Basketball season is here, and Cincinnati’s first look at Ohio State comes Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Mason, OH, on a tennis court. There won’t be a stream for the game, but Mo Egger and Terry Nelson will have the radio call on Cincinnati’s website.
The biggest name to watch on Cincinnati’s side is MJ Collins, though the expectation is he won’t be available against the Buckeyes. Under NCAA rules, he is not eligible for preseason games.
He was allowed to play on the Bearcats’ trip to the Bahamas because of an injunction. There is still a slim chance that could change before Wednesday, but that’s not the expectation.
With Collins likely out, Akai Fleming stands to gain the most. He plays a similar style, and he has reportedly made the biggest leap of anyone since the start of the Bearcats’ summer program.
After averaging double figures in the ACC at Georgia Tech, Fleming arrives in a spot where a major second-year jump is very much on the table. Cincinnati’s depth on the perimeter matters here, too, because it says plenty that Fleming could still carve out a big role.
He has also developed into a backup point guard since the Bahamas, which only boosts his value. Fleming should start at the two, though Trevian Carson could be the one there instead.
David Iweze is another player worth tracking closely. The second-year big has had a difficult path to steady rotation minutes, but he also took a noticeable step forward from the start of summer to now.
That gives him a real chance to push Riley Allenspach for time at center. If Fleming becomes a top-of-the-rotation guard and Iweze grows into a reliable piece, that would be a major boost for Jerrod Calhoun’s first roster.
Tylen Riley is another name with something to prove in this game. He missed a significant stretch because of a left wrist injury, and Wednesday should offer a useful snapshot of where he is in Cincinnati’s offense.
He has now been back in practice for two weeks, and the question is how smoothly he can handle the system after such a long layoff from live action. Turnovers will be one way to judge it.
If they pile up, that does not mean panic - just that he is still finding the rhythm of the offense.
Ohio State, meanwhile, brings a size edge that is hard to miss. The Buckeyes spent the offseason adding multiple players over 6-foot-9 from Croatia, Argentina, and Serbia. That gives them a clear advantage in that department, though Cincinnati will try to answer with its own length and athleticism.
John Mobley Jr. is the other Buckeye who demands attention. He returns after averaging 15.7 points per game last season and enters the year as a preseason top-20 player in a loaded Big Ten.
Mobley went through the NBA draft process before choosing to come back to Columbus, and that decision gives Ohio State a proven sophomore point guard. He shot 41.1% from 3-point range last season and gives the Buckeyes a strong replacement for veteran guard Bruce Thornton.
He is also exactly the kind of guard who can test Cincinnati’s “fist” defensive scheme.
In Other News...
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 🡒]