TicketsNo. 19/20 CINCINNATI (12-2, 1-0) at TEMPLE (7-6, 0-2)
SERIES INFO: 29th meeting; Cincinnati leads 19-9 overall; Cincinnati leads 5-4 in Philadelphia;
Cincinnati leads 8-2 at home and 6-3 at neutral sites.
LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: Cincinnati won 56-50 on Dec. 28, 2016 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia
Cincinnati won 81-74 on Jan. 18, 2017 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati
STREAK: Cincinnati - 2
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (249-137); 15th season overall (318-161)
Fran Dunphy is in his 12th season at Temple (237-142); 29th season overall (547-305)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 1): Cincinnati (19/20); Temple (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Roy Philpot provides play-by-play with color analyst LaPhonso Ellis
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – One thing the University of Cincinnati Bearcats can almost always count on when they play Temple is that the Owls will take care of the ball, not give away easy baskets, and will go toe-to-toe physically with UC.
Temple has used that formula to win three of the last five games against the Bearcats, including three in a row in 2015 and 2016 before the Bearcats knocked them off twice last season. UC won last year at Temple, 56-50, despite shooting 32.8 percent from the field.
"They shoot the three extremely well and they always play well against us," said UC coach Mick Cronin, "even though last year we won both games. And historically we haven't shot the ball well there for whatever reason."
The 19th-ranked Bearcats, who have won their last five games, will try to make it three in a row over Temple on Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. The Owls (7-6 overall, 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference) have lost three in a row and four of their last five, but they rank 30th in ESPN's version of the RPI on the strength of the third-toughest schedule in the country.
UC, which ranks 57th in the RPI, will seek its third win against one loss vs. top 50 RPI opponents this season. The Bearcats are 12-2 overall, 1-0 in the league.
The Bearcats probably will play without backup point guard Cane Broome for the second straight game, as he continues to recover from a sprained left ankle that he suffered in last Thursday's practice. Cronin did not rule out the possibility that Broome might play, but given the UC coach's tendency be cautious with such injuries, especially this early in the conference season, it seems unlikely.
Cronin said Broome, who averages 9.8 points and 3.1 assists, would not practice Tuesday, but that athletic trainer Bob Mangine would "try to move him around and see how he reacts."
"It's a long year," Cronin said. "Broome is valuable to us. I think we're very fortunate to have a guy that plays point guard in Jacob Evans so (starting point guard) Justin (Jenifer) doesn't have to play 40 minutes and we can still maintain our style of play. I'd love to have (Broome), but it's more important that you don't rush a guy back from an ankle injury or any injury, to be honest with you."
With Broome watching from the bench Sunday in UC's 82-48 win over Memphis, Jenifer played 23 minutes, scoring seven points with four assists and no turnovers. Jenifer averages 20.6 minutes per game.
"While he's out, I'm going to hold the fort down for him," Jenifer said. "But we're hoping for a steady and fast recovery."
When Jenifer was being rested Sunday, Evans moved over from his wing position to run the offense and scored 12 points with six assists, which matched his career high, and two turnovers in 31 minutes.
Temple is led by 6-foot-8 sophomore guard Quinton Rose, who averages 16.5 points and shoots 43.6 percent from 3-point range. Six-four junior guard Shizz Alston averages 15.2 points, and 6-foot-10 forward Obi Enechionyia averages 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. The Owls average 7.8 3-point field goals per game, just a shade below UC's 8.0.
Defensively, Temple has allowed its opponents to make 45.7 percent of their field goal attempts, which is last in the league. But the Owls have committed only 10.7 turnovers per game, the fewest in the league.
"Part of the reason they take care of the ball is they usually play three guards and they don't complicate things on offense," Cronin said, "so they don't force a lot of passes. It's hard to press them because they play multiple ball handlers."
This is a big week for the Bearcats, even though it's the first week of conference play. After the Temple game on Thursday, they return to BB&T Arena on Sunday to face SMU, which has also won five in a row and is 2-0 in league play. Last year, the Mustangs, who won the regular-season conference championship, took two of the three games against the Bearcats and beat them in the championship game of the AAC tournament.
But first UC has to contend with the Owls, who have given the Bearcats plenty of problems over the years.
"They just don't have a conscience as far as when they shoot," said UC forward Gary Clark. "They're not afraid. They're an older team usually, so their guys are ready to play."
Clark, who has seized more rebounds than any player in the four-year history of the American, needs 59 more to become the fifth player in UC history to score 1,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds, which would put him in elite company. The four players who have reached both milestones are Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman, Paul Hogue and Robert Miller. Robertson and Twyman are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Hogue was a third-team All-American who played on both of UC's national championship teams in 1961 and 1962. And Miller was an honorable mention All-American in 1978.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.