Tickets2018 AARON'S AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP - FINALS
No. 1 seed CINCINNATI (29-4) vs. No. 3 seed HOUSTON (26-6)
SERIES INFO: 34th meeting; Cincinnati leads 30-3 overall; First neutral site and postseason meeting in series history
Cincinnati leads 16-0 at home ; Cincinnati leads 14-3 in Houston
STREAK: Houston - 1
2017-18 MEETINGS: Cincinnati won 80-70 on Jan. 31 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
Houston won 67-62 on Feb. 15 at H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas
Kelvin Sampson is in his fourth season at Houston (82-46); 29th season overall (582-316)
Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (265-139); 15th season overall (334-163)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (MARCH 5): Cincinnati (8/8); Houston (21/21);
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS; Jim Nantz provides play-by-play with color analysts Bill Raftery & Grant Hill. Tracy Wolfson reports
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// CINCINNATI STORYLINES
- Cincinnati is looking for its first league tournament title since 2004 (Conference USA).
- A win Sunday would give Cincinnati at least 30 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. The Bearcats were 30-6 in 2016-17.
- The Bearcats have won at least 29 games for the sixth time in program history.
- Gary Clark was named The American's 2018 Player of the Year, unanimous First Team selection (only player in league), Defensive Player of the Year and claimed the Sportsmanship Award as voted upon by the league's coaches earlier this week.
- Clark ranks third in career rebounds (1,097) at UC behind only Oscar Robertson (1,338) and Jack Twyman (1,242), both are in the National Basketball HOF.
- Clark is averaging a team-best 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds with a pair of double-doubles in the 2018 American Championship.
- UC head coach Mick Cronin was named the national coach of the year by Sporting News on Thursday and is a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
- Jarron Cumberland scored a game-high 18 points against Memphis on 5-of-9 shooting with four three-pointers. In two games this week, he has 15 assists with two miscues in 33.0 minutes/per game.
- Kyle Washington scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game Saturday and the ninth time in the last 12 contests. He is averaging a team-best 12.3 points while shooting 52.1 percent (61 of 117) from the floor with 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during the stretch.
- Cincinnati is one of eight teams to appear in the NCAA Tournament each of the last seven seasons (along with Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, VCU and Wisconsin).
The American Athletic Conference regular-season champion, eighth-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (29-4) aim for their first conference tournament title since 2004 (Conference USA) when they battle No. 21 Houston (26-6) in the finals of the 2018 Aaron's American Championship on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and 700 WLW.
The Bearcats advanced to the finals with a 70-60 comeback win over Memphis on Saturday. UC erased a 13-point halftime deficit thanks to a 21-2 second-half start. Jarron Cumberland scored a game-high 18 points with four three-pointers and five assists. Gary Clark registered his second double-double of the tournament, posting 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Kyle Washington added 11 points.
Houston outlasted Wichita State 77-74 in the second semifinal Saturday. Rob Gray led all scorers with 33 points and four three-pointers. Corey Davis Jr., added 19 points for the Cougars.
Cincinnati leads the series with Houston 30-3 overall. The teams split their two regular-season meetings this year with the home team winning each contest. Cincinnati claimed an 80-70 comeback win on Jan. 31 in Highland Heights, Ky., while Houston earned a 76-72 victory on Feb. 15 in Houston. Sunday marks the first neutral site or postseason meeting in series history.
Sunday marks Cincinnati's second consecutive appearance in the American Championship title game. The Bearcats fell to SMU, 71-56, in last year's event at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
// RECAPS FROM RECENT MEETINGS
EARLIER THIS SEASON IN HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY. - CINCINNATI 80, HOUSTON 70 - (Jan. 31, 2018)
Cincinnati posted the largest comeback of the Mick Cronin coaching era (since 2016-07), rallying from 18-points down to post an 80-70 win over Houston on Jan. 31 at BB&T Arena.
The Bearcats rally was possible thanks to some key shots from Jacob Evans III, a strong second-half showing from Kyle Washington and more reliable play from Gary Clark.
Washington matched a season high with 19 points, 14 in the second half. Evans scored 18, Jarron Cumberland added 15 and Clark had his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds despite getting in foul trouble that limited him to 30 minutes.
