CINCINNATI — From the moment David DeJulius sank his first shot of the day, a straightaway three 18 seconds in, the Bearcats made it clear they would not slip up on Senior Day.
DeJulius finished with a career-high 30 points, including a nasty crossover and step back 15-footer with 5:45 left that thrilled the sellout crowd at Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats easily disposed of SMU (10-21, 5-13), 97-74, Sunday in the American Athletic regular season finale.
With Tulane holding on at home against Temple, the Bearcats (20-11, 11-7) finish with the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 Temple Friday at 3 p.m. in the AAC quarterfinals in Fort Worth, Texas.
While the biggest roar of the day was saved for a cameo courtside and videoboard appearance by Bengals star receiver Tee Higgins with 11:52 remaining in the game, the crowd was thoroughly entertained by the Bearcats. UC started the game hitting nine of their first 13 3-point attempts.
They led most of the first half by double digits and played a complete 40-minute game, something they’ll have to repeat three times in Texas if they want to punch a ticket to the big dance in two weeks.
While DeJulius was 11-of-18 from the field, Landers Nolley Jr. also had a huge day, knocking down 5-of-8 from deep and finishing with 24 points.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Anyone who was vaguely paying attention last season knows 2025 was not a…
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Bengals insist they're all in heading into the most critical offseason of…
CINCINNATI -- Wes Miller and his players don't care about what many in the fanbase…
CINCINNATI -- There was a moment Saturday when it felt like this was going to…
OXFORD, Ohio -- Miami head coach Travis Steele knows everything in life is more fun…
The Bengals have tweaked their coaching staff heading into the 2026 season and the NFL…