For the first time since Nov. 7, the Cincinnati Bearcats lost a game of basketball on Saturday, falling 70-59 on the road against No. 18 Mississippi State. It was in no way an embarrassing loss. The Bulldogs are a very good team with a national ranking and favorable metrics. But the Bearcats could have won the game if they had done a few things better. Some of those things were glaringly obvious in the numbers.
The majority of the issues were on the offensive side of the floor. The Bearcats are not a team that moves the ball excessively well.