The Bearcats suffered their first loss of season after a career day from Eric Dixon.

The veteran forward finished with a game high 31 points and seven rebounds as the Wildcats were too much to handle for the Bearcats on Saturday.

The Bearcats had no answer for the veteran forward as he completly dominated this one for the game. Dixon entered tonight averaging nearly 25 points per game, which was second in the country. He was simply to much to handle for the Bearcats this evening.

Jizzle James led the Bearcats with 19 points, while Simas Lukosius finished with 13, but the Bearcats simply had no answer for the Wildcats as they scored their lowest number of points in the 2024 season.

The Bearcats cut the Wildcats lead to as much as three in the early portion of the second half, but the road shooting struggles emerged for Cincinnati. The Bearcats finished the second half shooting just 10-29 (33%) while the Wildcats shot 39% from the floor over the course of the final 20 minutes.

However, the Wildcats took a nine-point lead heading into the break, and they did what Villanova does best, and that is slow the game down. Villanova entered the game averaging nearly 70 points per game but was one of the slowest paced teams in all of college basketball, and that threw the Bearcats off guard tonight to say the least.

Cincinnati did one thing well, and that was dominate the paint in the first half as they outscored the Wildcats 18-8 in points in the paint. However, in the second half, they only scored six points in the paint, which essentially was the difference maker in this one. They had no answer for Eric Dixon, as he was too much to handle for the Bearcats interior defense tonight.

Cincinnati also struggled to shoot the three balls, which is something they have done so well all season, but in their first true road environment of the season, the road shooting struggles quickly emerged. For the most part, Cincinnati found themselves playing from behind, but give Credit to Kyle Neptune and this Villanova squad, especially after they started the season 4-4.

However, the Bearcats now quickly have to turn the page and get ready for Howard on Sunday, but this was a game in which many wished Cincinnati could make a huge impact on the road given their non-conference schedule.

Up Next

The Bearcats welcome in Howard to Fifth Third Arena on Sunday at 2pm as they look to get back in the win column.