8,869)
Cincinnati, OH
December 21, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Detroit Mercy W 72–54  9–4
  18 – Lakhin   15 – Lakhin   5 – Davenport  Fifth Third Arena (9,519)
Cincinnati, OH
AAC Regular Season
December 29, 2022
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Tulane W 88–77  10–4
(1–0) 		 23 – Nolley II   13 – Lakhin   6 – Adams-Woods  Fifth Third Arena (9,484)
Cincinnati, OH
January 1, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN 		at Temple L 61–70  10–5
(1–1) 		 15 – Nolley II   5 – Oguama   3 – Nolley II  Liacouras Center (3,224)
Philadelphia, PA
January 5, 2023
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Wichita State W 70–61  11–5
(2–1) 		 22 – Davenport   11 – Nolley II   6 – DeJulius  Charles Koch Arena (6,876)
Wichita, KS
January 8, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 2 Houston L 59–72  11–6
(2–2) 		 19 – Adams-Woods   6 – Tied   5 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (10,264)
Cincinnati, OH
January 11, 2023
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		East Carolina W 83–55  12–6
(3–2) 		 20 – Nolley II   10 – Nolley II   12 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (9,118)
Cincinnati, OH
January 14, 2023
4:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at SMU W 54–52  13–6
(4–2) 		 16 – Tied   12 – Nolley II   5 – DeJulius  Moody Coliseum (3,817)
University Park, TX
January 18, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at South Florida W 85–69  14–6
(5–2) 		 21 – Tied   9 – Nolley II   7 – DeJulius  Yuengling Center (3,359)
Tampa, FL
January 22, 2023
1:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Memphis
Rivalry 		L 68–75  14–7
(5–3) 		 22 – Lakhin   10 – Lakhin   6 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (8,622)
Cincinnati, OH
January 28, 2023
2:15 p.m., CBS 		at No. 3 Houston L 69–75  14–8
(5–4) 		 24 – Nolley II   6 – Tied   9 – DeJulius  Fertitta Center (7,477)
Houston, TX
February 1, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tulsa W 81–55  15–8
(6–4) 		 20 – Davenport   13 – Nolley II   9 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (9,334)
Cincinnati, OH
February 4, 2023
12:00 p.m., ESPNU 		UCF W 73–64  16–8
(7–4) 		 20 – Lakhin   8 – Lakhin   7 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (10,351)
Cincinnati, OH
February 7, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tulane L 94–101 OT 16–9
(7–5) 		 26 – Nolley II   13 – Oguama   8 – DeJulius  Devlin Fieldhouse (2,328)
New Orleans, LA
February 11, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		South Florida W 84–65  17–9
(8–5) 		 18 – Tied   10 – Nolley II   5 – Davenport  Fifth Third Arena (11,046)
Cincinnati, OH
February 15, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at East Carolina L 71–75  17–10
(8–6) 		 19 – Tied   9 – Oguama   5 – DeJulius  Williams Arena (4,065)
Greenville, NC
February 19, 2023
12:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at UCF W 73–71  18–10
(9–6) 		 18 – Nolley II   6 – Tied   8 – DeJulius  Addition Financial Arena (5,213)
Orlando, FL
February 22, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Temple W 88–83 OT 19–10
(10–6) 		 20 – 2 tied   6 – 2 tied   7 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (10,059)
Cincinnati, OH
February 26, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Memphis
Rivalry 		L 73–76  19–11
(10–7) 		 16 – DeJulius   9 – Lakhin   8 – Adams-Woods  FedExForum (12,211)
Memphis, TN
March 5, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		SMU W 97–74  20–11
(11–7) 		 30 – DeJulius   6 – Lakhin   6 – 2 tied  Fifth Third Arena (11,068)
Cincinnati, OH
AAC Tournament
March 10, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) vs. (5) Temple
Quarterfinals 		W 84–54  21–11
  22 – Nolley II   12 – Oguama   5 – Adams-Woods  Dickies Arena 
Fort Worth, TX
March 11, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) vs. (1) No. 1 Houston
Semifinals 		L 48–69  21–12
  14 – Nolley II   9 – Oguama   5 – DeJulius  Dickies Arena 
Fort Worth, TX
NIT
March 15, 2023
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) Virginia Tech
First Round – Rutgers Bracket 		W 81–72  22–12
  21 – DeJulius   12 – Nolley II   7 – DeJulius  Fifth Third Arena (3,995)
Cincinnati, OH
March 18, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(4) at Hofstra
Second Round – Rutgers Bracket 		W 79–65  23–12
  20 – Nolley II   11 – Oguama   9 – DeJulius  Mack Sports Complex (2,228)
Hampstead, NY
March 22, 2023
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(4) at Utah Valley
Quarterfinals – Rutgers Bracket 		L 68–74  23–13
  23 – Nolley II   10 – Lakhin   4 – 2 tied  UCCU Center (5,289)
Orem, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[15]

Awards and honors[edit]

American Athletic Conference honors[edit]

All-AAC First Team[edit]

All-AAC Third Team[edit]

Player of the Week[edit]

  • Week 1: David DeJulius

Weekly Honor Roll[edit]

  • Week 4: Viktor Lakhin
  • Week 5: David DeJulius
  • Week 6: David DeJulius
  • Week 9: Viktor Lakhin
  • Week 10: Landers Nolley II
  • Week 11: Landers Nolley II
  • Week 12: Landers Nolley II
  • Week 13: David DeJulius
  • Week 15: David DeJulius
  • Week 17: David DeJulius

AAC All-Tournament Team[edit]

  • Landers Nolley II

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Big 12 Conference Adds Four New Members". Big12Sports.com. Big 12 Conference. September 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "American Announces Agreements With UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on Departure" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Cincinnati Falls in AAC Championship Quarterfinals". gobearcats.com. UC Athletics. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  4. ^ @theajm2 (April 17, 2022). "I worked on Friday, prayed and rested on Saturday, on Sunday He rose and I committed. #hornsup #happyeaster @LipscombBisons @LipscombMBB" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ @icemikeg3 (April 2, 2022). "#GoUtes" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ @masmadsen (April 12, 2022). "BOSTON… LETS GET IT!! #ForBoston @BCMBB" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Ezikpe, Kalu [@EzikpeKalu14] (April 15, 2022). "CINCINNATI — IM ALL IN!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Nolley, Landers [@NolleyLanders] (April 27, 2022). "Ready to do what they said I couldn't 🌹🐾 #COMMITTED" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Phinisee, Rob [@robphinisee1] (April 20, 2022). "Let's Work" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Cincinnati MBB Signing Day: Bearcats Build for 2022-23". GoBearcats.com. University of Cincinnati Athletics. November 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  11. ^ Cobb, David (May 1, 2022). "College basketball recruiting: Four-star SG Rayvon Griffith commits to Cincinnati in 2023 class". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  12. ^ Boone, Kyle (October 4, 2022). "College basketball recruiting: Jizzle James, son of former NFL star Edgerrin James, commits to Cincinnati". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Houston Picked as 2022-23 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  14. ^ Russ Heltman (November 15, 2022). "Report: UC Guard John Newman III to Miss Multiple Months Following Knee Surgery". www.si.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  15. ^ "2022–23 Men's Basketball Schedule". gobearcats.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
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