TicketsTULANE (4-8, 0-0 AAC) at CINCINNATI (11-2, 0-0 AAC)
SERIES INFO: 41st meeting; Cincinnati leads 26-14 overall;
Cincinnati leads 14-6 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati leads 10-8 in New Orleans; Cincinnati leads 2-0 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 78-49 on March 1, 2018
at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 5
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (279-142);
16th season overall (348-166)
Mike Dunleavy Sr. is in his third season at Tulane (24-50); third season overall (24-50)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 24): Cincinnati (RV/RV); Tulane (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Dave Ryan provides play-by-play with color analyst Tim Doyle
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – During the first five years of the American Athletic Conference's existence, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats have won more games than any other member.
The Bearcats are 72-18 in the league, have won two regular-season conference titles (they shared the first, in 2013-14 with Louisville) and one tournament championship. They begin their sixth year in the conference as the defending champions after going 16-2 in the league, 31-5 overall in 2017-18.
With that record of success they know the rest of the conference will be gunning for them this season, now that Gary Clark, last season's Player of the Year; Jacob Evans, and Kyle Washington are all gone.
UC opens defense of its 2017-18 conference title against Tulane at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena.
"There's no doubt that teams are going to be ready to play when they play against us," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "That's just a fact. In our league, we're not going to sneak up on anybody. I know if I was a guy on one of those teams, I'd be looking for some payback. We have to understand that. That's something that we have discussed with our guys."
The Bearcats went 11-2 during the non-conference portion of their season, with wins over UCLA and crosstown rival Xavier. Tulane (4-8) has the worst non-league record of any team in the league, having played so far without point guard Ray Ona Embo, their top returning player from last year. Ona Embo suffered a patella tendon injury (knee) during the preseason.
"The reports that we've seen said they're holding him out until conference play started," Cronin said. "That's been tough on them. Them playing without him has really put them in a bind this year. Injuries have really affected them."
The Bearcats, who have won five in a row and 15 of their last 16 against the Green Wave, have been off since blowing past South Carolina State 77-56 on Dec. 22. They've won two straight since losing at Mississippi State on Dec. 15, ending a nine-game winning streak. UC was picked to finish second in the league behind Central Florida.
UC has done a good job of blending in experienced backup players such as forward Trevon Scott and center Nysier Brooks, who have had to adjust to new, more demanding roles. Shooting guard Jarron Cumberland, a pre-season first-team all-conference selection, leads UC with 16.2 points per game while shooting a league-best 47.1 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Keith Williams emerged as a starter after UC's season-opening loss to Ohio State and has averaged 10.9 points. And point guard Justin Jenifer has been outstanding running the offense and taking care of the ball. He leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio ( 8.8-to-1).
But the competition is about to become a lot more intense.
"We talk about how when you get into conference people know you better because they've played against you two or three times a year," Cronin said. "Because of the familiarity, the games can come to a screeching halt at times. You've got to be able to score. We talk about the things we need to do be a higher scoring team, a more consistent offensive team, because we believe in what we do defensively. We believe in how hard we play and how we win games. That being said, we've got to become a team that can score consistently in the 70s. If we can do that, we really like our chances.
"How do we do that? You've got to get some easy baskets. You've got to score off your defense. We've got to become a better defensive rebounding team. That will allow us to run more before teams can set up their defensive game plan. Stealing easy baskets is huge in conference play."
Cronin was surprised to learn that he and Temple's Fran Dunphy are the only two coaches in the league who were there when the conference was formed in 2013 in the aftermath of the breakup of the old Big East Conference. Since then, Louisville left for the Atlantic Coast Conference after one year and Rutgers left for the Big Ten. Tulsa, Tulane and East Carolina joined the league in 2014. And Wichita State joined last year.
"People in our league have made coaching changes to become better," Cronin said. "They've upgraded facilities. They've poured money into their programs and they've poured money into coaches. We've had some good coaches come into the league, guys like (South Florida's) Brian Gregory, who was an ACC coach; (UCF's) Johnny Dawkins, a Pac-12 coach; and obviously (Connecticut's) Dan Hurley and Memphis' Penny Hardaway."
In addition, Houston has built a $25-million practice facility and a new, $60-million on-campus arena, joining the Bearcats in the league this season with new or refurbished arenas. The Cougars are 13-0 under Kelvin Sampson and ranked 19th by the Associated Press. UC will face them in a rematch of last year's conference tournament championship game at Houston on Feb. 10 and at home on March 10 in a game that could decide this year's regular season champion.
"Five years ago it was an unknown," Cronin said of the American. "Now I think our league is fairly well known. The basketball emphasis in our league has improved and continues to improve. Houston has made a tremendous commitment."
