Tag: Cincinnati Bearcats

No. 25 Texas travels to Cincinnati for second Big 12 game of the year

Cincinnati has won four of their last five games.

The Longhorns suffered a significant loss on Saturday against Texas Tech. However, Texas has a chance to recover on Tuesday. The game against the Red Raiders marked only the second time Texas lost at home in the Moody Center, with a final score of 78-67 in the Big 12 opener.

Texas will now travel to Cincinnati to get back on the right track, playing the Bearcats for the first time in conference play. Cincinnati, although not ranked, has won four of their last five games and is 12-2 on the season.

The Bearcats have three players averaging over 10 points per game: Vicktor Lakhin, Dan Skillings, and Day Day Thomas. Lakhin also averages 8.4 rebounds per game and shoots 53.7% from the field.

Texas will need to forget about Saturday’s loss and focus on the long road ahead, especially while playing in the best basketball conference in the country.

Ohio State safety Kye Stokes announces transfer destination

In case you missed it, another former Buckeye on the move has found a new home. #GoBucks

It’s the gift that keeps on giving this time of year. No, we’re not talking about endless gift cards or white elephant gifts that seem to make the rounds during the Christmas season, but rather, news from the transfer portal.

On Saturday, another former Ohio State football player who entered the transfer portal after the loss to Michigan made his intentions known. Safety Kye Stokes, a Tampa, Florida, native, announced his transfer to Cincinnati on social media.

Stokes committed to the Buckeyes as an under-the-radar, three-star prospect in the 2022 class, but he showed flashes of massive potential, most notably in the 2022 spring game. However, he never really got on the field. Instead, he fell behind Lathan Ransom, Josh Proctor, Sonny Styles and freshman Malik Hartford. After getting on the field modestly during his freshman season, Stokes appeared for just 10 snaps this past season.

Stokes will join former Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, who is the secondary coach for the Bearcats. The two built a relationship when Stokes was being recruited prior to Coombs being let go in 2021.

Good luck to Stokes. We hope to see him develop and find a more significant role down I-71.

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Former Ohio State running back Evan Pryor makes transfer decision

In case you missed it — Evan Pryor will be headed down I-71 for his next career move. #GoBucks

‘Tis the season for mistletoe, Christmas lights, and reindeer. It’s also the season for transfer portal news and the Ohio State football program has had plenty of it.

The latest is where former Buckeye running back Even Pryor will be headed after entering the transfer portal. He took to social media Wednesday to share a graphic of him in his new school’s uniform with a caption of “committed,” and he won’t be going far.

According to the announcement, Pryor will be headed down I-71 to the Cincinnati program.

Pryor has been besieged by injury and others ahead of him on the depth chart since arriving in Columbus. He gained 98 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries (4.7 avg.) during his freshman campaign in 2021, then did not have a carry at all in 2022 before limited action last season, rushing the ball 19 times for 49 yards (2.6 avg.) in mop up duty.

We’ll continue to root for Pryor and hope that the rest of his career down in the Queen City is free of injury but full of production. Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye.

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Oklahoma Sooners moving up in latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

After a big win over Arkansas, the Oklahoma Sooners earned a big jump in ESPN’s latest Bracketology.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a fantastic start on the hardwood in the 2023-2024 season. They’re 9-0 and have had some significant, resume-building wins as Oklahoma searches for their first NCAA tournament bid in the Porter Moser era.

They’ve made significant headway toward that goal through nonconference play. With Big 12 play looming, it was imperative for the Sooners to perform well in the nonconference slate, and they’ve done just that. Notable wins over Iowa, USC, Providence, and Arkansas have Moser and the Sooners on the right track with four games remaining before Big 12 play opens against Iowa State.

They’ll face a significant test when they go to Charlotte, North Carolina, to take on the No. 9 Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational. But they’ve put the work in this season and look like one of the better teams in the country this season.

Oklahoma’s recent wins over Providence and Arkansas gave them a big bump in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. That jump to No. 12 in the nation was followed by another significant bump in the latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Here’s where the Big 12 landed in Lunardi’s latest projections for the NCAA tournament.

