Recap: West Virginia 62 Cincinnati 60

A similar and familiar script played out Tuesday night as Cincinnati’s second half rally fell just short in a 62–60 loss to West Virginia. Wes Miller's team once again struggled down the stretch, manufacturing just three points over the final 4:45, allowing West Virginia to use a 10-0 run to pull away for a win, despite making just 2 of their final 10 field goal attempts. The loss dropped the Bearcats 0–2 in Big 12 play and 8–7 overall.

(Photo: West Virginia Athletics)

Slow start, steady response

West Virginia set the tone early behind the hot shooting of Honor Huff, who scored 24 points and buried 6-of-10 three-pointers. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 19–6 lead at the 11:23 mark of the first half, their largest advantage of the night, as Cincinnati struggled to find rhythm offensively.

The Bearcats settled in behind their transition game and perimeter shooting. Layups by Sencire Harris and Baba Miller, along with a trio of three-pointers from Day Day Thomas and Jalen Celestine, helped Cincinnati chip away. Celestine provided a spark off the bench, knocking down multiple threes as the Bearcats closed the gap to 31–28 at halftime.

Second-half surge

Cincinnati came out of the locker room aggressive, scoring the first six points of the second half on back-to-back threes from Thomas to briefly take a 34–31 lead. The Bearcats leaned heavily on their outside shooting in the period, hitting nine three-pointers after halftime and using their defense to fuel fast-break opportunities.

Celestine continued to carry the offense, finishing with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. His three-pointer at the 6:01 mark highlighted an 11–0 Cincinnati run and gave the Bearcats a 55–52 lead, followed moments later by a Baba Miller-assisted dunk by Mamadou Thiam that pushed the margin to 57–52 — Cincinnati’s largest lead of the night.

Late execution favors WVU

West Virginia responded with poise down the stretch. Huff drilled a deep three at the 2:13 mark to cut the deficit to two, and Treysen Eaglestaff followed with a three of his own while falling out of bounds at 1:12 to give the Mountaineers a 58–57 lead. Cincinnati, which shot just 35.5 percent from the field overall, could never recover.

Forced to foul, the Bearcats sent West Virginia to the line, where Huff and Eaglestaff combined to make five straight free throws in the final 19 seconds to extend the lead to 62–57. Jizzle James hit a contested three-pointer with three seconds remaining to pull Cincinnati within two, but the Bearcats’ last defensive stand produced only a steal as time expired, sealing the narrow loss.

By the numbers

Cincinnati was undone by poor shooting efficiency, hitting just 22 of 62 shots overall despite a respectable 12-of-35 night from three-point range. The Bearcats also struggled at the free-throw line, going 4-of-9, a critical difference in a two-point game. West Virginia shot 45.8 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three, with Huff and Chance Moore combining for 38 points.

The Bearcats did win the turnover battle (15–8) and converted those mistakes into 18 points, while also holding advantages in assists (19–9), fast-break points (16–4), and second-chance points (10–4). Baba Miller contributed across the stat sheet with seven rebounds and six assists, but Cincinnati’s offense managed just two field goals over its final 10 possessions.

Final Thoughts

It really felt like Cincinnati was finally going to flip the script. The Bearcats built a 57–52 lead with just over five minutes left as shots fell and West Virginia went cold. Then, once again, everything unraveled. Cincinnati went 4:40 without scoring, committed costly mistakes on both ends, including poor shot selection, and watched another winnable game slip away -- the fourth late collapse this season.

West Virginia’s off-balance, end-of-shot-clock 3 to take the lead was, in Wes Miller’s words, “almost comical,” but the bigger issue was Cincinnati’s continued inability to execute late. That narrative continues to define this team. The Bearcats managed just one basket in the final 4:46, a garbage-time 3 that came far too late.

Offensively, the struggles persisted. Jalen Celestine was the lone bright spot, knocking down five 3-pointers and finishing as the only Bearcat in double figures. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s offensive woes wasted another elite defensive effort.

As frustration grows, the outside noise and criticism of Miller and his team continues to get louder. Despite that, a passionate and emotional Miller told Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson during his postgame radio show that he's only worried about one thing. 

“I don’t care what people think. I only care about my team. I care about my program,” Miller said. “It’s us against the whole world. Everybody can quit on us. Everybody. I hear it. It’s us against the world.”

Miller pointed to mental mistakes and missed opportunities when asked what the fix is for these late game struggles.. Still, his message remained firm: “Everybody can do all the crap they do on social media. I don’t care… We’re just going to be resilient and fight.”

Cincinnati now heads to Orlando for another difficult road test against UCF, with the margin for error shrinking by the game. Until the Bearcats learn how to consistently close games, the same painful ending will continue to define their season.