The University of Cincinnati Bearcats' last visit to Truist Arena was torture in the truest form. After using Northern Kentucky University's court for home games while Fifth Third Arena was renovated, then-UC athletic director Mike Bohn agreed to a pair of future trips across the "Big Mac" bridge to play the Norse.

The visit by Coach Wes Miller's second UC team two years ago saw the Bearcats lead 40-36 at halftime, then score just 11 points the rest of the way as NKU's Norse stormed the floor with a 64-51 win. UC had the Maui Invitational ahead of them with Arizona, Ohio State and Louisville on the ledger and may have been prematurely viewing palm trees.

"That was really hard when we went over there two years ago," Miller said. "I know this, Darrin Horn's a great coach. They lost a tough game at the buzzer (Nicholls, last week) with the lead down the stretch. They will respond and be ready for the Bearcats. We've got to get our team ready."

Return to Highland Heights

Tuesday is UC's return to the grisly scene, albeit with a better team. UC beat NKU 90-66 last year at Fifth Third Arena, now they have to exorcise the Nordic demons that haunted them Nov. 16, 2022. Current Norse starters and local products Sam Vinson (Highlands) and Trey Robinson (Hamilton) remain from the group that defeated the Bearcats. Vinson had 15 points that night and Robinson had five. Josh Reed is the only Bearcat who played in the Norse Nightmare, so he may have to provide what motivation Miller doesn't cover.

"You guys are the ones who get to write the stories on where we are, where we're not and all that kind of crap," Miller said after UC's last win, a 86-49 victory over Nicholls Friday night. "All I can control is practice on Sunday and hope we have a dang good one and get better."

3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats to beat NKU Norse

1. Bearcats need to take care of business

The non-conference slate can sometimes give false confidence or make a team look ahead. Both, as Miller has preached, are dangerous. Even with lopsided wins, Miller has found fault with UC's rebounding the last two games without Dan Skillings Jr. They were even with Morehead State 30-30. Against Nicholls, they had 14 more rebounds, but the Huskies beat them on the offensive boards 17-15.

"If people can come in here and get 17 offensive rebounds, in this league (Big 12) we're going to be really disappointed," Miller said.

2. Respect your opponent

UC's No. 17 ranking likely won't affect the Norse who have played on the road against Florida State and No. 14 Purdue. They played in front of 14,876 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. When NKU beat UC they had 8,503 at Truist Arena in 2022. Whatever the attendance, you must take the opposing fans out of the game.

UC's depth may be the answer. Miller has recently played 10 Bearcats in the opening half. The last two games 11 players made the box score and that's with Skillings Jr. and Day Day Thomas unavailable. Thomas is currently cleared medically, but Miller is taking it slow with the point guard who made 35 starts last season.

"We have the ability to have so much lineup versatility because all of these guys are so interchangeable," Miller said.

3. UC must guard the perimeter

The Norse aren't shy taking three-point shots. In their early games they shot 28, 23 and 23 from behind the arc. If they fall, it can be the great equalizer. Unfortunately, NKU is only connecting on 24% of their triples, with opponents hitting 31%. Josh Dilling is just 7-of-28 for 25%, Hubertas Pivorius is 4-of-9 for 44%. UC's Simas Lukošius has hit 10-of-14 on home rims so far with UC hitting 43% of their long-range shots to 26% for the opposition.

Going into Saturday, Lukošius was among the top five in Divison I NCAA stats in three-point percentage as his 71% was just behind leader Koby Brea of Kentucky. Brea played the Bearcats last year as a member of the Dayton Flyers.

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. NKU Norse

Tip: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN+/700WLW has UC's call, 55KRC with NKU's

Series: UC leads 5-1

NKU Norse scouting report

Record: 0-3

Coach: Darrin Horn (sixth season, 0-3, 98-59 overall)

Offense: 57 ppg

Defense: 69 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Position, Height, Stats)

Trey Robinson (G, 6'7", 10.7 ppg)

Keeyan Itejere (F, 6'9", 8.3 ppg)

Hubertas Pivorius (G, 6'2", 5.3 ppg)

Sam Vinson (G. 6'5", 5.7 ppg)

Dan Gerezegher Jr. (G, 6'4" , 2.7 ppg)

Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report

Record: 3-0

Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 3-0, 66-43 at UC, 251-178 overall)

Offense: 92.7 ppg

Defense: 52 ppg

Projected starting lineup

Dillon Mitchell (F, 6'8", 12 ppg)

Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7', 9 ppg)

Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6'8", 17.7 ppg)

Jizzle James (G, 6'3", 15 ppg)

Connor Hickman (G, 6'3", 6.3 ppg)

Players to watch

Coming off the bench, 6-foot-4 grad student guard Josh Dilling leads NKU in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He is a transfer from Northern State in South Dakota. He had 18 points against Florida State and Nicholls, but No. 14 Purdue held him to seven.

Even without Dan Skillings Jr. who hopes to return in a month or less from a knee procedure, the Bearcats are deep with several weapons. Simas Lukošius has been consistent and Jizzle James is always dangerous, even if he has a slow start. Both have been reliable in the early games. Lukošius at 75% from the field and 71% from the arc is at a clip that surpasses UC's overall free-throw accuracy of 63.5%. James is shooting 58% and both have 16 assists to share the team lead.

Rankings

NCAA NET: Cincinnati No. 37 last season, NKU No. 183

KenPom.com: Cincinnati No. 10, NKU No. 188

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win at NKU Norse Tuesday