Cincinnati Basketball: Takeaways from the Bearcats last-second loss against Xavier

In the narrow loss against Xavier yesterday, the Bearcats showed off plenty of potential with an impressive second half performance but a mistake-filled first half was too much to overcome.

Check out a few takeaways from Cincinnati’s last-second 80-77 loss in the Crosstown Shootout including inconsistent interior defense, shot selection concerns and a potential lineup change.

Xavier jumped out to an 11-1 lead in the opening minutes and went up 41-24 at halftime as the Bearcats struggled to defend and allowed too many good looks in the paint and off the dribble.

On the offensive end, Cincinnati hasn’t been able to create easy opportunities and it’s resulted in several slow starts this season which Wes Miller must straighten out as AAC play approaches.

Cincinnati Basketball: Takeaways from the Bearcats last-second loss against Xavier

In order to compete in the conference, Cincinnati has to get better shots and take care of the ball after shooting 45.8% from the field and committing 15 turnovers in the loss against Xavier.

Ody Oguama was a big reason the Bearcats were able to make a comeback in the second half and his defensive ability, energy and rebounding should lead to more playing time moving forward.

Despite coming up short, the team should be able to learn from the loss as non-conference play comes to a close. Miller reacted to the loss in a press conference via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“That environment tonight was the best I’ve ever been apart of as a college basketball player or coach. I can’t tell you how bad I want us to get to where we’re supposed to be as a Cincinnati basketball program. I don’t say the words I promise a lot but I promise we’ll freaking get there. We will get there. You look at that building tonight and you want it so bad for those people. They deserve it. You want it so bad for these kids. They deserve it and we will get there.”"