Ticketsrv/rv SMU (12-4, 2-1) at No. 19/20 CINCINNATI (13-2, 2-0)
SERIES INFO: 13th meeting; Cincinnati leads 7-5 overall; Cincinnati leads 6-0 at home;
SMU leads 3-1 in Dallas and 2-0 at neutral sites.
LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: Cincinnati won 66-64 on Jan. 12, 2017 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati;
SMU won 60-51 on Feb. 12, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas;
SMU won 71-56 on March 12, 2017 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., in the American Championship title game
STREAK: SMU - 2
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (250-137); 15th season overall (319-161)
Tim Jankovich is in his second season at SMU (51-9); 11th season overall (208-130)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 1): Cincinnati (19/20); SMU (RV/RV)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Kevin Brown provides play-by-play with color analyst John Thompson
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
TICKETS: A limited number of $25 general admission seats in the lower-level bleachers are available at the BB&T Arena ticket office beginning two hours before tipoff. Arena doors open 90 minutes prior to start time.
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – One of the first true rivalries to emerge after the American Athletic Conference was formed in 2013 was between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and their former BIG EAST Conference foe Connecticut.
But in recent years, that matchup has taken a back seat to UC-SMU, which now ranks as one of the top rivalries – if not the best – in The American.
"With SMU, I know the coaching staffs have tremendous respect for each other," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "And it's developed as well with the players. We both try to play the game to win. Both teams play really hard and with a lot of pride. I think it's what a rivalry should be. There hasn't been any bad blood between our teams. It's a mutual respect between two teams always trying to win a conference championship."
No. 19 UC (13-2 overall, 2-0 in the American) and SMU (12-4, 2-1) will add a new chapter to the rivalry at 6 p.m. Sunday at BB&T Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
The Bearcats have the nation's longest home court winning streak at 34 games, with 18 of those wins coming against conference opponents. UC leads the series with SMU, 7-5. Since the inception of the AAC, the Bearcats are 5-4 vs. the Mustangs, 4-0 at home.
UC has played its last two games without Cane Broome, who's recovering from a twisted left ankle. Broome shares the point guard position with Justin Jenifer and averages 9.8 points. Cronin said there's a chance Broome could play against SMU, although he called his status "questionable."
"He shot yesterday," Cronin said. "I'll see how he does (Saturday), what he can handle. Then it'll be how does he come out of practice. What if he's sore after practice?"
This game will feature the top two defensive teams in the league. UC is first, allowing 58.7 points. SMU is a close second at 59.8. When they get together, the games are usually physical, low-scoring confrontations. In the nine games played between the two teams in the American only one team has scored more than 70 points. That was SMU in a 76-55 win over the seventh-ranked Bearcats in Dallas on Feb. 8, 2014, ending a 15-game UC winning streak.
"They do a great job of stopping you from scoring in the paint at all costs," Cronin said. "You've got to make some (perimeter) shots against SMU. You just have to. You have to have good passing. I'd love to see the game with more pace."
The Mustangs are in their second season under head coach Tim Jankovich, who has a 52-9 record since taking over for Hall of Famer Larry Brown. They've won two of the last three AAC regular-season titles, including last season when they also knocked off UC in the conference tournament title game in Hartford, Conn.
SMU is led by junior guard Shake Milton, who averages 17.2 points per game, and is one of six SMU players who average in double figures. The Mustangs lead the league in 3-point shooting, making 42.4 percent from long range. Senior Ben Emelogu II is the top 3-point shooter in the league at 60.3 percent (38 of 63).
"Their 3-point shooting is excellent," Cronin said. "I've never seen a guy shoot the ball statistically (from 3-point range) this late in the year the way Emelogu is shooting. Early in the year maybe, but not in January. You've got to have a red alert on him at all times. And Shake Milton is an NBA guard. They've got the ball in his hands the majority of the time. He was a shooter early in his career, now he's a playmaker, a scorer and he can shoot.
"But I would say the thing that impresses me the most about them is that their guys are connected. When I say that, I mean they play smart. They don't just play hard and run around. When you watch them, their players are thinking the game. They know what they're trying to accomplish."
The Bearcats have won six straight games since back-to-back losses to Xavier and Florida on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. They're coming off a 55-53 victory at Temple on Thursday night in which they overcame an 8-point deficit to win on Jacob Evans III's jump shot with 0.4 seconds remaining.
It was the type of win, Cronin said, that could provide his players with a mental lift.
"You can learn a lesson in victory a lot better (than in a loss)," Cronin said. "We came back and we watched the film of our 17 offensive rebounds. We watched the film of our turnovers. And then we talked about why did we find a way to win? Our defense in the last five minutes and all five guys that played down the stretch in the last two minutes made one play that if they wouldn't have made it we wouldn't have won the game."
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.