Big 12 Tournament: UCF 66 Cincinnati 65
The No. 9 seed Bearcats saw a late lead slip away and ultimately fell to the No. 8 seed UCF Knights 66–65 in overtime Wednesday during the second round of the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Center. The loss drops Cincinnati to 18–15, while UCF improves to 21–10.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
The loss was especially frustrating because the Bearcats led 58-50 with 2:16 remaining but three turnovers over the next 1:15 allowed the Knights to force overtime, and ultimately use that momentum to pull out a narrow victory.
After the game, head coach Wes Miller emphasized how painful the result was for his team.
“Just absolutely heartbroken for them,” Miller said. “If you would have told us before the game you’d look down and see some of the lines from some of our main guys—Baba’s line, Jizzle’s line, Day Day’s—I think if you told us before the game we were going to have those kind of numbers in a game like this and we’d have 19 turnovers, we’d get outrebounded, I think you’d say, well, dang we’re going to lose by 20.”
“I think this group’s been so resilient, and I thought the fact that we were in the position that we were in says so much about their character. I’m extremely proud of them. We did not play our best basketball today. Again the turnovers were certainly a factor. But we were in a position to win the game. That says a lot about this team’s character.”
Game Recap
UCF struck first with an early basket from John Bol, but Cincinnati quickly seized control behind a barrage of three-pointers.
Moustapha Thiam ignited the run with a triple, and back-to-back threes from Jizzle James and Jalen Celestine capped a 9–0 burst that gave the Bearcats a 9–2 lead just over three minutes into the game.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Cincinnati continued to stretch the advantage as Day Day Thomas knocked down a jumper and Keyshuan Tillery drilled a fast-break three. Thiam added a transition layup and Tillery buried another three at the 8:34 mark to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the half at 19–9.
UCF gradually chipped away. Carmelo Pacheco hit a three and Bol added a three-point play to trim the margin. The Knights kept attacking the paint, getting scores from Themus Fulks and Bol to close within 21–19.
After Stillwell’s layup briefly gave UCF its first lead at 22–21, Thiam responded for Cincinnati with a clutch three and a dunk plus free throw. Fulks answered again for the Knights in the final minute, and Cincinnati carried a narrow 27–26 halftime lead into the break.
The teams traded baskets early in the second half until Cincinnati built another surge midway through the period.
After free throws from Baba Miller and a three from Thiam pushed the lead to five, the Bearcats continued to stretch the margin behind strong perimeter shooting. A James three, a Tillery layup, and a Thiam jumper pushed the lead back to seven.
The key moment came around the midway point of the half when Thomas converted three straight free throws, and Celestine drilled a three at 9:24 to give Cincinnati its largest lead of the game at 49–37.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
The Knights refused to go away. Free throws from Jordan Burks and Devan Cambridge sparked a response, and Stillwell scored inside as UCF slowly clawed back.
Still, Cincinnati appeared in control late. Celestine buried another three with 2:41 remaining, and Thomas followed with two free throws to extend the lead to 58–50 with 2:17 left.
The final minutes unraveled for the Bearcats.
Stillwell started the comeback with a jumper, and Burks scored on a layup after a Cincinnati turnover. Kugel then took over, finishing two straight drives to the basket—one in transition—to cap an 8–0 run that tied the game 58–58 with 1:02 remaining.
Neither team scored again in regulation, sending the game to overtime. Day Day Thomas had a look at the rim with :08 left on the clock but his attempt fell short.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
UCF carried its momentum into the extra period.
Stillwell opened overtime with a paint jumper to give the Knights the lead, and Bol added two free throws to extend it to 62–58. Thomas responded with a short jumper for Cincinnati, but Stillwell answered again on the other end.
After another Thomas basket cut the deficit to two, Bol knocked down two more free throws to push the UCF lead to 66–62 with under two minutes remaining.
Thomas delivered one last push for the Bearcats, drilling a three-pointer with 1:46 left to trim the deficit to 66–65, but Cincinnati could not generate another scoring opportunity in the closing seconds, as Jalen Celestine's final three-point attempt missed the mark.
Head coach Wes Miller explained the decision-making in the final possession of overtime.
“At the end of overtime, we get a key stop and Mou gets the rebound. And Jalen Celestine gets a wide-open three on the right wing,” Miller said. “What can you call with the defense set to get a better look than that? We pushed. Obviously I’m sitting there, I know I can call timeout under two. I’m waiting to see if we get a great look. If not, I was going to call timeout again.”
“I thought he had a great look. He’s one of the best three-point shooters in the Big 12. I’ll take that in that situation… The shot at the end of overtime by Celestine, I believe in him. I would take that ten times out of ten.”
Miller also walked through the sequence at the end of regulation.
“We put Jizzle and Mou up — I didn’t want to call a timeout because I thought they would sub and maybe go smaller and switch,” Miller said. “They had done that when we played them the first game down there at UCF. So we saw Bol was still in the game. We had some success with the high-ball screen with him and Jizzle.”
“We didn’t get downhill off of it. I thought we could touch the paint with Bol in it. We threw it back to Mou, and I was okay if he shot it. Once I saw him kind of put the dribble down, I tried to call timeout.”
