Skilling scores 17, leads Cincinnati in 92-56 rout of West Virginia in reagular-season finale
CINCINNATI (AP) — Dan Skilling Jr. scored 17 points to lead Cincinnati in a romp past West Virginia, 92-56, in the Bearcats’ final home game Saturday.
Cincinnati finished the Big 12 regular season in 11th place, sending them into a first-round tournament berth and a likely rematch with the Mountaineers on Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri. West Virginia is a half-game behind Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys swept the season series with West Virginia to assure them the 13th seed and would likely face 12th-seeded UCF in a first-round game.
The Bearcats (18-13, 7-11 Big 12) were without their leading rebounder, Viktor Lakhin for the second consecutive game with an ankle injury. It is unknown whether he will be available for the conference tournament. Also missing was the team’s top 3-point shooter, CJ Fredrick, with a hamstring injury. But it mattered little in a second half that saw them shoot 70% (21 of 30) from the field, with all but one of their misses coming from beyond the 3-point arc. Skilling was 4-for-4 shooting over the final 20 minutes and scored 15 of his 17 points after intermission.
Cincinnati was 36 of 61 (59%) shooting for the game. Senior John Newman III, starting his final home game, finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, and fellow senior Jamille Reynolds added 13 points. Simas Lukosius 12 points and five assists.
Noah Farrakhan came off the bench to score 12 points for West Virginia (9-22, 4-14) and was the lone scorer to reach double figures.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball