I’m combining the Ohio State and Louisville games into one post, so bear with me.

The Ohio State game was just brutal. After hanging with Ohio State to the tune of just a 21-20 deficit early in the first half, The Bearcats got crushed 81-53.

There’s so much that went wrong in this game, but it comes down to this. If you’re three best offensive players combine to go 3-18, then UC isn’t going to beat anyone.

Nolley, Davenport, and DeJulius have to make shots. It’s not a secret. (Stick around for more on that 😉

Aside from that, Cincinnati just got bullied inside. The worries of not having enough in the front court are coming true.

The Buckeyes crushed UC on the glass 42-29, and Ohio State had more offensive rebounds (19) than Cincinnati defensive rebounds (17). I had to double check that to make sure that was even possible.

I applaud Viktor Lakhin’s effort. He played well against Ohio State, but he’s not the bruising presence that this team is lacking.

Wes Miller referenced the potential of burning Sage Tolentino’s redshirt after the Ohio State game. Maybe it could help, but you’re obviously not going to rely on Sage to be a savior.

I don’t have much else from that game. It sucked, but Ohio State is just a better team, and that thing snowballed.

As for the Louisville game, the first half tape belongs to Rumpke. The ball stopped on offense, and there didn’t seem to be much life or flow. Luckily, David DeJulius banked in a three at the halftime buzzer, and Cincinnati used that as a springboard into the second half.

David DeJulius and Landers Nolley were in their bag in the second half. The former scored 26 points on 6-14 shooting from 3. After a quiet first two games in Maui, that was the David DeJulius we saw for much of last year.

Landers Nolley dropped 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 5-of-8 from 3-pt range.

Dave created most of his looks off the dribble, while Landers seemed to be a beneficiary of getting open looks off good ball movement.

Viktor Lakhin was really good, especially in the second half. My only critique is that Vik has found himself in foul trouble far too often this year. He’s by far the best big man on the roster, so he needs to limit the silly fouls.

Jeremiah Davenport didn’t shoot it well, but he still made an impact with six rebounds, six assists, and he even drew three charges. He’s far from perfect, but if Landers and Dave shoulder the offensive load then it’s ok for him to have an off night if he still does the little things.

It was another solid game for Mika Adams-Woods. He scored ten points with five assists and only one turnover. Him being a 4th or 5th option is not a bad thing.

Ody Oguama was also solid in this game. Ody isn’t usually going to provide much offensively, but when he gives you six points and six rebounds in 20 minutes, then you can’t complain at all.

I know what you’re thinking, “Fries, Louisville sucks. This game tells us nothing.” Oh, I’m aware. Louisville is dreadful, but this team needed a second half like that to feel a lot better about themselves. It’s something to build on. We’re going back to Cincinnati for seven straight home games. Let’s run the table?

Ohio State game ball:

Viktor Lakhin (1)

Louisville game ball:

David DeJulius (1)