The Cincinnati Bearcats closed their exhibition slate in emphatic fashion Tuesday, routing Oakland 97-58 at home behind a hot shooting night from the perimeter, Sports Illustrated’s Bearcats coverage reported. MJ Collins led Cincinnati with 22 points, including five three-pointers, in what SI described as his best outing across the Bearcats’ four exhibitions dating back to the team’s August trip to the Bahamas.
Cincinnati hit 15 of 29 shots from deep as a team, according to the game account shared by FOX19’s Jeremy Rauch and cited by Sports Illustrated, and held Oakland to 37% shooting on the night. Myles Colvin added 15 points and six rebounds, hitting five three-pointers of his own, and Tylen Riley contributed seven points and five assists as the Bearcats’ guard rotation controlled the game, SI reported.
The exhibition was scheduled with a purpose. Oakland plays a lot of zone defense, and head coach Jerrod Calhoun wanted his team to see that look before the regular season, Sports Illustrated reported. “We play Oakland. The reason we played them is that they play a lot of zone. I think you’ll see that early in the season, especially with your guarantee games, teams that are coming in,” Calhoun said, in remarks quoted by Sports Illustrated. “Everything we do, we kind of do for a reason.”
Former All-MAC forward Amani Lyles also saw his first action in a Cincinnati uniform, posting six points, two rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes as he continues to ramp up into the rotation, SI reported. The Bearcats were never seriously threatened by an Oakland team ranked 223rd on Bart Torvik and 225th on Evan Miya, according to SI’s recap.
Calhoun, who came to Cincinnati after building Utah State into a tournament program, used the postgame to keep expectations in check. “We’ll see how we respond, right? That’s the best thing about playing somebody different in a different look. We know we got to guard the basketball better. We got to get back in transition better,” Calhoun said, in remarks quoted by Sports Illustrated. “You’re never as good as you think you are. You’re never as bad.”
The real season begins Monday, when Cincinnati opens the regular season at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, Sports Illustrated reported. The Bearcats face American and Green Bay in the opening week — two teams projected inside the top 200 nationally on analytic metrics — before their first tough test against Minnesota on Nov. 9.
For a program looking to re-establish itself in the Big 12, the exhibition results offered an early signal: three guards who can score, a defense that held its tune-up opponent under 60, and a rotation still adding pieces. Monday night will show how much of it carries over when the games count.
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