Cincinnati’s opening run in the 2026 CareSource Invitational came with plenty of ugliness, but the Bearcats still walked away with a 79-68 win over Ohio State under the sun.
It was the kind of exhibition Jerrod Calhoun expected last week: choppy, uneven and full of teaching moments. The setting didn’t help. The sun covered much of the court all game, and both teams struggled to see shots go down or get into much of a rhythm.
That showed up everywhere. Cincinnati shot 48.3% from the floor, but the Bearcats also dealt with a foul-heavy, sloppy afternoon in which neither team really found the offensive flow.
Even at the stripe, the numbers stayed rough, with neither side reaching 60% on free throws. Passing timing looked off too, and Cincinnati finished with 14 assists on 28 made baskets.
The second half, though, belonged to the Bearcats. After trailing 35-30, Cincinnati outscored Ohio State 49-33 to finish strong and give Calhoun and his staff a useful batch of film before Illinois comes to town next week.
A lot of that work came from a roster that still hasn’t been whole. MJ Collins, who is currently ineligible, did not play.
Javontae Campbell, the newest guard, was on the bench in a boot and also did not appear. Myles Colvin left early after appearing to injure his ankle.
Even with those absences, Elijah Perryman stepped into a bigger role and handled it well. The Utah State transfer guard finished with eight points and a game-high five assists in 16 minutes, giving Cincinnati steady play at a time when the backcourt is still sorting itself out.
That backcourt picture is still one of the biggest storylines moving forward, but the frontcourt looks much more defined. Jayden Hastings posted 16 points and six rebounds, Riley Allenspach had one point and three rebounds, and Tyler Tejada added 17 points and five rebounds.
Hastings and Tejada both earned a share of the spotlight. Hastings was a constant presence, rolling hard to the basket and leading Cincinnati in scoring for much of the afternoon.
The Boston College transfer also knocked down a three, another reminder that Cincinnati would love to have every big able to stretch the floor. When Hastings gets moving inside, he puts real pressure on the rim.
Tejada’s outside shot didn’t fall, but he still made a major impact by attacking downhill and getting into the low paint. His right-side dribble drive helped fuel Cincinnati’s second-half surge, and his ability to create that kind of pressure was a big reason the Bearcats put up 49 points after the break.
Tylen Riley also made his mark in his Cincinnati live-action debut. He scored a game-high 23 points and added three assists, looking healthy and mobile while attacking the basket after missing all the Bahamas exhibitions in August.
Cincinnati now gets back to practice before another exhibition next Saturday at 5 p.m. ET against Illinois.
In Other News...
Cincinnati Gets An Early Ohio State Test With Real Rotation Stakes
The Bearcats are heading into an unusual early measuring stick against Ohio State, and the setting alone makes it feel different from a typical November tune-up. The game is being staged on a tennis court in Mason, Ohio, with no streaming option available beyond a radio broadcast on Cincinnatis website, so this one will mostly be tracked the old-fashioned way even as the stakes around Cincinnatis rotation start to take shape.
MJ Collins is expected to be unavailable under NCAA preseason rules, which opens the door a bit wider for Akai Fleming and David Iweze to make their case for minutes. Ohio State brings the more obvious size edge into the matchup, and the Buckeyes also have a proven piece back in John Mobley Jr., making this a useful early snapshot of where Cincinnati stands when the competition starts to look more like the real thing. [Read more 🡒]