Cincinnati Basketball: Wes Miller discusses the Bearcats expectations at Big 12 media day

Cincinnati Bearcats coach Wes Miller explained his expectations for the upcoming campaign in a press conference at Big 12 media day on Wednesday!

Make sure to stay tuned for recruiting updates and schedule announcements as Cincinnati gets ready for the initial Big 12 season to get started soon.

The Bearcats are led by veterans Viktor Lakhin, Ody Oguama, John Newman III and Dan Skillings Jr, plus transfer additions CJ Fredrick and Simas Lukosius.

With a chance to secure an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2019, Cincinnati is looking to improve on a 23-13 overall record from a year ago.

Cincinnati Basketball: Wes Miller discusses the Bearcats expectations at Big 12 media day

Following an upcoming game against Illinois-Chicago next month, Cincinnati will take on Dayton, Georgia Tech and Xavier before Big 12 play starts later on.

Lukosius averaged 11.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in his sophomore season, highlighted by a career-best 28-point showing during a victory over Villanova.

The former Butler Bulldogs standout developed into a significant contributor last season and will have two years of eligibility left going forward.

Skillings showed off elite potential as a freshman with a season-high 20 points in a win over Temple, and should have significant role this coming year.

Cincinnati Basketball: Players to watch in the Bearcats inaugural Big 12 campaign

Cincinnati is set to host the defending tournament conference champion Texas Longhorns in the first ever Big 12 game at Fifth Third Arena in January.

During the press conference at Big 12 media day, Miller broke down key returning veterans and several transfer additions via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“It’s important we added guys with experience. You look at Simas Lukosious and the years he played in the Big East. He has played in some big time environments. CJ Fredrick has played on four NCAA Tournament teams and apart of great teams at Iowa and Kentucky. We wanted to add experience and depth. I think this time of year, you talk so much about guys coming into the program because people don’t know them yet that we lose sight of guys you retain. It’s harder and harder in college basketball and the landscape we have to retain guys. We have a number of guys that return that have been here the last two years. That’s meant a lot to our team because they’re good players and have had success. They understand what we do and the standard that we do it. There is so much value in the retention piece but we have depth now. We have talent across the board, and we have lineup and positional versatility.”"