CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team travels to No. 10/7 Houston for a noon ET tip Saturday at the Fertitta Center. The game will be televised on FOX and broadcast on 700 WLW and the TuneIn app.

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Bearcat Bits

– The 2025-26 campaign marks the 125th season of competition for Cincinnati men’s basketball, and the Bearcats will commemorate the milestone with a year-long celebration honoring the program’s rich history, iconic players and cultural legacy. Cincinnati men’s basketball, which was named a top-10 program in college basketball history by the Associated Press, boasts 44 All-Americans, 41 conference titles, six Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships across its history, which dates back to the 1901-02 season.
– Cincinnati, allowing just 67.0 points per game defensively, ranks sixth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Cincinnati also ranks 11th in the country in non-steal turnover percentage (9.7%), 14th in opponent offensive rebound percentage (25.3%) and 31st in block percentage (13.2%).
– Cincinnati has found itself forcing its opponents to play more deliberately on the offensive end. The Bearcats’ opponents are taking 17.8 seconds per possession, good for 273rd nationally.
– The Bearcats rank third in the Big 12 in 3-point attempts per game (27.3), fourth in the conference in turnovers forced per game (13.76), scoring defense (67.0), field goal percentage defense (41.1) and assists per game (16.8) and fifth in blocks per game (4.5) and defensive rebounds per game (26.52).
– Despite missing the NJIT and Eastern Michigan games with an injury, senior forward Baba Miller sees himself among the best nationally and in the Big 12. Miller is tied for 23rd nationally and second in the Big 12 in double-doubles with nine, while sitting first in the conference and third nationally with 8.16 defensive rebounds per contest and seventh in the country and second in the conference with 10.7 total rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage at 29.8%.
– Miller went for 18 points and 17 boards for his ninth double-double of the season and 15th of his career in the 67-57 win over Baylor Wednesday night in Cincinnati. The senior joined Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson as the only Big 12 players this season with a game of at least 18 points, 16 rebounds and three assists and one of only three Bearcats (Eric Hicks, 2006 and Kenyon Martin, 1999) to accomplish the feat.
– Cincinnati holds a 33-18 lead in the all-time series and a 14-10 advantage in games played in Houston, but the Cougars have won the last 13 contests between the two schools.

In the last matchup Jan. 3 at Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats came up just short in a tightly-contested matchup, falling to No. 8 Houston, 67-60. The game remained in doubt until the final minutes before the Cougars pulled away late. The contest was knotted at 60 apiece with 3:52 remaining after sophomore center Moustapha Thiam threw down a powerful dunk over Joseph Tugler, igniting the Fifth Third Arena crowd. Moments later, Houston’s Milos Uzan silenced the arena, drilling his fourth three-pointer of the half to give the Cougars a 63-60 edge with 2:48 left. Cincinnati was forced into a timeout with 54 seconds remaining after a Tugler putback dunk extended Houston’s lead to 65-60. Emanuel Sharp sealed the outcome at the free-throw line, converting consecutive attempts to close out the Cougars’ 67-60 victory. Three Bearcats finished in double figures, led by graduate guard Day Day Thomas, who tallied 15 points and four assists. Senior forward Baba Miller added 11 points and eight rebounds. Houston was paced by Kingston Flemings, who poured in a game-high 19 points.

– Led by 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson, Houston enters Saturday’s game 18-2 on the year, 6-1 in Big 12 play. The Cougars are ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

Freshman guard Kingston Flemings leads the Cougars with 17.5 points and 5.4 assists per game. Fifth-year senior guard Emanuel Sharp pours in 16.5 points per contest and senior guard Milos Uzan adds 11.2 points per game. The Cougars are the top scoring defense in the Big 12 and rank third nationally at 62.1 points per game. Houston also leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.80), free throw percentage (77.7%), offensive rebounds per game (13.60), turnover margin (6.5) and turnovers per game (8.7).