TicketsUCONN (10-6, 1-2 AAC) at CINCINNATI (13-3, 2-1 AAC)
SERIES INFO: 27th meeting; Series tied 13-13 overall;
Cincinnati leads 7-3 at home and 3-1 in Storrs, Conn.
UConn leads 4-2 in Hartford, Conn., and 5-1 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 77-52 on Feb. 22, 2018
at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 4
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (281-143);
16th season overall (350-167)
Dan Hurley is in his first season at UConn (10-6); ninth season overall (161-111)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 7): Cincinnati (--/--); UConn (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Mike Corey provides play-by-play with color analyst Mark Wise
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Ever since conference play began on Jan. 2, University of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Mick Cronin has been pointing out how difficult it is to win league games on the road when you're the defending champion, as the Bearcats are.
"There's a great responsibility that goes with playing on a team that's done what we've done in this league the last few years," Cronin said. "We've got a big mark right across our chest."
It's only logical that UC's American Athletic Conference opponents would be eager to extract revenge for the losses they've suffered against the Bearcats in recent year.
But there's a corollary to that too: When you've won as much as the Bearcats have in recent years – they're 74-14 overall since the start of the 2016-17 season, the fifth most victories in the country during that period – you also begin to feel that no matter how tough things are, you're still going to find a way to win.
Perhaps that explains as much as anything how the Bearcats were able to come back Thursday night from a six-point deficit with 1:16 left to beat Tulsa, 70-65, and end the Golden Hurricane's 15-game home winning streak.
Cincinnati (13-3 overall, 2-1 in the AAC) returns home to take on Connecticut (10-6, 1-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, where the Bearcats are averaging 10,846 fans. That ranks second in the American behind Memphis' 14,952. UC is on pace for its highest home attendance since it averaged 11,059 in 2004-05.
The Bearcats have won five in a row against UConn since their 104-97 loss in four overtimes in the 2016 AAC Tournament quarterfinals to pull even in the all-time series at 13-13. They've won seven out of the last eight overall against the Huskies, the only team in the league against which Cincinnati doesn't have a winning series record.
The Huskies are coached by Dan Hurley, the former head coach at Rhode Island, who replaces Kevin Ollie. Ollie was fired after going 14-18 last year, 7-11 in the American.
The Huskies return senior guard Jalen Adams, the player who hit the fabled 70-foot shot that send the game into overtime in 2016. Adams, one of the top players in the league, has averaged 16.9 points per game and is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from three-point range. He scored 21 points in UConn's 76-64 win at SMU on Thursday night.
Two other players, Alterique Gilbert (13.2) and Christian Vital (12.7), average in double figures. Gilbert ranks second in the league in three-point shooting behind Cincinnati's Jarron Cumberland at 44.4 percent
UConn ranks second in the league in scoring with 78.4 points per game, ninth in scoring defense, allowing 70.8. The Huskies are second in three-point shooting at 35.4 percent, which could be a problem for a Cincinnati team that ranks 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc against the Bearcats, who have allowed their last two opponents to shoot over 40 percent. Tulsa made 14 of 23 for 60.9 percent. Before that, East Carolina made nine of 22 for 40.9 percent
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has seen its three-point shooting fall off dramatically. The Bearcats made only three of 19 vs. East Carolina, nine of 31 against Tulsa, to fall from second in the league to fifth at 34.4 percent.
One of the biggest positives to emerge from the Tulsa game for Cincinnati, besides securing a much-needed league win on the road, was the play late in the game by senior guard Cane Broome, who emerged from a scoring slump to score 16 points. Broome scored the Bearcats' final 14 points in regulation, including the game-tying basket that he released from just inside the three-point line with .7 second remaining.
Broome scored 17 points in Cincinnati's win over Tulane on Jan. 10, but did not score at East Carolina and managed a total of just 15 points in the five games before the Tulane game. He's made just seven for 39 from long range this season.
Before its win over SMU, UConn had lost three straight – to Villanova, South Florida and Central Florida. The Huskies haven't won at Fifth Third Arena since Feb. 6, 2014.
