College Basketball Crown Live Updates: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF Knights in quarterfinal

15:47 1H | UCF up on UC by 5

A rocky start for the Bearcats as Darius Johnson has all eight UCF points and UC didn’t score until Day Day Thomas hit a 3-pointer at the 16:07 mark. UC’s 1-for-6, UCF is 3-for-7. Both teams have four rebounds.

LAS VEGAS – Nearly two months after they last played in Orlando, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team squares off with the UCF Knights in quarterfinal action of the College Basketball Crown tournament.

The UC Bearcats were installed as the early 6.5-point favorite in the game to go 2-0 in April. UC sent DePaul home in their opening round game Tuesday 83-61 as six Bearcats scored in double figures. The last time UC had six players in double figures was their season-opening win last Nov. 4 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Despite playing just eight players and having eight players in the transfer portal, Big 12 conference-mate UCF beat Oregon State 76-75 Tuesday with Darius Johnson, Tyler Hendricks and Nils Machowski all scoring 15 points. Hendricks and Machowski are part of UCF’s portal departures but are playing in the tournament.

UC defeated UCF at Addition Financial Arena Feb. 5, 93-83. It was the best offensive output by the Bearcats out of all of their Big 12 games with four UC players in double figures. Day Day Thomas had 20 points and native Floridian Dillon Mitchell had 19. It was a welcome win as UC had dropped four straight Big 12 games to Texas Tech, BYU, Utah and West Virginia.

UCF was at full strength with top Big 12 scorer Keyshawn Hall scoring 23 points. Hall is in the portal and has also declared for the NBA draft.

Next up for UC, UCF winner

Should UC advance they’ll play the winner of the Villanova/USC game which tips off at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) after the Bearcats and Knights. That game would be Saturday, April 5 at 4 p.m. (Eastern) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The first two rounds of the College Basketball Crown were played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena due to the NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights being on the ice at T-Mobile Arena.

UC women’s basketball adds transfer

Cincinnati Bearcats women’s coach Katrina Merriweather has added 5-foot-11 guard Mya Perry from Florida Atlantic where she led the Owls in scoring at 15.5 points per game.

“Mya has proven to be one of the best three-point shooters in the country. As we continue to build our program, she is a critical piece for next season.

Perry is from Reynoldsburg, near Columbus, and started her career at Ohio State..

“Being a Bearcat has always been a dream,” Perry said. “It was my first offer and now it’s come full circle.”

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