Two Cents & Sense: Thoughts on UC vs Lipscomb

(

N.C. Brown

| The News Record)

The Bearcats threw it in cruise control on Saturday afternoon, rolling to an effortless 91–68 win over a bad Lipscomb team. The Bisons are probably the worst team in UC’s slate this season, and the Bearcats seemed to respect them as such, winning by 23 but never truly slamming on the gas. Here’s what happened:

Positives:

• Jarron Cumberland looked like Jarron Cumberland, probably for the first time in his short career. Through five games, I’d been waiting to see him put together a great outing, but we’ve only gotten flashes. On Saturday, however, Cumberland played just 22 minutes, but poured in 17 points on just 4-of-6 shooting. He got himself to the line ten times to make for a very efficient afternoon. As the Bearcats head into meat of the non-conference schedule, Mick is probably going to need Cumberland to have games like this. If the Rhode Island game is any indication, Cronin will go with a very short rotation in big games. We’ll need points from the bench, and Cumberland has to lead the way in that regard.
• Tre Scott is a Swiss Army Knife. Logging nearly 30 minutes in relief of Gary Clark, Scott produced in a big way with nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Having a guy like that on the bench is an incredible luxury for a coach. I’ve seen numerous people say that Scott reminds them of Justin Jackson, which I can see. But Scott––despite being just a freshman––has already flashed offensive acumen that I’m not sure Jackson had as a senior.

I could only pick one great Tre Scott play. (Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV, GIF by OhVarsity)

• Kevin Johnson had a nice game. 13 points and three rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting and five trips to the free-throw line. which is a good solution for a guy who hasn’t been a true scoring threat in his career. He and Troy Caupain have been really pressing all year, but we might be seeing KJ finally slow it down a bit.

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV, GIF by OhVarsity)

• This subtle move that got Jacob Evans a bucket:

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV, GIF by OhVarsity)

Negatives:

• Gary Clark is hurt, and it’s the same ankle he had issues with in March. (For some reason it didn’t get talked about a whole lot at the time, but Gary’s right ankle probably cost the Bearcats the UConn game and the St. Joseph’s game.) In just the sixth outing of the 2016–17 campaign, the ankle came back for more. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think it looked terribly severe. Definitely a sprain, but nothing that should require a cast or, god forbid, surgery. Obviously I never want to lose Gary, especially with a really tough trip to Iowa State coming up, but we might get to see a burgeoning Tre Scott play a big fill-in role. That might be fun.
• Troy Caupain is still struggling to find his role in this new lineup. He’s a smart, talented, experienced kid, so I think he’ll come around, but it’s tough to see him fade into the background at times. He came into Saturday’s game just 11 points shy of 1,000 in his career, and he couldn’t get there in 29 minutes of action. He didn’t have a bad game — eight points, five rebounds, five assists — but he only took six shots and still looks unsure of how to play with two good scorers on his side. Through six games against mostly poor competition, he’s averaging just 9.5 points, which is lower than his sophomore year scoring.
• The Bearcats got out-rebounded, at home, by Lipscomb. 39–31. Ugly.

Big, big, big revenge trip to Ames, Iowa on Thursday. Buckle up.