Cincinnati opened the season with an incredibly sloppy 74-61 victory over North Carolina Central tonight. This was a game Cincinnati should have won by 20+ points. But NC Central did not die to their credit. Behind Jeremy Ingram's 17 second half points, he finished with 27, they cut the lead to as few as 6. Ingram fouled out with 6 minutes left, Cincinnati made a lot of free throws and that was that.
Sean Kilpatrick was the Bearcat star. He scored a team high 22 points on 6-13, 2-7 from 3, 8-9 at the foul line. Jermaine Sanders showed up big time with 13 points on 4-8 shooting, 2-3 at the line. He added 4 rebounds and 3 assists. One of his better games. Titus Rubles was the third man in double digits. He scored 13 with 8 rebounds. He matched his career high with 12 free throw attempts. 10 were in the first half alone.
Free throws were a common theme. Cincinnati attempted 31, NC Central attempted 28. It was a very sloppy game where both teams made a lot of bad fouls if we are being honest. There were so many whistles away from the ball. There were 51 total fouls called. Fouls are going to be a point of emphasis early in the season. This was pretty absurd.
A season opening win is the most important thing. We don't have to keep this one in our heads for long. Football plays tomorrow, UC plays again on Tuesday afternoon. I'll throw up some more thoughts on Monday. Enjoy your Friday night.
40-0, y'all.
| Team Stats | ||
| North Carolina Central | Cincinnati | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus-PF | Dbl-14 | Dbl-11 |
| Tempo | 64.2 | 63.4 |
| Off Eff | 95.0 | 116.7 |
| eFG% | 42.7 | 45.5 |
| TO % | 24.9 | 18.9 |
| O Reb % | 34.4 | 48.6 |
| D Reb % | 51.4 | 65.6 |
| FT Rate | 58.3 | 55.4 |
| % Safe | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| FG % | 39.6 | 39.3 |
| FT % | 71.4 | 74.2 |
| 3P % | 21.4 | 33.3 |
| 2P % | 47.1 | 42.9 |
| 3FGA/FGA | 29.2 | 37.5 |
| Block % | 4.7 | 6.3 |
| Steal % | 9.3 | 12.6 |
| A/FGM | 36.8 | 59.1 |
| A/TO | 0.4 | 1.1 |
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Alan Draper
Alan Draper
