Cincinnati Hosts UConn to Open AAC Play

UCONN (9-3, 0-0) at CINCINNATI (7-5, 0-0)
Wednesday, Jan. 1 // 7 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 29th meeting; Cincinnati leads 15-13 overall; Cincinnati leads 8-3 at home and 3-1 in Storrs, Conn. 
UConn leads 4-3 in Hartford, Conn., and 5-1 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 64-60 on Feb. 24, 2019 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 7
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (7-5); fifth season overall (89-57)
Dan Hurley is in his second season at UConn (25-20); 10th season overall (176-125)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 23): Cincinnati (--/--); UConn (--/--)
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 Bob Wenzel
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• The University of Cincinnati (7-5) men's basketball team opens American Athletic Conference play by hosting UConn (9-3) Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW. 
• The Bearcats wrapped up 2019 falling to Iowa, 77-70, on Dec. 21 at the Chicago Legends event at the United Center. Jarron Cumberland scored a team-high 18 points while Chris Vogt tallied 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Mika Adams-Woods added 10 points. 
• UConn (9-3) is coming off a 69-47 home win over NJIT on Sunday. Christian Vital scored a game-high 23 points with five 3-pointers while Brendan Adams added 12 points. 
• Wednesday marks UConn's final appearance at Fifth Third Arena as a member of the AAC. The Huskies move to the BIG EAST Conference beginning in 2020-21. 
• The Bearcats lead the series 13-11, having won the last seven meetings. Cincinnati won both matchups last season, outlasting UConn 74-72 in overtime at Fifth Third Arena and claiming a 64-60 victory at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. 
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati plays its first league road game Saturday at Tulane. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW.  

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• Cincinnati has won two regular-season titles (2014-share and 2018-outright) and two league tournament titles (2018, 2019) while posting a league-best 86-22 (.796) mark since the AAC's formation in 2013-14. 
• The Bearcats are 25-4 in conference openers since 1990 (start of the Bob Huggins coaching era), including a 5-1 mark in AAC lid lifters.
•  The Bearcats are 54-4 at home since the start of the 2016-17 season, including a 25-2 mark against AAC teams.
•  Wednesday marks UConn's final visit to Fifth Third Arena as a member of the AAC. Cincinnati and UConn have played in 13 of the last 14 seasons while members of the BIG EAST Conference and AAC.
• Jarron Cumberland needs four points to become only the fourth Bearcat in school history to achieve at least 1,500 points and 300 assists for his career. He would join Oscar Robertson (2,973 points/425 assists from 1958-60), Steve Logan (1,985 points/456 assists from 1999-2002) and Deonta Vaughn (1,885 points/511 assists from 2007-2010). He enters the UConn game with 311 career assists. 
• Chris Vogt ranks sixth in the nation and first in The American, shooting 67.4 percent (62 of 92) from the field. He has shot at least 50 percent from the floor in 11 of 12 games this season while scoring in double figures in 11 consecutive contests. His field-goal shooting percentage currently ranks first in school history for a single season.
• Cincinnati is 9-2 all-time on New Year's Day, having won its last five. The Bearcats' last loss came at Utah on the first day of 1964. Cincinnati is 2-0 against AAC teams on New Year's Day with home victories over SMU (65-57 on 1/1/2014) and Tulane (92-56 on 1/1/2017).  

// SCOUTING UCONN

• UConn enters league play Wednesday against Cincinnati having won three in a row and six of its last seven. The Huskies' only three setbacks this season came to Saint Joseph's (96-87 on Nov. 13), Xavier (75-74 on Nov. 22 in the Charleston Classic) and Indiana (57-54 on Dec. 10 in the Jimmy V Classic). 
• The Cincinnati game marks UConn's first true road game of the 2019-20 season. 
• Senior guard Christian Vital leads UConn, averaging 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 steals. 
• Junior forward/center Josh Carlton (10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds) and junior forward Tyler Polley (10.1 points, team-high 27 3-pointers) also average double figures for the Huskies. 
• Among AAC leaders, junior guard Aterique Gilbert ranks first in assists (4.7), freshman forward Akok Akok ranks first in blocks (3.1), Carlton leads the league in offensive rebounds (3.2), Vital is second in steals (2.7) and free throw percentage (.878) and Polley is fourth in 3-pointers made (2.3). 
• The Huskies were picked to finish sixth in the ACC according to a preseason poll of league coaches. 

// UCONN SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati owns a 15-13 lead in its series with UConn. Cincinnati leads 8-3 in Cincinnati and 3-1 in Storrs. UConn leads 4-3 in Hartford and 5-1 in postseason meetings.
• The Bearcats have won seven in a row and nine of the last 10 in the series after posting a 74-72 overtime victory in Cincinnati (1/12/19) and a 64-60 win at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. (2/24/19) a year ago.
• UConn's last win in the series came via a 104-97 four-overtime victory over Cincinnati on Mar. 11, 2016 in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament. It tied for the second-longest game in Cincinnati history, equaling a 99-85 four-overtime home loss to Memphis on Jan. 31, 1981. The Bearcats played in the longest game in NCAA history, a 75-73 seven-overtimes Cincinnati win over Bradley, on Dec. 21, 1981.  
• Cincinnati has won the last seven meetings in the Queen City since a 67-59 UConn victory on Feb. 27, 2009 at Fifth Third Arena. 
• Cincinnati and UConn have played in 13 of the last 14 seasons while members of the BIG EAST Conference and American Athletic Conference. The two teams did not meet during the 2006-07 league slate in the BIG EAST. 
• Cincinnati has posted an 11-5 mark against UConn while both have been members of The American. UConn registered a 7-4 record against Cincinnati while both were members of the BIG EAST. 
• The two teams first met in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, resulting in a 96-91 UConn victory.