A season of high expectations begins Monday night as the Bearcats take on Arkansas Pine-Bluff at Fifth Third Arena. There is a "the-sky-is-the-limit" feeling to this season, with Cincinnati returning their top three scorers and six of their top eight from last season. In addition, we know the Bearcats can play in the Big 12. There were multiple games they lost last year that they could have, and arguably should have, won. Ten of their 11 Big 12 losses were by less than 10 points, with eight by five points or less.

The experience that the returning players gained last year in their first season in the Big 12 should give them confidence that they can take the next step and flip some of those losses last year into wins this season. A difficult schedule in Big 12 play awaits, but the non-conference games are still important. After all, the Bearcats can only play the games on their schedule. That includes Monday night against the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions.

When the Bearcats take the court on Monday night, they'll do so as a ranked team for the first time in nearly six years. In addition, this is the first time in seven seasons they will open the season in the AP Top 25. Cincinnati is ranked No. 20 to start the season. ESPN's Bracketology projects the Bearcats as a No. 5 seed, while Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects the Bearcats as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With that, let's take a look at the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions. We'll look at the team and program, Players to Watch, the head coach and notable alumni. Here's a look at the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions ahead of the game on Monday night.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions

The Golden Lions are coming off a 13-18 season (8-10, SWAC) and feature a near totally different roster this season. Arkansas Pine-Bluff features seven transfers, most of them coming from community colleges.

It's been 15 years since Arkansas Pine-Bluff played in the NCAA Tournament. That was the last year before the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams, and the Golden Lions won the play-in game in Dayton before losing to eventual national champion Duke.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff is in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and they have been there since 1998 when they became a Division I member that year.

Players to Watch on Arkansas Pine-Bluff

1. #9, Klemen Vuga, 6'9", Sr., Menges, Slovenia

Vuga is a transfer from Monmouth with career highs of 29 points and nine rebounds. In 2023-24, Vuga averaged 2.3 points per game and shot 35.6% from the field. The season before, though, he averaged 10 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.

2. #55, Caleb Jones, 6'1", Fr., Atlanta, Ga., North Gwinnett High School

Jones was a Region Player of the Year last year as a Senior in high school, going on to earn All-State honors. He averaged 19.2, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in his Senior season.

3. #1, Christian Moore, 5'11", Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.

Moore is a transfer from North Texas, where he played on their NIT Championship team in 2023. That season, Moore shot 47 percent from three-point range. Moore played in 12 games this past season with North Texas, their first season in the American Athletic Conference, playing season highs of 10 minutes and five points.

4. #33, Quentin Bolton, 6'6", Jr., Racine, Wis.

Bolton is a transfer from Charleston Southern, where he averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He scored 19 points in his first career start last year, and he averaged 24.3 minutes per game in Big South games.

5. #4, Dante Sawyer, 6'4", Jr., San Francisco, Ca., North Idaho CC Transfer

Sawyer was a First Team All-Conference member in Region 18. He averaged 14.7 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and two assists per game.

6. #3, Anthony Sellars, 6'7", Jr., Winston Salem, N.C., Three Rivers CC Transfer

Sellars averaged 13 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range. He was First Team All-Conference in the MCCAC and was First Team All-Region 16.

Head Coach: Solomon Bozeman (4th season)

One of the more memorable Cinderella runs in recent NCAA Tournament history was Oral Roberts going to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed in 2021. Solomon Bozeman was an assistant coach on that Eagles team, as Oral Roberts fell by just two points to Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

Bozeman is in his fourth season as the Golden Lions head coach, with a 30-63 record that includes 19-35 in the SWAC. The Golden Lions have never finished higher than tied for eighth in Bozeman's three seasons as head coach.

In his playing career, Bozeman led Arkansas Little Rock to the 2011 NCAA Tournament as he hit the game-winning shot in the Sun Belt Championship Game. He was named the 2011 Sun Belt Player of the Year and an AP All-American Honorable Mention. Bozeman began his college career at South Florida.

Notable Alumni from Arkansas Pine-Bluff

L.C. Greenwood: Greenwood was a four-time Super Bowl champion defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers on their legendary Steel Curtain defense. In addition, Greenwood was a two-time First Team All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowler who was named to the NFL's 1970s All-Decade Team, the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team and Hall of Honor and is in the Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Terron Armstead: Armstead is currently the left tackle for the Miami Dolphins, and he has been named to the Pro Bowl five times.

Jamie Gillan: Gillan is currently the punter for the New York Giants. He started his career with the Cleveland Browns in 2019 after going undrafted, and he was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 18 of the 2023 Season. Gillan singed a two-year, $4 million extension with the Giants in March of 2023.

Danny K. Davis: Davis is currently the U.S. Representative for the 7th Congressional District in Illinois, which encompasses Chicago and surrounding areas.

Smokie Norful: Norful is a Grammy-award winning gospel singer.

Cassius Cash: Cash is currently the superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Keys to the Game

1. Don't play down to your level of competition: Non-conference play may not be exciting, but it's still important for the Bearcats to not play down to their level of competition. They can't let Arkansas Pine-Bluff hang around for long in this game.

2. Free throw shooting: The Bearcats let several Big 12 games slip away because of their inability to consistently hit free throws. Being able to be more consistent at the charity stripe this season will make the Bearcats an even harder team to beat. And the last thing Bearcats fans want to be talking about this Holiday season is their inability to make free throws.

3. Dominate in rebounding: Cincinnati has a strong front court with Aziz Bandaogo, Dillan Mitchell and Arrinten Page. Add in Josh Reed off the bench, and the Bearcats have a front court capable of being one of the better rebounding teams in the Big 12.

Score Prediction: Bearcats 88 - Arkansas Pine-Bluff 62