Bearcats and Catamounts Tangle Tuesday

VERMONT (6-3) at CINCINNATI (5-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 3 // 7 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: First Meeting
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (5-2); sixth season overall (87-54)
John Becker is in his ninth season at Vermont (199-87); ninth season overall at Division I level (199-87)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 2): Cincinnati (--/--); Vermont (--/--)
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 Steve Wolf
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• The University of Cincinnati (5-2) men's basketball team welcomes Vermont (6-3) to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
• The game tips at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW.   
• Tickets are available for purchase online at GoBearcats.com/tickets or by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX.
• The Bearcats outlasted UNLV in overtime, 72-65, Saturday at Fifth Third Arena. Jarron Cumberland scored a team-high 20 points with six rebounds and a game-high five assists. Chris Vogt and Keith Williams posted 14 points each. Mika Adams-Woods scored 10 points for the second straight game. 
• Vermont suffered a 65-52 road loss at Yale on Sunday. The Catamounts were by Anthony Lamb's 18 points and seven rebounds. 
• Tuesday marks the first meeting in the Cincinnati-Vermont series. 
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati battles Xavier in the 87th edition of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Xavier's Cintas Center. Tip is set for 5 p.m. ET.

// SCOUTING VERMONT

• The 2019 American East Conference champions, Vermont started this season 4-0 but has lost three of its last five games after dropping a 65-52 decision at Yale on Sunday.
• Prior to this week, Vermont had earned at least one vote in each of the previous four Associated Press weekly polls. 
• Returning league player of the year, Anthony Lamb leads the Catamounts this season, averaging 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. The senior forward was tabbed to several national player of the year award preseason watch lists, was named a Preseason Mid-Major All-American by  Stadium's Jeff Goodman, and selected as one of the top 40 players in the nation by NBC Sports and Sports Illustrated. 
• Junior guard Stef Smith also averages double figures in scoring at 12.0 points. He leads the squad in made threes (2.4 per game) and assists (3.1 per game). 
• Sophomore forward Ryan Davis averages 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds. 
• Ninth-year Vermont head coach John Becker has been named the league's coach of the year each of the past three seasons. He is one victory shy of 200 Division I wins for his coaching career. 
• The Catamounts have won a school-record 89 games since the start of the 2016-17 season. 

// VERMONT SERIES HISTORY

• Tuesday's contest marks the first game in series history. 
• vs. THE AMERICAN EAST: Cincinnati is 5-0 all-time against current members of the American East Conference: Albany (1-0), Binghamton (0-0), Hartford (0-0), Maine (1-0), UMBC (0-0), UMass-Lowell (1-0), New Hampshire (1-0), Stony Brook (1-0) and Vermont (0-0).
• UC head coach John Brannen is 1-1 all-time against the league, having played UMBC twice. 

// TIP-INS

• EXTENDED PLAY III: Cincinnati has played three consecutive overtime games for the first time in school history. 
• The Bearcats are 2-1 during the stretch, splitting a pair of overtime decisions at the Paradise Jam. UC fell to Bowling Green 91-84 in OT in the semifinals before outlasting Valparaiso 81-77 in OT in the third-place game. Saturday the Bearcats held off UNLV 71-65 in overtime at Fifth Third Arena. 
• The NCAA record for consecutive overtime games is four set by Jacksonville (1982), Illinois State (1985) and Dayton (1988). 
• Cincinnati saw its modest four-game win streak in overtime contests end when it suffered a 91-84 setback to Bowling Green (11/24). It ranked as the sixth longest active overtime win streak in the nation.
• The Bearcats have won six of their last seven overtime games since dropping a 104-97 decision to UConn in four overtimes during the quarterfinals of the 2016 AAC Tournament. 
• HOME SWEET HOME:  After playing four of its first six games away from home, Cincinnati is in the midst of playing four of five at home. The Bearcats outlasted UNLV 72-65 in overtime on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena. After Tuesday's home game against Vermont, UC plays at Xavier in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout (12/7) before playing host to Colgate (12/14) and Tennessee (12/18). 
• JARRON CUMBERLAND'S 20-POINT GAMES: Senior guard Jarron Cumberland has scored 20 or more points in two of his last three games played, including a 20-point effort against UNLV on Saturday. 
• He scored a game-high 23 points in the Bearcats' win over Illinois State (11/22). He accounted for seven of UC's final 17 points during the Bearcats' rally from a 10-point deficit to Illinois State (11/22) with 7:48 remaining.  
• He scored five of UC's 12 points in the extra period against UNLV on Saturday. 
• Cumberland has scored 20 or more points 22 times in his career, the most by a Bearcat since Sean Kilpatrick ( 2011-14) registered 32 during his career. 
• Cumberland has scored in double figures in every game he has played this season and in 38 of his last 40 contests. 
• FREE THROWS GALORE: Cincinnati ranks 11th in the nation entering December with 196 free throw attempts this season. The Bearcats shot 55 free throws against Bowling Green (11/24). It tied for the third most attempts in a single game in school history. The Bearcats also attempted 55 free throws against UAB during the 1997-98 season. The single-game school record is 59 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff during 2015-16. 
• JAEVIN FOR THREE: Jaevin Cumberland made six 3-pointers in the loss to Bowling Green (11/24). It marked the most threes in a game since his cousin Jarron Cumberland made six against Wichita State on Feb. 17, 2019. Jaevin has made as many as seven threes in a game twice during his career, including a 27-point effort against NKU last season in the Horizon League tournament.

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• Chris Vogt was named to the AAC's Weekly Honor Roll Monday. He entered December ranked fifth in the nation and first in The American, shooting 71.2 percent (37 of 52) from the field. He has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, including a career-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Valparaiso (11/25) in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam. 
• Jarron Cumberland needs 11 points to move past Dwight Jones (1,451 points from 1980-83) for 17th place on UC's all-time scoring list. He is also 22 points shy of passing former teammate Gary Clark (2015-18) for 16th place on the list as well. 
• Cumberland has scored 20 or more points 22 times during his career. It's the most since Sean Kilpatrick (32 games from 2011-14).  
• Trevon Scott entered December ranked first in the American and 29th in the nation, averaging 9.9 rebounds this season. He has recorded 10 or more rebounds four times this season. 
• Keith Williams is averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in UC's last two games. He scored a season-high 17 points against Valparaiso (11/25) on 6-of-12 shooting and pulled down a season-best eight rebounds against UNLV (11/30). 
• Cincinnati has played three consecutive overtime games for the first time in school history. The NCAA record for consecutive overtime games is four set by Jacksonville (1982), Illinois State (1985) and Dayton (1988). 
• UC is one of six schools to make the NCAA Tournament each of the last nine years.