Cincinnati got a look at several pieces Wednesday, and the biggest impression came from the guard who kept showing up on the defensive end. Trevian Carson was everywhere for the Bearcats, piling up three steals, finishing at plus-24 and giving Cincinnati the kind of gritty, disruptive minutes that can quietly change a game. His plus-minus led the team, five points better than Tyler Tejada’s plus-19.
That kind of impact helps explain why Carson’s role is already looking bigger than a simple spark-plug job. He was expected to be a do-it-all guard when he committed to Cincinnati, and he backed that up in this one. MJ Collins not playing also mattered for Carson’s minutes, but the performance itself made the case that he can be one of the more important players on the roster.
Tylen Riley gave Cincinnati something it has been missing. He looked like a true point guard, and that showed up in the way he attacked the rim and drew fouls.
Bearcats fans have been waiting for that kind of pressure from the position after years of wanting more of it from Jizzle James or Day Day Thomas. Riley’s first half was quiet, with only five points, but he flipped it in a big way after the break, scoring 18 in the second half.
The turnover count was manageable, too. Riley had two, which stands out even more considering how much time he missed because of the hand injury. He wore a wrap over his left wrist, something that has been part of his look at practice for multiple weeks since he returned in late September.
That second-half surge from Riley paired with Tyler Tejada’s 15 second-half points to fuel the comeback after Ohio State had built a nine-point lead with 3:54 left in the first half.
Cincinnati also had to navigate the early exit of Myles Colvin, who left with a severe limp, went straight to the locker room and was ruled out before halftime. He did come back out to the court, took one shot at halftime and then relaxed during warmups.
Colvin is expected to be Cincinnati’s best shooter this season, and he had already shown that in practice. After the game, Calhoun said Colvin would have returned in a real game and that he is expected to practice Friday.
Another encouraging sign came from Elijah Perryman. He struggled in the Bahamas, so the question was whether he or Akai Fleming would be the main backup behind Tylen Riley.
Perryman got the start and handled it well, finishing with eight points, five assists and a plus-9. He also flashed straight-line speed on drives to the basket, the same kind of burst Riley used so effectively Wednesday.
Calhoun said after the game that Perryman is one of the few players in college basketball who actually loves to pass the ball. That fits what he showed in this one.
The setting was unusual, and there was something genuinely fun about it. Playing outside clearly had its charm.
But the shooting numbers told the real story. Both teams knew they could shoot, and instead the game turned into a rough night from deep, with the two sides combining to go 8-for-42 from 3-point range.
In the end, it came down to turnovers and interior offense. Cincinnati also started ice-cold at the free-throw line before settling in and finishing strong, making more than half its attempts at 19-for-32.
If this kind of event happens every five years, fine. Just don’t make an actual game outside a regular thing.
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 🡒]
Bearcats Showed Promise Against Ohio State But One Concern Stood Out
The Bearcats opened the 2026 CareSource Invitational with a win that should travel well on the rsum, knocking off Ohio State 79-68 in a game that asked plenty of them early and rewarded them late. Cincinnati settled in after a sloppy start and used a strong second half to take control, with Jayden Hastings and Tyler Tejada helping steady things as the Buckeyes struggled to keep pace.
Still, the performance came with a blemish that stood out as much as the result. The game had the feel of an outdoor showcase at times, with sloppy stretches and poor free-throw shooting muddying what might otherwise have been a cleaner statement win for Cincinnati, and it left enough for the Bearcats to clean up even as they walked away with an encouraging victory. [Read more 🡒]