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Big 12 Conference play begins Monday as No. 17 Cincinnati travels to Manhattan, Kan., to face Kansas State, and neither team resides where most people thought they’d be at this point.

Cincinnati (10-1), which was picked sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll, is tied with No. 3 Iowa State for the best nonconference record in the Big 12. The Bearcats’ lone loss came at Villanova earlier this month, but they’ve rattled off four straight wins.

Kansas State (6-5), which was picked two spots below the Bearcats, has lost three straight games heading into conference play and is tied with Arizona for the worst nonconference record in the league. Three of the Wildcats’ five losses have been by double digits, including their last loss at Wichita State when a halftime lead turned into an 84-65 loss. It was their second double-digit loss this season when leading at halftime.

The Bearcats have mostly built their stellar record against mid-major competition, with the loss to Villanova and a victory over Georgia Tech representing the only power-conference opponents. The schedule will definitely be tougher moving forward.

“We took care of business in nonconference,” head coach Wes Miller said following their 84-49 victory over Grambling Dec. 22. “We wanted to put ourselves in a position to go into league play and to be a quality team. I believe we’ve done that.

“Was it perfect? No, it’s not perfect. We have a lot of room for improvement. We will use the next two or three days as a staff to recharge and kind of look at things and evaluate things, and we’ll have a couple days of practice when we get back on the 26th to adjust and make the necessary changes we need to do going into conference play.”

The Bearcats are dominating their competition statistically, with a scoring margin of 21 points per game, fifth-best in the conference and tied for 11th in the nation. They’re averaging 79.5 points per game while giving up just 58.5.

They’re led by a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging between 9.6 and 14.9 points per game. Simas Lukosius is the Bearcats’ best scorer (14.9 ppg) and 3-point shooter, taking (78) and making (33) the most long-range shots on the team, and connecting on 42.3 percent of his 3-pointers.

Kansas State has not met expectations this season.

Preseason Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year Coleman Hawkins has yet to find his stride. He’s only scored in double figures in five of the Wildcats’ 11 games. His best game came against Longwood, when he scored a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also showed his range, hitting 5 of 7 3-point attempts.

He then scored in double figures in two of the next three games before totaling six points against Wichita State. The Wildcats need more consistency from him and his teammates.

Despite the losing streak, head coach Jerome Tang continues to preach patience.

“The frustration in the locker room is hurt (about) losing,” Tang said. “It doesn’t matter if that’s over a span of three days or 20 days. Nobody wants to lose games. We have to keep working, and we will because we have a high ‘care factor’ in the locker room.”

The Wildcats are led by Brendan Hausen (13.9 points per game) and David N’Guessan (13.6).

–Field Level Media