Key Takeaways
A Game Cincinnati Had Control Of — and Let Slip Away
This loss will feel like a game that slipped away rather than one UCF firmly took. The Bearcats controlled the majority of the contest, leading for 33:56 of game time and building a 12-point second-half advantage (49–37). Even late in regulation, Cincinnati still held a 58–56 lead with 1:17 remaining, putting themselves in strong position to close the game out. Instead, the Bearcats faltered late and allowed UCF to hang around long enough to steal it in overtime. The Knights led for just 5:51 of the entire game, but the timing of those minutes proved decisive.
Turnovers Completely Undermined the Effort
One of the biggest factors in the loss was Cincinnati’s inability to take care of the basketball. The Bearcats finished with 19 turnovers, nearly double UCF’s 10, and that discrepancy translated directly into scoring opportunities. UCF scored 20 points off Cincinnati turnovers, while the Bearcats managed just 10 points off giveaways themselves.
“I think their press was really good, and I think our guys did a good job executing,” said Thiam. “Turnovers happen, so it’s just what it is. I think we could have done a better job just handling the press, but I don’t know what happened. It is just what it is.”
Several players struggled in this area, most notably Baba Miller, who turned the ball over seven times while also fouling out. Miller pulled down 12 rebounds but failed to convert a field goal and scored just four points, all from the free throw line. For a team that already struggles to generate efficient offense, giving away that many possessions was extremely damaging and consistently halted momentum.
Interior Defense Was a Major Problem
Another glaring issue was Cincinnati’s inability to defend the paint and limit second chances. Despite UCF shooting only 33.8% from the field and an abysmal 12.5% from three, the Knights found success attacking inside. UCF outscored Cincinnati 38–10 in the paint, a massive disparity that ultimately defined the game. Offensive rebounding was also a major problem, with UCF grabbing 18 offensive boards and converting them into 17 second-chance points, compared to just 3 for Cincinnati.
After the game, Miller described the physical nature of the game and how the battle on the glass swung back and forth.
“I thought it was a very physical game,” Miller said. “I thought there were moments that both teams were winning the physicality battle. We were following the rebounding war the entire game, and it kind of kept swinging back and forth. I think we were plus-five there at one point late in the second half.”
“So I wouldn’t say we got out-physicaled, but there’s certainly some possessions and moments that we did. And then there were some possessions and moments that we were the more physical team and better on the backboards.”
Jamichael Stillwell (17 points, 15 rebounds) and Bol (13 points, 8 rebounds) consistently created extra possessions, which allowed UCF to overcome its poor shooting night.
Moustapha Thiam Was Outstanding — But Didn’t Get Enough Help
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Individually, Moustapha Thiam delivered the most impressive performance of the game for Cincinnati. The big man finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and even knocking down three three-pointers. He also logged 42 minutes, anchoring the interior on both ends. However, the Bearcats struggled to consistently build their offense around him, particularly late in the game when possessions became more disjointed. Outside of Thiam, efficiency was difficult to find. Day Day Thomas led the rest of the Bearcats with 15 points and six assists, but shot just 4-for-14 and 1-for-7 from three, while Jalen Celestine also struggled with efficiency at 4-for-12 (3-for-9 from three). Cincinnati’s 33.9% overall shooting reflected how difficult offense was to sustain.
Recurring Theme- Late Collapse
The offensive struggles became especially apparent late in the game. Cincinnati managed 7 points in overtime, and while D. Thomas hit a three with 1:46 remaining to cut the deficit to one, the Bearcats could not generate another field goal after that. In fact, neither team scored from the field in the final minutes, but Cincinnati failed to capitalize on UCF’s struggles. The Bearcats had opportunities to regain control, yet poor execution and turnovers prevented them from finishing the job.
UCF didn't convert a field goal over the final 3:02 of overtime. Opportunities were there to win this game, but UC failed to capitalize.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, this is a loss that will sting for Cincinnati because of how much control they had for most of the night. The Bearcats shot 42% from three and received a dominant effort from Thiam, but those positives were overshadowed by familiar issues. Turnovers, interior defense, and second-chance opportunities once again proved costly. Even with UCF struggling from the perimeter and at the free-throw line, Cincinnati could not close out a game it led for nearly 34 minutes. The result is a frustrating overtime defeat that feels less like a strong performance by UCF and more like a missed opportunity Cincinnati let slip away.
Still, Miller emphasized how much he values this group and what they’ve accomplished down the stretch.
“It’s been a very, very rewarding team to work with,” Miller said. “In my opinion, since Christmas we’ve been a Top 25 team in the country, no doubt about it.”
“Again, very, very proud of our guys, even though we weren’t able to pull out the win.”
The Bearcats now wait to see if their late-season surge—including seven wins in their final ten conference games—will be enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.
“If it’s about the best teams at this point, we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Miller said. “Like, we’re an NCAA Tournament team. If it’s about overall résumé, I’m sure you can make arguments that we’re not. But we won seven out of our last ten Big 12 games… I certainly feel that we belong. But I realize tonight was difficult.”