Let’s dust off the two-week-old cobwebs and get to work. Hand up, I missed the Detroit (Mercy) entry of the Fries Frame. That’s on me. This leads me to this AAC conference slate opening win over Tulane. That was satisfying. UC trailed 2-0, took a 5-2 lead, and then never trailed, culminating in an 88-77 win.

Tulane is a solid offensive team. Jalen Cook and Jaylen Forbes make up one of the better backcourts in the conference. All in all, Cincinnati continues to make strides defensively. Jalen Cook averages 20 points per game, yet he scored two in the second half. I give a tip of the hat to David DeJulius. Now, this isn’t a great defensive team yet, but it’s getting better. Tulane shot just 40 percent from the field and 20 percent from three.

The Cincinnati offense was spectacular outside of a rough spot early in the second half. When the ball moves for these shooters, it’s a thing of beauty. When the ball stops, it’s quite ugly. I enjoy the offense that shoots 50 percent from the field.

MIKA ADAMS-WOODS! WHY AM I YELLING? It was the best performance of his UC career. 18 points. Six assists. He looked confident. He never panicked. He attacked the basket. He attacked the basket? He was brilliant. Go off Shoey.

Landers Nolley II was in his bag, especially early on. I like Landers because he plays with confidence and he is a really good shooter. I’ve also noticed that he has enrolled at the David DeJulius school of pump fakes. Respect.

Speaking of David DeJulius, he was quiet in the early going. But when you need him, he’s there. The game is slipping away, and Cincinnati is only up four with 12 minutes to go. Dave spins past a defender, steps back, and drills a mid-range J. That’s Dave. He also did a masterful job guarding Jalen Cook in the second half.

Viktor Lakhin is so good that he didn’t even play all that well, yet he still scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The post-scoring will keep coming, but Vik is getting better at the little things. His help defense is improving, and he keeps possession alive with back-taps.

It’s hard to write because I like Jeremiah Davenport, but the continual poor shot selection is hard to watch. Sometimes it’s not your night, and I hate to be cruel, but it hasn’t been his night very often this year. You know it comes from a good place, but he’s just struggling right now. 

If you’re jumping up in the air for a long rebound against Dan Skillings Jr., you’ve lost. His arms are undefeated. Dan finally got that hammer dunk too, and added six boards in just 12 minutes. I’d have to think his minute share will continue to grow.

Ody Oguama was solid in some extended run tonight. We’re seeing the Ody this year that we thought we’d see more of last year. Better late than never.

Now we start a tricky stretch at Temple (gross), at Wichita, and a home game vs #3 Houston (oof). You can’t run the table in league play without starting 1-0 though.

Game Ball:

Mika Adams-Woods (1)

Post Game-Quote:

“Chad Brendel covers the beat here really well. He’s out because his wife has cancer and he’s gonna be out for a month in the hospital with her. They’ve been dealing with that as a family for a long time… Hope he’s doing well and Chad I look forward to having you sitting here and your wife Kelly doing well in the future.” – Wes Miller

(Featured Image credit: Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer)