Cincinnati tipped off the Jerrod Calhoun with a 79-53 win over American on Monday night. Jayden Hastings got hurt in the opening minutes, and it affected Cincinnati across the rest of the first half.

Still, UC moved to 2-0 all time against the Eagles.

Calhoun's squad entered the game ranked 38th on Bart Torvik, while the Eagles were 193rd, but they looked pretty even for the first half of the game (35-33 UC lead). That is, until the Bearcats smashed them on the glass in the second half. Calhoun's team won the rebounding battle 48-32 in the biggest margin of the game.

UC has now won its past seven season openers after a 64-56 defeat at Ohio State in the 2019-20. A win's a win, and they had a couple big runs in the second half to leave no doubt on Monday night.

Hastings Out, Slight Void In

The first half got sloppy fast for Cincinnati as Tylen Riley (nine points, five assists) couldn't find his shooting efficiency.

Cincinnati hit just 8-27 from outside on the night but clawed through things with enough contributions from a roster that needed its depth. Nine different players scored at least five points, and they rebounded very well as a team. Myles Colvin (three points, seven rebounds) led the way on that front and looks like a weapon on the glass at the guard spot.

The second half became a different story once MJ Collins (13 points) got rolling. His shotmaking and off-the-dribble burst led to rim attacks and bombs from deep. Collins notched just three points in the first half, but hunted with a purpose across the second frame.

American went to the NCAA Tournament in 2025 and entered the game ranked inside the top 200 nationally, so it was an ideal opponent to open the season against.

The Cats allowed just 20 points in the second half.

Player of the Game: Tyler Tejada

It's hard to pick a clear POTG from the team effort, but Tejada (13 points, five rebounds) was the most consistent across his 22 minutes to open the season.

The Towson transfer was his team's high scorer each of the last two seasons and showed that inside-outside scoring acumen on Monday. He was a big part of the strong rebounding showing, something that looked like a weakness entering the season.

It's obviously too early to call that a myth one game in, but if Tejada & Co. can hit the glass like this, they'll be in great shape over the next few months and (maybe) into March.

Collins deserves a semi-nod here as well for his impact in the second half. He led all players in game score during the outing, something that could happen a bunch this season.

Cincinnati will clean up its first-half issues and then prepare for a full-game showing against Green Bay on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

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