No. 3 CU women’s basketball set for Thanksgiving Day game vs. Cincinnati

We’ve got some Thanksgiving Day basketball to enjoy as Colorado faces Cincinnati at 11 a.m. MT

The Colorado women’s team has gotten off to a 4-0 start and recently earned a No.3 ranking in the latest AP poll. After stunning top-ranked LSU on opening night, the Buffs then defeated Le Moyne, Oklahoma State and SMU to stay hot.

The Buffs’ next game is set for Thanksgiving Day as part of the Paradise Jam Classic in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Colorado’s first game comes against Cincinnati, which is 2-1 with wins over Lindenwood and Toledo and a loss to Louisville.

Jillian Hayes, the main force for the Bearcats, is averaging a double-double with an even 13 points per game and 10 rebounds. Redshirt senior Mya Jackson is also averaging 13 points and had a team-high 22 against Toldeo on Sunday.

None of Cinicnnati’s numbers jump off the page, but the duo of Jackson and Hayes is tough for any team to stop. As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 70.3 points per game and is shooting 41.5% from the field so far.

The Buffs face Kentucky on Friday and then No. 10 North Carolina State on Saturday, so this is a tough stretch for head coach JR Payne’s squad.

Tipoff between the Buffs and Bearcats is set for 11 a.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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Cincinnati transfer Aziz Bandaogo eligible after NCAA reverses course

Aziz Bandaogo’s waiver was approved and the transfer big man will immediately be eligible to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats this season.

The NCAA came to their senses regarding Cincinnati transfer big man Aziz Bandaogo, granting the former Utah Valley star immediate eligibility after receiving new information.

This is the second high profile college basketball star who had their waiver approved on appeal, following Jaylon Tyson who transferred from Texas Tech to Cal after his head coach, Mark Adams, was fired for his treatment of players, including Tyson.

“I’m thrilled for Aziz Bandaogo and can’t wait to have him play for us here at the University of Cincinnati this season,” Bearcats coach Wes Miller said. “This process has been incredibly tough on Aziz and our whole team and I’m glad he can now focus on being the best student-athlete he can be for the Bearcats. We appreciate the NCAA for reconsidering his case, and ultimately coming to this decision.”

Bandaogo began his college career at Akron, averaging 2.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 40 games across two seasons before transferring to Utah Valley, where he exploded. Bandaogo averaged 11.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks while playing for the Wolverines, winning WAC Defensive Player of the Year.

He hit the portal after his coach, Mark Madsen, took a new job at Cal and ended up joining Miller at Cincinnati in their first season in the Big 12.

The Bearcats are 4-0 on the year but rank 283rd in the country in blocked shots per game, and adding Bandaogo’s size, rim protection, and touch around the rim will make this team even more dangerous as they get into conference play.

‘Kind of unique in college football’: Dillon Gabriel knows about playing the BYU Cougars

This won’t be the first time Dillon Gabriel has played BYU and he knows it won’t be easy.

The Oklahoma Sooners are on to face the [autotag]BYU Cougars[/autotag] in the one and only meeting as conference foes. The Sooners are actually winless all-time against the Cougars.

Right now, the Sooners have an outside shot at making the conference championship game, but it starts with winning out. After that, they will need some help to earn a spot in the title game.

Dillon Gabriel spoke with the media after practice about the Cougars’ defense and the challenges they’ll face offensively. “I think they’re really good,” Gabriel said. “I’ve obviously played BYU before so I know what they’re all about. They’re very physical and play well together. Had a tough stretch but, shoot, that place is special. Different, kind of unique in college football.”

Gabriel played BYU in a bowl game back in 2020. He had a rough day going 21 of 45 for 217 yards and two touchdowns. His UCF Knights lost 49-23. So, this is just another revenge game for Gabriel.

He was able to get his revenge vs. the [autotag]Tulsa Golden Hurricane[/autotag] and the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag]. The Sooners would love nothing more than to build off of what they did a week ago against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Something they’ll have to do in a time slot they are all too familiar with at 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday.

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Nebraska makes alterations to 2025 schedule with Cincinnati and Houston Baptist

Nebraska’s schedule for the 2025 schedule underwent a few alterations on Tuesday.

The football series between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Cincinnati Bearcats which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has been rescheduled. Two the two sides were originally expected to meet on September 26, 2020, at Memorial Stadium in the first part of a home-and-home series.