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: 27th meeting; Series tied 13-13 overall;
Cincinnati leads 7-3 at home and 3-1 in Storrs, Conn.
UConn leads 4-2 in Hartford, Conn., and 5-1 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 77-52 on Feb. 22, 2018
at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 4
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (281-143);
16th season overall (350-167)
Dan Hurley is in his first season at UConn (10-6); ninth season overall (161-111)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 7): Cincinnati (--/--); UConn (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Mike Corey provides play-by-play with color analyst Mark Wise
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Ever since conference play began on Jan. 2, University of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Mick Cronin has been pointing out how difficult it is to win league games on the road when you're the defending champion, as the Bearcats are.
"There's a great responsibility that goes with playing on a team that's done what we've done in this league the last few years," Cronin said. "We've got a big mark right across our chest."
It's only logical that UC's American Athletic Conference opponents would be eager to extract revenge for the losses they've suffered against the Bearcats in recent year.
But there's a corollary to that too: When you've won as much as the Bearcats have in recent years – they're 74-14 overall since the start of the 2016-17 season, the fifth most victories in the country during that period – you also begin to feel that no matter how tough things are, you're still going to find a way to win.
Perhaps that explains as much as anything how the Bearcats were able to come back Thursday night from a six-point deficit with 1:16 left to beat Tulsa, 70-65, and end the Golden Hurricane's 15-game home winning streak.
Cincinnati (13-3 overall, 2-1 in the AAC) returns home to take on Connecticut (10-6, 1-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, where the Bearcats are averaging 10,846 fans. That ranks second in the American behind Memphis' 14,952. UC is on pace for its highest home attendance since it averaged 11,059 in 2004-05.
The Bearcats have won five in a row against UConn since their 104-97 loss in four overtimes in the 2016 AAC Tournament quarterfinals to pull even in the all-time series at 13-13. They've won seven out of the last eight overall against the Huskies, the only team in the league against which Cincinnati doesn't have a winning series record.
The Huskies are coached by Dan Hurley, the former head coach at Rhode Island, who replaces Kevin Ollie. Ollie was fired after going 14-18 last year, 7-11 in the American.
The Huskies return senior guard Jalen Adams, the player who hit the fabled 70-foot shot that send the game into overtime in 2016. Adams, one of the top players in the league, has averaged 16.9 points per game and is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from three-point range. He scored 21 points in UConn's 76-64 win at SMU on Thursday night.
Two other players, Alterique Gilbert (13.2) and Christian Vital (12.7), average in double figures. Gilbert ranks second in the league in three-point shooting behind Cincinnati's Jarron Cumberland at 44.4 percent
UConn ranks second in the league in scoring with 78.4 points per game, ninth in scoring defense, allowing 70.8. The Huskies are second in three-point shooting at 35.4 percent, which could be a problem for a Cincinnati team that ranks 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc against the Bearcats, who have allowed their last two opponents to shoot over 40 percent. Tulsa made 14 of 23 for 60.9 percent. Before that, East Carolina made nine of 22 for 40.9 percent
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has seen its three-point shooting fall off dramatically. The Bearcats made only three of 19 vs. East Carolina, nine of 31 against Tulsa, to fall from second in the league to fifth at 34.4 percent.
One of the biggest positives to emerge from the Tulsa game for Cincinnati, besides securing a much-needed league win on the road, was the play late in the game by senior guard Cane Broome, who emerged from a scoring slump to score 16 points. Broome scored the Bearcats' final 14 points in regulation, including the game-tying basket that he released from just inside the three-point line with .7 second remaining.
Broome scored 17 points in Cincinnati's win over Tulane on Jan. 10, but did not score at East Carolina and managed a total of just 15 points in the five games before the Tulane game. He's made just seven for 39 from long range this season.
Before its win over SMU, UConn had lost three straight – to Villanova, South Florida and Central Florida. The Huskies haven't won at Fifth Third Arena since Feb. 6, 2014.
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.