TicketsCINCINNATI (17-3, 6-1) AT TEMPLE (15-4, 5-1)
SERIES INFO: 31st meeting; Cincinnati leads 21-9 overall;
Cincinnati leads 6-4 in Philadelphia
Cincinnati leads 9-2 at home and 6-3 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 75-42 on Jan. 24, 2018
at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
STREAK: Cincinnati- 4
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (285-143);
16th season overall (354-167)
Fran Dunphy is in his 13th season at Temple (262-156); 30th season overall (572-319)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 21): Cincinnati (RV/RV); Temple (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Tom McCarthy provides play-by-play with color analyst Mike Gminski
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – If American Athletic Conference officials had asked University of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin last summer how he would like his 2018-19 conference schedule constructed – which of course they didn't – Cronin almost surely would have requested it to go exactly the way it's been laid out.
Having lost three key players from last year's AAC championship team, the UC coach needed all the time he could get to develop their replacements before having to face the league's best teams.
He's used that time to coach his team to a 17-3 overall record and a 6-1 league record, which ties the Bearcats for first place with No. 17 Houston.
But now the bill has come due.
The Bearcats have 11 games remaining and seven of those games are against teams that currently reside among the top five in the AAC standings. Their run through that imposing gamut begins Sunday in Philadelphia when UC faces Temple (15-4, 5-1) at noon at the Liacouras Center.
"We've got 11 more chances to build our (NCAA Tournament) resume and get better so that we can be ready for March and to where we can be a good enough team defensively to have a chance," Cronin said. "We've got enough talent. I believe in them, but they've got to believe in themselves."
The Bearcats have won their last four games against Temple, including a 75-42 rout last year at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena, UC's homecourt last season while Fifth Third Arena was being renovated. But beating the Owls at Liacouras Center has been a much more difficult proposition.
UC escaped with a 55-53 victory last season on Jacob Evans' last-second jump shot. On Dec. 28, 2016, the Bearcats won 56-50 despite shooting 32.8 percent from the field and making only five of 18 three-point shots. That win ended a three-game UC losing streak against Temple. One of those losses was a 67-65 double-overtime setback in Philadelphia on Jan. 16, 2016.
Despite their glowing won-lost record, the Bearcats haven't been ranked this season in the Associated Press Top 25 after finishing sixth last season.
"It's a quality win thing," Cronin said. "We'll have our chances."
Beginning with Sunday's game at Temple, three of the Bearcats' remaining opponents are ranked in the Top 50 by RealTimeRPI - Houston (10), Temple (24) and Central Florida (37). UC (28) will play five of its remaining 11 games against those teams.
Temple is playing its final season under coach Fran Dunphy, who has announced his retirement effective at the end of the season. Dunphy, 70, took over for John Chaney in 2006, the same year that Cronin became the head coach at UC. The Temple coach has won four conference championships and four conference coach of the year awards.
Shizz Alston Jr. leads the Owls with 19.0 points per game, making him the third-leading scorer in the conference. He shoots 91.8 percent from the free throw line and averages 5.4 assists. Quinton Rose averages 16.8 points and Nate Pierce averages 14.1.
The Owls lead the league in free throw percentage at 74 percent. They're seventh in scoring offense (74.9 points) and eighth in scoring defense (70.0). They shoot 44.3 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from three-point range.
One of Temple's strengths is its ability to take the care of the ball. The Owls average only 11.8 turnovers per game and are second in the league to UC in assist to turnover ratio (4.06 –to-1). They're 8-1 at home, with a 73-69 win over Houston, the only loss the Cougars have suffered this season.
UC has won five in a row and is coming off Thursday's 88-64 win over Tulsa in one of its best offensive performances of the season. The Bearcats are trying to become the first UC team to win back-to-back league championships since 2001 and 2002 in Conference USA.
"We have a chance to get better," Cronin said. "We've just got to be willing to do what it takes to get better because we've got guys that have talent. We've been an elite defensive team and I don't think we're an elite defensive team right now. I think we're a really good defensive team, but we don't block enough 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.
