No. 22 Bearcats host Xavier in Crosstown Shootout Saturday

On By Littum

David Cohen

David Cohen

Director / Strategic Brand Engagement

CINCINNATI — The 92nd edition of the Crosstown Shootout returns to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday as the No. 22 Cincinnati Bearcats host Xavier at

The doors open at 12, up 30 minutes from the normal time, with special offers and prizes throughout that time. The university’s College Conservatory of Music also has an event at 14 in Corbett Auditorium, so people parking in CCM and other Corry Street garages should be aware of increased traffic beyond normal game days.

THE RUNDOWN

  • This is the 37th meeting in which at least one of the teams was ranked. Thirteen of those came with UC in the top-10, including four at No. 1.

  • Dan Skillings, UC’s leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.4 rpg), entered the Howard game first off the bench to thunderous cheers. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener and suffered a knee injury in the second half that he wasn’t aware of until the following morning. He had a procedure on Nov. 11 and played 14 minutes Sunday in his return.

  • This game was Jizzle James’ coming-out party last year, when the then-freshman scored a career-high 19 points to go with a block in 21 minutes. This year, he is 37th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.15. He played 20 minutes against Howard because of foul trouble, but scored a season-high 19 at Villanova.

  • Aziz Bandaogo 17 points against Howard was his most in his year plus as a Bearcat. Sore Wes Miller after the game, “he played the right way and found himself offensively doing his job against different ball screens. He was switched at Villanova and tonight, which is something he’s not used to, but he found his rhythm there. “

  • UC is 10-1 (4-0 this year) when Bandaogo scores in double figures, which includes two top-15 Big 12 road wins. Cincinnati won the boards 37-23 against Howard, one of four times with 10-plus more than its foe.

  • Simas Lukosius, 13th in KenPom’s offensive rating, is sixth nationally with a 52.8 percent 3-point clip. He was 16-for-23 his first four games (69.6 percent) and is the only Bearcat to score in double figures in all eight games.

  • Connor Hickman started in Skillings’ place the last seven games and scored his 1,000th. points late against Howard. His season-high 14 came in the road win at Georgia Tech, where he drove for a pair of layups early and went 2-for-3 from deep overall. Should Skillings start, it will be the first time since UC’s 109 point season opener.

  • Three-point plays will continue to be an emphasis in this one. UC is 23rd in shooting and 33rd on the defensive front. In its only loss, it had season-low percentages in each. Cincinnati is seventh nationally with an effective field goal percentage of 59.2 (fifth defensively at 42.1), aided by Dillon Mitchell’s 68.8 percent clip for the year, which ranks eighth.

  • Not only that, but Mitchell is 3-for-6 over his last four games after going without a mark in his two years at Texas. Plus, he went 3-for-4 at the foul line against Howard, his best clip this year.

  • UC has three averaging double figures in scoring (Lukosius 16.3, James 13.6, Mitchell 11.9), with Skillings at 9.5.

THE NEW THREADS

  • Cincinnati returned to familiar threads in 2023-24 with the Jordan brand. The Bearcats were one of the three original schools to be awarded it in 1997, joining St. John’s and North Carolina A&T.

  • Michael Jordan himself helped present the uniforms to the public on the Rosie O’Donnell Show on September 9, 1997.

  • This year’s Crosstown Shootout threads are focused on the black, an adopted school color for 130 years, the Cincy name spotlighting the city, fight songs, newspapers and how ESPN branded the school on its scorebugs in Big East games, as well as elephant print on sides as a nod to the Air Jordan 3, a hallmark of the Jordan Brand aesthetic.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Arguably the most passionate local rivalry in college basketball, UC leads 51-40 in a series that began in 1928 but hit full swing in 1946.

  • Xavier’s five-game winning streak is the first in the series since UC from 1972-79. Cincinnati had also won 20 of 21 from 1957-79.

  • Last year’s meeting saw Xavier jump out to a 16-8 lead. Xavier’s Quincy Olivari went 6-for-8 from deep for 27 points and the difference in the game. UC had four double-digit scorers, including Jizzle James’ then career high 19 points, while Day Day Thomas had 15.

  • Simas Lukosius, who last year against the Musketeers was returning after being hit by a car, played Xavier five times during his two seasons at Butler. He scored 27 points against the Musketeers in the 2022 Big East Tournament, and his defensive rebound and subsequent free throw with 4 seconds left also extended it to OT.

  • Two Musketeers saw plenty of Cincinnati last year. John Hugley, formerly of Oklahoma, missed the second game of the series but scored 11 points at Fifth Third Arena on Jan. 20. Ryan Conwell scored 18 points for Indiana State when UC played there in the NIT.