Preview: Baylor Bears at Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Two teams seeking momentum in the rugged Big 12 Conference will meet Wednesday night when the Baylor Bears visit the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena.

Baylor (11-8, 1-5 Big 12) arrives on a four-game skid, all in conference play, following a 97-90 home loss to TCU on Saturday. The Bears have struggled defensively during the stretch, allowing an average of 84.3 points in those four defeats.

Cincinnati (10-10, 2-5) has also found the league schedule challenging, having dropped three of its last four. The Bearcats are coming off an 82-68 loss at Arizona State.

A key matchup will feature backcourt playmakers. Baylor sophomore guard Isaac Williams is coming off a season-high 21 points in the loss to TCU. He has averaged 13.0 points over his last three games, providing a scoring spark for a Baylor offense that has been inconsistent in January.

He will be countered by Cincinnati’s dynamic junior guard, Baba Miller. Miller is averaging 17.4 points over his last five contests, including a 25-point performance in a win over Colorado on Jan. 14 and 23 points at Arizona State. His ability to score and facilitate (4.3 assists per game in that span) is central to the Bearcats’ attack.

Baylor’s recent woes have been compounded by defensive lapses, a concern against a Cincinnati team that is 8-3 at home this season. The Bearcats will look to exploit that and protect their home floor to climb back to .500 overall.

For Baylor, which started conference play with a road win at Oklahoma State but has since faltered, halting the current slide is critical before a trip to West Virginia looms this weekend. Cincinnati, meanwhile, begins a tough two-game homestand before facing a daunting road test at Houston on Saturday.

Wednesday’s contest, scheduled for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off, will be broadcast on ESPN+.