SERIES INFO: 31st meeting; Cincinnati leads 21-9 overall;
Cincinnati leads 6-4 in Philadelphia
Cincinnati leads 9-2 at home and 6-3 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 75-42 on Jan. 24, 2018
at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
STREAK: Cincinnati- 4
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (285-143);
16th season overall (354-167)
Fran Dunphy is in his 13th season at Temple (262-156); 30th season overall (572-319)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 21): Cincinnati (RV/RV); Temple (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Tom McCarthy provides play-by-play with color analyst Mike Gminski
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – If American Athletic Conference officials had asked University of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin last summer how he would like his 2018-19 conference schedule constructed – which of course they didn't – Cronin almost surely would have requested it to go exactly the way it's been laid out.
Having lost three key players from last year's AAC championship team, the UC coach needed all the time he could get to develop their replacements before having to face the league's best teams.
He's used that time to coach his team to a 17-3 overall record and a 6-1 league record, which ties the Bearcats for first place with No. 17 Houston.
But now the bill has come due.
The Bearcats have 11 games remaining and seven of those games are against teams that currently reside among the top five in the AAC standings. Their run through that imposing gamut begins Sunday in Philadelphia when UC faces Temple (15-4, 5-1) at noon at the Liacouras Center.
"We've got 11 more chances to build our (NCAA Tournament) resume and get better so that we can be ready for March and to where we can be a good enough team defensively to have a chance," Cronin said. "We've got enough talent. I believe in them, but they've got to believe in themselves."
The Bearcats have won their last four games against Temple, including a 75-42 rout last year at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena, UC's homecourt last season while Fifth Third Arena was being renovated. But beating the Owls at Liacouras Center has been a much more difficult proposition.
UC escaped with a 55-53 victory last season on Jacob Evans' last-second jump shot. On Dec. 28, 2016, the Bearcats won 56-50 despite shooting 32.8 percent from the field and making only five of 18 three-point shots. That win ended a three-game UC losing streak against Temple. One of those losses was a 67-65 double-overtime setback in Philadelphia on Jan. 16, 2016.
Despite their glowing won-lost record, the Bearcats haven't been ranked this season in the Associated Press Top 25 after finishing sixth last season.
"It's a quality win thing," Cronin said. "We'll have our chances."
Beginning with Sunday's game at Temple, three of the Bearcats' remaining opponents are ranked in the Top 50 by RealTimeRPI - Houston (10), Temple (24) and Central Florida (37). UC (28) will play five of its remaining 11 games against those teams.
Temple is playing its final season under coach Fran Dunphy, who has announced his retirement effective at the end of the season. Dunphy, 70, took over for John Chaney in 2006, the same year that Cronin became the head coach at UC. The Temple coach has won four conference championships and four conference coach of the year awards.
Shizz Alston Jr. leads the Owls with 19.0 points per game, making him the third-leading scorer in the conference. He shoots 91.8 percent from the free throw line and averages 5.4 assists. Quinton Rose averages 16.8 points and Nate Pierce averages 14.1.
The Owls lead the league in free throw percentage at 74 percent. They're seventh in scoring offense (74.9 points) and eighth in scoring defense (70.0). They shoot 44.3 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from three-point range.
One of Temple's strengths is its ability to take the care of the ball. The Owls average only 11.8 turnovers per game and are second in the league to UC in assist to turnover ratio (4.06 –to-1). They're 8-1 at home, with a 73-69 win over Houston, the only loss the Cougars have suffered this season.
UC has won five in a row and is coming off Thursday's 88-64 win over Tulsa in one of its best offensive performances of the season. The Bearcats are trying to become the first UC team to win back-to-back league championships since 2001 and 2002 in Conference USA.
"We have a chance to get better," Cronin said. "We've just got to be willing to do what it takes to get better because we've got guys that have talent. We've been an elite defensive team and I don't think we're an elite defensive team right now. I think we're a really good defensive team, but we don't block enough 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.