The Bearcats blocked eight shots – three by Clark - and held Houston to 35.3 percent shooting in the second half. Houston guard Rob Gray, the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference at 18.7 points per game, scored only nine points on 4-of-15 shooting.
UC trailed Houston by 18 points with 7:24 left and by 17 with 4:29 to go in the first half. After trailing 33-15, the Bearcats closed out the first half with a flourish that featured Evans' steal and banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Cougars stunned the Bearcats by getting eight steals and rolling out to the big early lead. Gary Clark hit a 3-pointer that stopped the Cougars' 26-7 run, and he added another 3 and a pair of free throws that got the Bearcats going.
Corey Davis Jr. led the Cougars with 18 points.
EARLIER THIS SEASON AT HOUSTON - HOUSTON 67, CINCINNATI 62 - (Feb. 15, 2018)
(AP) - Corey Davis Jr. and Devin Davis each scored 16 points, and Houston beat No. 5 Cincinnati 67-62 to snap the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games.
Rob Gray chipped in 13 points and Armoni Brooks added 12 as the Cougars earned their second win this season over a top-10 team after beating then-No. 7 Wichita State on Jan. 20.
Cincinnati had a 50-49 lead with 4:18 left after Jacob Evans' free throw, but Gray hit a 3-pointer to give the Cougars back the lead with 3:32 left. Brooks nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2 minutes left and Davis came up with a steal and made a layup to give the Cougars a seven-point advantage with 1:47 left.
Evans made a layup and was fouled with 18 seconds left to end a drought of 11 minutes, 56 seconds without a field goal. He missed the free throw, but Jarron Cumberland got the rebound and was fouled. He made one of two free throws, but Fabian White Jr. got the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with 16 seconds left.
Evans led four Bearcats in double figures with 16 points and Cumberland finished with 14. Cincinnati shot 39 percent from the field.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 13-2 lead 4 1/2 minutes in behind six points from Cumberland, and the Bearcats pushed the lead to 19-6 with 11:37 left in the first half on Gary Clark's jumper.
Houston outscored Cincinnati 18-8 over the rest of the half behind seven points by Brooks, and Davis' jumper cut the lead to 27-24 at the half.
// NOTES & TRENDS
Cincinnati registered its 29th win of the season against Memphis on Saturday. The win total is tied for third most in school history.
On Sunday, Cincinnati will attempt to register back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time in program history. The Bearcats were 30-6 in 2016-17. Cincinnati's 1,786 all-time victories rank 14th most in the nation.
A win Sunday would give Cincinnati its first conference tournament title since claiming the 2004 Conference USA Tournament crown. The 2003-04 campaign also marks the last time the Bearcats won a regular-season and conference tournament title in the same season.
Cincinnati's defense stepped up against Memphis during the second half Saturday, limiting the Tigers to 18.5 percent (5 of 27) shooting from the floor, including 0 of 8 from beyond the arc.
The Bearcats have held their opponents under 40 percent shooting for the game 22 times and limited foes to 60 or fewer points 22 times this season.
Cincinnati and Virginia are the only two programs to finish the seasons ranked in the Top 25 for scoring defense in each of the past five seasons entering 2017-18.
Gary Clark is averaging a team-best 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds with a pair of double-doubles in two games at the 2018 AAC Tournament. He is shooting 55.6 percent (10 of 18) from the floor with three steals and a pair of blocks. Clark has 11 double-doubles this season and 29 in his career (most career double-doubles of any Bearcat during the Mick Cronin coaching era [since 2006-07]).
Kyle Washington scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game Saturday and the ninth time in the last 12 contests. He is averaging a team-best 12.3 points while shooting 52.1 percent (61 of 117) from the floor with 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during the stretch.
Jarron Cumberland scored a game-high 18 points against Memphis on Saturday on 5-of-9 shooting with four three-pointers. In two games in Orlando this week, Cumberland has 15 assists with only two turnovers while averaging 33.0 minutes. He tied a career-high with eight assists against SMU on Friday.
Justin Jenifer has 82 assists with only 22 turnovers, averaging 19.4 minutes this season. He has committed only two miscues in his last 175 minutes of play; zero in his last 73 minutes on the court.
Cincinnati improved to 5-4 in the American Championship overall and 2-0 in semifinals action following Saturday's 70-60 win over Memphis.
The Bearcats won't face UConn in the league tournament for the first time in the 5-year old event.