No. 20 Cincinnati launches season of high hopes vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

No. 20 Cincinnati will open a new season with high hopes and a preseason top-25 ranking for the first time since 2017-18 when it hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night.

Cincinnati is coming off an 80-62 win over Ohio State in an exhibition game on Oct. 18. The Bearcats raced out to an 18-6 lead in the opening minutes and never trailed the rest of the way in a game that gave their fans a first look at a talented and deep roster filled by many returnees.

Simas Lukosius, Dan Skillings Jr., Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James lead a deep and versatile backcourt while Aziz Bandaogo, Tyler McKinney and Texas transfer Dillon Mitchell anchor an athletic frontcourt.

"We have the pieces and depth to be a good team," coach Wes Miller said. "We aren't going to be a very good team if we think we've arrived in October because the score was in our favor. I've been here three years, and we have played these closed-door scrimmages and have lost a bunch of them. We've lost a bunch of them and then we got a lot better the next week."

Last season, Cincinnati's first in the Big 12, ended with another trip to the NIT quarterfinals and a loss to Indiana State. The Bearcats finished with a 22-15 overall mark and a 7-11 conference record.

Cincinnati, picked to finish sixth this season in the 16-team Big 12, returns six of its top eight scorers. Overall, returnees account for 69.9 percent of the points, 54.9 percent of the rebounds and 76.1 percent of the assists from the 2023-24 team.

"I think the main thing with this group is we have fun together," Mitchell said. "That's kind of what it's all about. When we go out there, it's not we're trying to execute this, execute that, but we're going to have fun at the end of the day. I think that's something that this team really connects on. It's a big reason why I came here. The coaches brought a lot of guys back, and then adding me to that, I think the way we went out, the way we competed, I think that's the biggest thing."

As for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Golden Lions finished last season with a 13-18 overall mark, 8-10 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Beginning with Monday's opener in Cincinnati, the Golden Lions will play eight of their first nine on the road, also visiting Tulsa, South Florida, Incarnate Word, Texas Tech, Missouri, Pacific and Kansas State.

"We are excited to play against some high-level opponents in the non-conference schedule," coach Solomon Bozeman said. "Competing against the best will only make us better, so we welcome it. It will prepare and battle-test us as we aim to be playing our best basketball during conference play."

Pine Bluff is led by senior guard Trejon Ware and North Texas transfer guard Christian Moore. The Golden Lions will scramble to replace their top four double-digit scorers from last season, led by Kylen Milton and Rashad Williams, both of whom averaged at least 17 points per game.

--Field Level Media