Most people probably wrote off Cincinnati by mid-February. But if you haven’t been paying attention, now’s the time to tune back in. The Bearcats are hitting their stride at just the right moment — and they’re ready to make a statement in March.
If you claimed you saw this coming, you’d be lying. Nobody could have predicted this kind of turnaround.
Cincinnati’s March Magic is Just Getting Started
The Bearcats entered conference play hopeful, looking to make a statement in the early stages of conference play. That didn’t happen. They dropped the first three, and come February, sat at a meager 3-7 in the conference.
What’s happened since then feels impossible. Four straight wins over UCF, Kansas State, Utah and a win inside Allen Fieldhouse against then-No. 8 Kansas. Entering that game, they were double-digit underdogs.
Their only loss in the last seven games came against Texas Tech, but it was followed with two dominant wins over Oklahoma State and an absolute dismantling of projected top five overall pick AJ Dybantsa and BYU on their home floor.
Losing to the Red Raiders on the road in Lubbock is nothing to fear, either. Only two teams have won there all season, those being Kansas and TCU – the same TCU team that took down a top-five Iowa State.
What Wes Miller said before the turnaround
The turnaround dates back to the Feb. 5 loss against the Mountaineers. Following the 59-54 loss, Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller voiced concerns for the fanbase and his feelings of frustration.
For a lack of better words, he wasn’t having it. It had nothing to do with the fans, and everything to do with the team’s performance, and the lopsided end results.
An emotional Wes Miller approaches fans postgame:
“You guys deserve to be frustrated. I understand the responsibilities of this job. It ain’t okay.”pic.twitter.com/0Ci3AEhgG1
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 6, 2026
“You guys deserve to be frustrated,” Miller said. “It ain’t okay. I understand the responsibilities of the job, [and] these results ain’t okay. I’m a human too, and nobody is more frustrated than I am.”
Since the viral moment, four Bearcats starters are now averaging in double figures: Baba Miller, Moustapha Thiam, Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James. Miller is also leading the way in rebounds, averaging just shy of ten per game.
The reality of where the Bearcats sit on the bubble
According to the latest edition of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, the Bearcats are among the “Next Four Out,” but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. West Virginia also occupies that category, but is likely to fall after its recent loss to Kansas State.
USC and California are scrambling to move up the standings, but in the Big 12, every climb carries more weight than most realize. Depending on how the final games shape up, it’s a likely matchup with the Mountaineers in either the first or second rounds.
There’s still time to turn it around, too. Win the final game of the regular season on Saturday against TCU and make a deep run in the conference tournament, and an at-large bid is more than within reach. It’s almost a guarantee.
© Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
