Tickets
No. 5/5 CINCINNATI (23-2, 12-0) at rv/rv HOUSTON (19-5, 9-3)
SERIES INFO: 33rd meeting; Cincinnati leads 30-2 overall; Cincinnati leads 14-2 in Houston
Cincinnati leads 16-0 at home;
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 80-70 on Jan. 31, 2018 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 3
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (260-137); 15th season overall (329-161)
Kelvin Sampson is in his fourth season at Houston (75-45); 29th season overall (575-315)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (FEB. 12): Cincinnati (5/5); Houston (RV/RV)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Brent Stover provides play-by-play with color analyst Jordan Cornette. Cassie McKinney reports
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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – The list of accomplishments for the University of Cincinnati basketball team continues to grow. The Bearcats can now claim the longest winning streak in the country with 16 wins in a row and the longest home-court winning streak in the country with 39 in a row.
They've climbed to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season and they're the first team in the five-year history of the American Athletic Conference to begin league play with a 12-0 record. They lead the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 36.1 percent shooting from the field, and their 20.4-point margin of victory is the largest in the country.
With six games left in the regular season, the key now for the UC players is to remain hungry and grounded despite their accomplishments as they head for what they hope will be a long, productive postseason.
"They've been great about it so far," UC head coach Mick Cronin said Tuesday.
Next up for the Bearcats (23-2 overall) is the rematch with Houston (19-5, 9-3) on Thursday night at 7 at H&PE Arena on the campus of Texas Southern University, the Cougars' temporary home court while Hofheinz Pavilion is being renovated.
Like the Bearcats, who are unbeaten at home this season playing at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena, Houston is perfect at home in 12 games, including a 73-59 win over then-No. 7 Wichita State on Jan. 20.
UC knocked off the Cougars, 80-70, at NKU two weeks ago, storming from behind after they had built an 18-point lead in the first half. Houston guard Rob Gray, the fourth-leading scorer in the American with a 17.7-point average, scored only nine points against the Bearcats. He was 4-for-15 from the field, 1-for-6 from from long range.
"Hopefully our guys learned the first time that they're a really good team," Cronin said. "Sometimes you tell your players stuff and they have something in their mind that's inaccurate or in the past. I'm hoping that our guys gained great respect for their talent level from the first time we played them, as good shooters as they are and how hard they played against us. We made some really hard shots to get back in that game to give ourselves a chance to win."
The Cougars haven't lost since, claiming wins at UCF and at home against SMU and Tulsa. Having been outscored by 38 points after claiming that 18-point lead over the Bearcats, they'll have plenty of motivation for the rematch.
"Every team needs to have their theories and motivational things to get them prepared to play us, but we need to win just as bad as they need a win," said UC forward Gary Clark. "If we take the proper approach and the proper preparation, I think we'll be ready. They're going to be on fire because we beat them at home and we're undefeated in conference. You've got to expect that with any other team when we go to their arena. Especially the teams that are trying to get in the tournament still, a win against us is huge."
As a coach, Cronin tries to guard against complacency by focusing on improving every day rather than dwelling on the results of UC's games. The players and coaches study film, pinpoint what they could have done better, and work toward eliminating mistakes and weaknesses.
But the UC coach credits Clark and senior forward Kyle Washington for showing the way with leadership that keeps the rest of the players from getting carried away with their success.
"Obviously we haven't achieved any of our goals yet as a team, so I remind them of that," Cronin said. "But the real answer to that is senior leadership. We have two really, grounded mature players as our senior captains and leaders of this team in Gary and Kyle. I've done this long enough to know when you win as a coach you know why you're winning. Your personnel is 99 percent of the time the reason. If your team is grounded and mature, it's because you have leaders that are grounded and mature."
Washington says it's important for him and his teammates to ignore the praise they receive in the traditional media, on social media and even from their friends and families. He and Clark still feel the sting of losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year to UCLA after they won 30 games for just the second time in school history. They're determined to avoid another quick exit.
"We know where we're at in the country and that's a huge honor," Washington said, "but we're just focused on the next game, the next day. Five is great, but it's just a number. What have we done?"
"We want more as a team," Clark said. "I've yet to win a conference regular-season title or a conference tournament title. We know that now gets you prepared to go deeper in March. We haven't done anything yet. We won a couple of games, but the bigger picture is putting more banners up there."
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.