yahoo - 3/13/2026 9:20:42 PM - GMT (+2 )
Cincinnati has fired men’s basketball coach Wes Miller, according to multiple reports on Friday, March 13.
The Bearcats went 100-74 in five seasons under Miller, including an 18-15 mark this season.
Cincinnati started 11-12 this season before rattling off seven wins over a nine-game stretch, but it coughed up an eight-point lead in the final two minutes in a 66-65 overtime loss to UCF in the second round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday.
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"If it's about the best teams at this point, we're one of the best teams in the country," Miller said after the loss to UCF while making the NCAA tournament case for his team. "We're an NCAA tournament team. I think we've won seven of our last 10 Big 12 teams. When's the last time someone won seven out of 10 in the Big 12 and didn't play in the NCAA tournament? I certainly feel we belong. I know tonight (vs. UCF) would have helped.”
The Bearcats never had a losing record under Miller, but failed to make the NCAA tournament, a glaring shortcoming at a proud program with a decorated history. Cincinnati had participated in the NCAA tournament 23 times over a 28-season stretch from 1992-2019, including in each of former coach Mick Cronin’s final nine seasons at the school before he left for UCLA in 2019.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a part of the USA TODAY Network, Miller’s buyout is $9.9 million. Had the school waited until April 1, that figure would have dropped to $4.69 million.
A former point guard at North Carolina, Miller was hired at Cincinnati in 2021 after a successful 10-year run at UNC Greensboro, where he went 185-135 and guided the Spartans to the NCAA tournament twice.
Though the Bearcats are looking for their first NCAA tournament berth since 2019, they’re a program with a lengthy and storied past, with two national championships and six Final Fours.
Among the candidates who would likely be considered for the role is Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun, an Ohio native and Cincinnati graduate who previously worked as an assistant under former Bearcats coach Bob Huggins at West Virginia.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cincinnati fires basketball coach Wes Miller after five seasons
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