Cincinnati gets its first real test of the Jerrod Calhoun era on Monday night. The 2-0 Bearcats host Minnesota of the Big Ten at Fifth Third Arena at 7 p.m. in the Twyman-Stokes Classic, and Calhoun hopes for a sellout, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The Bearcats have opened with two wins, including an 81-64 victory over Green Bay on Thursday, November 5, in which Green Bay trailed by just eight at halftime and got as close as four a minute into the second half before Cincinnati pulled away in front of 9,003 fans, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Enquirer reported Calhoun’s new squad will be challenged significantly more by its first power-conference opponent.
The game carries a name with deep Cincinnati meaning. The Twyman-Stokes Classic honors former Bearcat and Cincinnati Royal Jack Twyman, who became the guardian of teammate Maurice Stokes when a life-changing injury ended Stokes’ NBA career, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
For Calhoun, in his first season, the night is also a measuring stick for the program he is building. The Enquirer reported he arrived with a 299-159 career record across five seasons in Division II and nine in Division I, and that his Bearcats are asking Fifth Third’s fans to crank up the volume for the first Big Ten visitor of his tenure — an early test of both his team and its home-court energy.
Minnesota is coached by Niko Medved, in his second season with the Golden Gophers, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Enquirer listed KenPom ratings of No. 32 for Cincinnati and No. 41 for Minnesota, and noted Minnesota went 15-18 last season but recorded ranked wins over Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State, returning four players who played significant minutes.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series 7-2, and the Bearcats won the last meeting, 76-62 in the 2006 NIT, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Fifth Third Arena holds 12,012, and the game will be shown on ESPN+ with radio on 700 WLW, according to the Enquirer.
What happens next: tip is 7 p.m. Monday, November 9, at Fifth Third Arena — and the home-and-home arrangement means Cincinnati returns the trip to Minnesota in the 2027-28 season, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. After Minnesota, the Bearcats travel to Dayton on Saturday for their first true road game.
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