Three Man Weave: Cincinnati's Big 12 Season Ends With Tournament Loss to Iowa State

 The Bearcats Big 12 season is over following a 76-56 drubbing at the hands of No. 12 Iowa State. The Cyclones led by just three down the back half of the final frame, but ripped off a 13-3 run to close out Cincinnati's minuscule hope of winning the Big 12 Tournament.

Jizzle James (17 points, three rebounds) and the rest of the UC offense was far too ineffective to get the win on Wednesday, and they got absolutely mauled by ISU's size, losing the rebound battle 41-23.

The latest loss to ISU means UC will not make the NCAA Tournament again, having last done so in 2019. The Cyclones outscored Cincinnati by 31 points across two games this season as the team moved to 1-9 as an underdog.

Cincinnati's Offense In A Cyclone

The Bearcats weren't nearly sharp enough on offense to keep the Big 12 Tournament run alive on Wednesday. Iowa State's top-10 defense by efficiency hounded UC all day long to the tune of 32.8% shooting overall and a largely one-dimensional attack at that.

The Cyclones forced Cincinnati into a ton of isolation plays and limited the ball movement to end up allowing just 12 assists from a pretty stagnant UC team. The Bearcats forced 17 turnovers but couldn't make them a clear advantage after scoring just 14 points off of them.

James ended up turning up his production towards the end of the first half and beyond but he needed more reinforcements against a top-12 team. Only Josh Reed (10 points) joined James in double-scoring figures as Cincinnati looked gassed up and down the roster. Even with James dropping 17 points, it took him 20 shots to do it (6-20 shooting, took just two free throws).

Cincinnati only played an eight-man rotation in this game as Wes Miller didn't have many other reliable options to go to. Mix that with foul trouble throughout for Dillon Mitchell (two points, five rebounds) and you get a brutal offensive showing on Day Two.

Josh Jefferson Brings The Juice

The Iowa State big fella had a field day against Cincinnati's defense, especially down the stretch, where ISU went on a 13-3 run to end the game. Jefferson (19 points, eight rebounds, five assists) took full control of the offense, dialing up bucket after bucket from his hands or a pass that came from him.

He shot 8-12 from the floor and his presence was a big reason for ISU's strong shooting (53.7%) and rebounding (41-23 advantage for ISU). Cincinnati's length is strong for a high-major team, but its width and weight is not, and the 6-8, 220-pound bruiser used his frame to bully around UC on the interior for much of the game.

ISU didn't go to the free-throw line very as often as the matchup in Ames, Iowa, but it didn't have to with the ball movement and shooting acumen it displayed. They shot 10-21 from deep to match the 50%-plus outing overall and it was more than enough to outweigh 17 turnovers to just 11 by UC.

Crown Bound?

Cincinnati's hopes of making the 2025 NCAA Tournament are done. They are now a near-lock to get invited to the first annual College Basketball Crown tournament, but there's a wrinkle that could disrupt that.

The tournament is only a 16-team field and is slated to be played over one week in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 31 to April 6. The big question is will Cincinnati be able to field a competent, healthy team by then? The transfer portal is open from Monday, March 24 - Tuesday, April 22.

Cincinnati retained a ton of talent from last year's roster, so they could do that again and easily field a strong team in the field, but if four, five, or six players enter the portal, then they are in a tough spot to play out west.

Time will tell what this UC team looks like nearly three weeks from now, but NIL requirements should play a key role if a player wants to leave before the tournament and hasn't completed those full-season game requirements. Money talks, we'll see if it talks louder than other opportunities for players on this roster.