According to FBSschedules.com, Nebraska and Cincinnati have agreed to reschedule that home-and-home series for the 2025 and 2032 seasons. Now, in 2025, the Cornhuskers and Bearcats will meet at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on August 30 in what is expected to be the season opener for both programs that season.

That game, originally supposed to be the second game of the original home-and-home series, was planned for September 13 in Cincinnati. The two programs will then meet in 2032 to conclude the home-and-home series, as the Cornhuskers will host the Bearcats at Memorial Stadium on September 11.

The two programs have only met once before, that meeting coming nearly 120 years ago in 1906. In that matchup, the Cornhuskers defeated the Bearcats 41-0 under then-head coach Amos P. Foster.

In addition to the home-and-home series with Cincinnati being rescheduled, Nebraska has also added FCS opponent Houston Christian to its 2025 schedule. While the game does not currently appear on Nebraska’s 2025 football schedule, it is listed on Houston Christian’s future opponents schedule.

The Cornhuskers have never faced Houston Christian (formerly known as Houston Baptist) before in their history. Since the FBS and FCS split in 1978, Nebraska has never lost to an FCS opponent. The last time the Cornhuskers faced an FCS foe was in 2022, in which they defeated the North Dakota Fighting Hawks 38-17.

Currently, Nebraska’s non-conference schedule in 2025 features Cincinnati, Akron, Houston Christian, and Louisiana-Monroe. With the addition of Houston Christian to the schedule, the Cornhuskers will be forced to move or cancel either their matchup against Akron or Louisiana-Monroe for that season in order to get down to 12 games.

Earlier this month, it was announced by the Big Ten that Nebraska’s 2025 conference schedule would include hosting Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, and USC at home while traveling to Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, and UCLA in 2025.

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Caleb Shaffer, Dillon Gabriel among key Sooners to watch versus UCF

Oklahoma will look to build on their 6-0 start as they take on UCF. Here are six Sooners that will be key to an Oklahoma win vs. the UCF Knights.

Oklahoma will roll out the crimson carpet and welcome one of the four Big 12 newcomers to Norman on Saturday. Gus Malzahn’s [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] travel from Orlando, Florida, to take on Brent Venables and the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners.

Both teams come into the game off of their bye weeks. However, how each team played in the games before the bye will be a significant motivating factor in how things could shake out.

Oklahoma beat their bitter rivals, Texas, 34-30 in one of college football’s best games of the season while the Knights were steamrolled by the Kansas Jayhawks 51-22.

While the Sooners’ win over Texas is a significant win, the boys from Norman won’t be satisfied. They’ve got bigger ambitions now, starting with taking care of UCF. The next major milestone in getting to Arlington to compete for a Big 12 title.

UCF is a motivated and angry team that boasts the nation’s third-best rushing attack and a very athletic quarterback in John Rhys Plumlee. He can play. Oklahoma has a talent advantage, but execution will be the deciding factor.

Without further ado, let’s look at some of the Sooners that will be to a victory on Saturday.

Brent Venables knows the challenges the UCF Knights present

The UCF Knights bring to Norman one of the best offenses in the country. Brent Venables talked about the challenges they’ll face.

The Oklahoma Sooners are back after the bye week to begin the stretch run of the season. They’ll take on a new Big 12 foe, the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag], in Norman on Saturday.

The Knights have the No. 4 offense in the country. They mainly get it done in the running game; they have the No. 3 rush offense in the country. John Rhys Plumlee missed three games prior to UCF’s loss to Kansas in Week 6. He’s recovering from a knee injury but will start this week per Knights head coach Gus Malzahn.

Brent Venables talked in his Monday press conference about the challenges ahead for the Sooners.

“Got a very talented and experienced UCF team coming in,” Venables said. “On both sides of the ball, they have, give or take, around 17-18 seniors as starters. A group that has played a lot of football. Led by (John Rhys) Plumlee, their quarterback who just a year ago rushed for just under 1,000 yards and passed for around 2,500 yards.”

Venables also mentioned how long and athletic the defense is for the Knights. UCF is one of the most explosive teams in the country as well, and they do that in a variety of ways, including using trick plays.

Venables said they work on defending those plays every week and have had moments such as in the game against the [autotag]SMU Mustangs[/autotag] when they defended it well. But, they have had moments such as the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] game when they didn’t defend it well.

This will be a game the Sooners have to be focused and on their toes because UCF can beat them if they aren’t prepared.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.