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.
SERIES INFO: 41st meeting; Cincinnati leads 26-14 overall;
Cincinnati leads 14-6 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati leads 10-8 in New Orleans; Cincinnati leads 2-0 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 78-49 on March 1, 2018
at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 5
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (279-142);
16th season overall (348-166)
Mike Dunleavy Sr. is in his third season at Tulane (24-50); third season overall (24-50)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 24): Cincinnati (RV/RV); Tulane (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Dave Ryan provides play-by-play with color analyst Tim Doyle
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – During the first five years of the American Athletic Conference's existence, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats have won more games than any other member.
The Bearcats are 72-18 in the league, have won two regular-season conference titles (they shared the first, in 2013-14 with Louisville) and one tournament championship. They begin their sixth year in the conference as the defending champions after going 16-2 in the league, 31-5 overall in 2017-18.
With that record of success they know the rest of the conference will be gunning for them this season, now that Gary Clark, last season's Player of the Year; Jacob Evans, and Kyle Washington are all gone.
UC opens defense of its 2017-18 conference title against Tulane at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena.
"There's no doubt that teams are going to be ready to play when they play against us," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "That's just a fact. In our league, we're not going to sneak up on anybody. I know if I was a guy on one of those teams, I'd be looking for some payback. We have to understand that. That's something that we have discussed with our guys."
The Bearcats went 11-2 during the non-conference portion of their season, with wins over UCLA and crosstown rival Xavier. Tulane (4-8) has the worst non-league record of any team in the league, having played so far without point guard Ray Ona Embo, their top returning player from last year. Ona Embo suffered a patella tendon injury (knee) during the preseason.
"The reports that we've seen said they're holding him out until conference play started," Cronin said. "That's been tough on them. Them playing without him has really put them in a bind this year. Injuries have really affected them."
The Bearcats, who have won five in a row and 15 of their last 16 against the Green Wave, have been off since blowing past South Carolina State 77-56 on Dec. 22. They've won two straight since losing at Mississippi State on Dec. 15, ending a nine-game winning streak. UC was picked to finish second in the league behind Central Florida.
UC has done a good job of blending in experienced backup players such as forward Trevon Scott and center Nysier Brooks, who have had to adjust to new, more demanding roles. Shooting guard Jarron Cumberland, a pre-season first-team all-conference selection, leads UC with 16.2 points per game while shooting a league-best 47.1 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Keith Williams emerged as a starter after UC's season-opening loss to Ohio State and has averaged 10.9 points. And point guard Justin Jenifer has been outstanding running the offense and taking care of the ball. He leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio ( 8.8-to-1).
But the competition is about to become a lot more intense.
"We talk about how when you get into conference people know you better because they've played against you two or three times a year," Cronin said. "Because of the familiarity, the games can come to a screeching halt at times. You've got to be able to score. We talk about the things we need to do be a higher scoring team, a more consistent offensive team, because we believe in what we do defensively. We believe in how hard we play and how we win games. That being said, we've got to become a team that can score consistently in the 70s. If we can do that, we really like our chances.
"How do we do that? You've got to get some easy baskets. You've got to score off your defense. We've got to become a better defensive rebounding team. That will allow us to run more before teams can set up their defensive game plan. Stealing easy baskets is huge in conference play."
Cronin was surprised to learn that he and Temple's Fran Dunphy are the only two coaches in the league who were there when the conference was formed in 2013 in the aftermath of the breakup of the old Big East Conference. Since then, Louisville left for the Atlantic Coast Conference after one year and Rutgers left for the Big Ten. Tulsa, Tulane and East Carolina joined the league in 2014. And Wichita State joined last year.
"People in our league have made coaching changes to become better," Cronin said. "They've upgraded facilities. They've poured money into their programs and they've poured money into coaches. We've had some good coaches come into the league, guys like (South Florida's) Brian Gregory, who was an ACC coach; (UCF's) Johnny Dawkins, a Pac-12 coach; and obviously (Connecticut's) Dan Hurley and Memphis' Penny Hardaway."
In addition, Houston has built a $25-million practice facility and a new, $60-million on-campus arena, joining the Bearcats in the league this season with new or refurbished arenas. The Cougars are 13-0 under Kelvin Sampson and ranked 19th by the Associated Press. UC will face them in a rematch of last year's conference tournament championship game at Houston on Feb. 10 and at home on March 10 in a game that could decide this year's regular season champion.
"Five years ago it was an unknown," Cronin said of the American. "Now I think our league is fairly well known. The basketball emphasis in our league has improved and continues to improve. Houston has made a tremendous commitment."
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.