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Utah basketball vs. Cincinnati by the numbers

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 5:30 PM ET

Utah tips off the first round of the Big 12 men's basketball tournament Tuesday with a matchup against Cincinnati.

Tipoff between the 16-seeded Runnin' Utes (10-21, 2-16 Big 12) and the 9-seeded Bearcats (17-14, 9-9 Big 12) from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, is set for 1 p.m. MT on ESPN+.

Here's a look at the matchup through the lens of some notable trends and statistics.

Utah vs. Cincinnati By The Numbers

13: Number of 2-point shots Utah made in first Cincinnati game

Utah was hesitant to attack the paint during its Feb. 15 matchup against Cincinnati. And when the Utes did get near the rim, it was hardly a guarantee that they'd get a shot to fall. Why? Because of Moustapha Thiam and the 7-foot-2 center's massive presence near the goal.

The sophomore from Senegal was a pain in Utah's side on both ends of the floor, though his ability to deter Utes guards and wings from attempting layups and floaters was perhaps his biggest impact on the outcome of that 61-56 final from Fifth Third Arena. In addition to leading the Bearcats offensively with 15 points, Thiam gobbled up 10 rebounds and swatted away four shots, tying his season-high in blocks as Utah went 13-of-34 from 2-point range.

Those 13 makes inside the arc matched Utah's fewest 2-point makes in a game this season (Utes also made 13 against Texas Tech in January). Entering Tuesday, the Utes were No. 13 in the Big 12 in 2-point field goal percentage (49.8%) while the Bearcats were No. 6 in the league in 2-point defense (50.1%).

9.2: Turnovers forced by Utah

There are several numbers and rankings that point to how badly Utah has struggled on the defensive end of the floor this season — points allowed (No. 316), 2-point field goal defense (No. 303) and overall field goal defense (No. 347) among them. But perhaps the statistic that underscores the Utes' inability to make plays defensively is their low turnover count.

As of Monday, Utah was No. 355 in the country in turnovers forced per game (9.2). For context, there are 365 Division I teams. That means only nine squads generate fewer turnovers on average than the Utes do.

Utah hasn't been able to create extra opportunities for its offense to get going as of late, either. The Utes forced Baylor into three turnovers in their regular season finale and have only caused more than seven turnovers once in its last eight games.

26: Magic number for Terrence Brown

Utah's 6-foot-3 guard who recently made history as the only Utes player to ever record 600 points and 100 assists in a single season will have an opportunity to achieve another rare feat during Big 12 tournament play.

Sitting at 19.8 points per game, Brown is very close to becoming the first Utah player to average 20 points for a whole season since Andrew Bogut put up 20.4 points per contest in 2004-05. If Utah loses to Cincinnati in the first round, Brown will need to finish with at least 26 points to reach that 20 point-per-game threshold.

While Brown has shown he can fill up the scoring column on any given night, the Bearcats did a good job bottling him up in their first matchup. The Minneapolis native was held to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field in that 61-56 loss.