TicketsTULSA (17-10, 10-5) at No. 11/11 CINCINNATI (24-4, 13-2)
SERIES INFO: 38th meeting; Cincinnati leads 25-12 overall; Cincinnati leads 15-2 at home;
Cincinnati leads 9-8 in Tulsa; Tulsa leads 2-1 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 80-61 on March 10, 2018 in the American Championship Quarterfinals in Hartford, Conn.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 3
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (261-139); 15th season overall (330-163)
Frank Haith is in his fourth season at Tulsa (75-50); 14th season overall (262-179)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (FEB. 19): Cincinnati (11/11); Tulsa (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Carter Blackburn provides play-by-play with color analyst Pete Gillen. Jordan Daigle reports
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB SENIOR DAY CEREMONY BEGINS 20 MINUTES PRIOR TO TIPOFF By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Gary Clark's first competitive encounter with Kyle Washington was on Dec. 20, 2014 when the University of Cincinnati Bearcats played North Carolina State in Raleigh.
Clark was a freshman who had already made a strong impression on the UC coaching staff. Washington was a highly-recruited sophomore trying to make his mark with the Wolfpack. UC won, 76-60, getting nine points and four rebounds from Clark. Washington scored 10 points with six rebounds in a losing cause.
Three years, Clark and Washington will start their final home game together Sunday at noon when No. 11 UC (24-4 overall, 13-2 in the American Athletic Conference) faces Tulsa (17-10, 10-5) in the Bearcats' final game at BB&T Arena before they return to campus next year to play in newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena.
The Golden Hurricane has won six in a row- the longest winning streak in the league - but trails UC, 25-12, all-time. UC has won the last three games against Tulsa and five of six since the Golden Hurricane joined the AAC in 2014.
Clark and Washington, along with walk-on forward Jackson Bart will be honored before Sunday's game on Senior Day.
At UC, Washington - a 6-foot-9 forward from Champlin, Minn., - and Clark, a 6-foot-8 forward from Clayton, N.C., - have teamed up to form one of the top low-post scoring combinations in the AAC. During the last two years, after Washington transferred from North Carolina State, they've started 60 of UC's 64 games together. The Bearcats are 54-10 overall in the last two years.
Both remember that long-ago game when they wore different uniforms and played against each other.
"I remember Bobby Lutz, my assistant coach at State, talking about how he was a good, young player," Washington said of Clark. "He had games where he would show what he would eventually become, but it wasn't all the way there yet. Coming into the game, I was like, I think this guy's pretty good so I'm not going to underestimate him."
Clark recalls that UC coach Mick Cronin emphasized to him how good Washington's jump hook was and urged him to do his best to keep him from getting to his spot to release it. UC won, 76-60. Clark scored nine points with four rebounds; Washington had 10 points and six rebounds.
The two big men went their separate ways after that game, but by the end of the season Washington had decided to transfer. When he was pursued by UC he remembered Clark, and says he was one of the reasons he chose to play for the Bearcats.
Clark knew all about Washington, and not just from when they played against each other in Raleigh.
"I was at NC State's team camp in the summer going into my senior year (in high school)," Clark said. "We were about to play and this kid was shooting on a (rebounding) gun. It was two minutes before the tip. The referees were there and this kid's still getting up shots. His work ethic, I saw it then and when he got here I saw it even more how he was constantly in the gym getting up shots."
Washington had to sit out during Clark's sophomore year under the NCAA's rules for transfers and often faced him in practice. They went at it tooth and nail, neither player giving an inch and earning a respect for each other that they retain today.
Clark has gone on to become the fifth player in UC history to score more than 1,000 points and pull down more than 1,000 rebounds. He ranks 19th on the career scoring list with 1,360 points and fifth with 1,058 rebounds, two behind No. 4 Robert Miller. Washington also became a career 1,000-point scorer, with 777 coming at UC. He has 670 rebounds.
"He's been a godsend for our program," Cronin said of Washington. "He's got a chance to win 60 games or more in two years as a player here. The effect he's had on our program, with his attitude, his love for basketball and his effort…he's always trying. He's always listening. His effort in every drill is great. He's never had a day where you could tell he just didn't want to be at practice. That stuff doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but it matters. You've got to have two or three guys on a basketball team that have life and energy and love the game. They're there every day always picking up their teammates."
The UC coach praised Clark for his consistency, his willingness to be coached and his sound fundamental play in every phase of the game.
"He's probably the Most Valuable Player in our league," Cronin said, "because of his scoring, his rebounding, his intangibles, his steals, his blocked shots, his field goal percentage….his ability to guard big guys, his ability to guard switching and perimeter players. I'm sure there's more talented guys in the country, but Gary Clark is such a winning player. He's just been a great player for us for a long time."
Off the court, the UC's front-line duo has forged a laid-back friendship as well. They're not together constantly the way former UC guards Troy Caupain and Kevin Johnson were, but there's a bond nonetheless.
"It's pretty chill," Clark said. "We kind of like the same things. We're two huge movie people. He's always asking me, did you see this movie? It's just one of those relationships where we don't see each other often, but when we do it's just like all smiles and a good time."
Said Washington: "We have the type of relationship where it's unspoken. If we had a few off days, we wouldn't have to talk to each other for a few of those days, but we'd pick up right where we left off. I think his quiet presence and my type of outgoing extrovert presence creates a perfect relationship."
PERFECT FIT: Bart, from Oklahoma City, is a sophomore in terms of eligibility, but he will finish his academic work this semester. In his second year in the program, he made his first career 3-pointer against Richmond in the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 21.
Even though he hasn't played a lot, just getting this far has been a major accomplishment for him and something he appreciates. He averaged 9.5 points and 8.0 rebounds during his senior year at Oklahoma City's Bartlesville High School. He played in one exhibition game at Oral Roberts before breaking his leg in practice during the first week of December 2014. He sat out the rest of that year and was planning to transfer, but ended up sitting out the next year too.
"I had ulcers on my esophagus and gallstones," he said.
By then, Bart had decided he wanted a career in coaching and knew he still wanted to play college basketball. He and his dad sent letters to schools looking for a place where he could walk on and learn more about the game.
UC called Bart back to tell him there was an opening if he was interested. Bart knew about the Bearcats program, but not about the city. When he visited, he said, he fell in love with both.
"I knew this place was perfect for me," he said.
Bart has played in 11 games this season, 19 for his career, usually seeing a few minutes on the floor in the latter stages of UC blowout wins. He has scored six career points, all six coming on 3-point shots.
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.