Latest Edition of Crosstown Shootout Set for Saturday

CINCINNATI (6-2) at XAVIER (8-1)
2019 Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout 
Saturday, Dec. 7 // 5 p.m. ET // Cintas Center
SERIES INFO: 87th meeting; Cincinnati leads 51-35 overall; Xavier leads 10-4 on its campus; 
Cincinnati leads 12-6 on its campus and 35-19 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 62-47 on Dec. 8, 2018 at Fifth Third Arena
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 1
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (6-2); sixth season overall (88-54)
Travis Steele is in his second season at Xavier (27-17); second season overall (27-17)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 2): Cincinnati (--/--); Xavier (RV/RV)
RADIO: 102.7 FM WEBN; Mo Egger provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: FS1; Brandon Gaudin provides play-by-play with color analyst Donny Marshall
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• The University of Cincinnati (6-2) men's basketball team plays at Xavier in the 87th annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET on FS1 and 102.7 FM WEBN.
• The Bearcats won for the sixth time in their past seven games Tuesday, earning an 82-73 win over Vermont at Fifth Third Arena. Keith Williams scored a career-high 23 points. Jaevin Cumberland hit five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points. Trevon Scott registered his second double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. 
• Xavier extended its home win streak to 10 games Wednesday with an 84-71 victory over Green Bay at the Cintas Center. Five players scored in double figures led by Naji Marshall's 24 points. Tyrique Jones added a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. 
• Cincinnati leads the all-time series 51-35 after claiming a 62-47 win over the Musketeers last season at Fifth Third Arena.  Xavier owns a 7-1 lead at Cintas Center and leads 10-4 all-time on its campus.
• UP NEXT: After completing finals week, Cincinnati welcomes Colgate to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, Dec. 14. The game tips at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Ohio (ESPN3 outside the FSO viewing area) and 700 WLW. 

// SCOUTING XAVIER

• Xavier won for the eighth time in nine games this season with an 84-71 home win over Green Bay on Wednesday.
• The Musketeers feature three players averaging double figures led by Naji Marshall (15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists). The junior forward was a preseason first team All-BIG EAST honoree. 
• Junior guard Paul Scruggs (15.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 3-pointers per game) has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll twice this season. 
• Senior forward Tyrique Jones (14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 55.8 FG%) has recorded double-doubles in four of the last five games. 
• Xavier was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, behind Seton Hall and Villanova.  
• Xavier head coach Travis Steele is in his second season leading the program. He has been a member of the coaching staff since the start of the 2008-09 campaign. 

// XAVIER SERIES HISTORY
Total: UC leads 51-35
Fifth Third Arena: UC leads 9-5
Cintas Center: XU leads 7-1 (last UC Win: 75-55, 12/14/2001)
Armory Field House: UC leads 3-1
Cincinnati Gardens: UC led 27-15
Riverfront Coliseum (now Heritage Bank Center): UC leads 8-4
Schmidt Field House: Series was tied 3-3
Current Streak: Cincinnati - 1

• Saturday's Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout marks the 87th meeting between two schools located four miles apart in the Queen City. 
• Cincinnati owns a 51-35 advantage in the series that started in 1928. The Bearcats own a 35-19 lead at neutral sites and 11-6 edge on its campus. Xavier owns a 7-1 lead at Cintas Center and leads 10-4 all-time on its campus.  
• The home team has won eight of the last 10 in the series. 
• The two schools first met in a game scheduled after the conclusion of the 1927-28 season to dedicate Xavier's Schmidt Fieldhouse. It was 15 years (1942-43) before they met again. Following another pause, the schools began playing on an annual basis in 1945-46 and have played every year since.  
• In 1948-49 and 1949-50, XU and UC played each other during the regular season and met again in the season-ending Cincinnati Invitational Tournament.  
• While the tournament was discontinued after 1949-50, the schools played twice a season for the next eight years.   
• The series was deadlocked at four wins each after the first eight clashes, but UC won the next three games (March 18, 1950 - March 8, 1951) and has led the series since.
• UC held a 12-10 advantage before launching a 12-game win streak (Feb. 13, 1957 - March 3, 1967), and from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, the Bearcats captured 22 of 24 clashes.  
• Since the schools went to playing just once a year in 1958-59, UC and XU have played 28 times when one or both of the schools were ranked nationally in the AP poll; UC owns a 15-13 record in those games. UC was ranked No. 1 in four of those games (1999-00; 1996-97; 1962-63; 1959-60).
• Former UC head coach Mick Cronin is the last coach on either side to win his first  game in the matchup, 67-57 on Dec. 13, 2006 at Fifth Third Arena. The win snapped a six-game losing streak by rookie head coach in the series.
• In his only previous meeting with Xavier, John Brannen's first Northern Kentucky squad dropped a 78-66 decision to the No. 23 Musketeers on Nov. 23, 2015 at Cintas Center. It marked NKU's first season at the Division I level. 
• Cincinnati has eight scholarship players on its 2019-20 roster who have never played in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. 
• UC senior guard Jarron Cumberland is averaging 16.3 points and 2.3 3-pointers in three games against Xavier. 

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES 

• Chris Vogt was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll Monday. He entered Wednesday ranked ninth in the nation and first in the AAC, shooting 67.7 percent (42 of 62) from the field.
• Keith Williams has scored in double figures in five of UC's last six games but has gone a tear over the last three games in particular, averaging a team-high 18.0 points with 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals.  
• Trevon Scott entered Wednesday ranked first in the AAC and 25th in the nation, averaging 10.1 rebounds this season. He also ranks nationally in total rebounds (31st at 81), defensive rebounds (46th at 6.75) and offensive rebounds (48th at 3.38).  
• Jarron Cumberland needs three points to move past Dwight Jones (1,451 points from 1980-83) for 17th place on UC's all-time scoring list. He is 14 points shy of passing former teammate Gary Clark (1,462 points from 2015-18) for 16th place on the list as well.  

// TIP-INS

• FANTASTIC FOUR: Cincinnati has placed four players in double figures in seven consecutive games since losing at then-No. 18 Ohio State in the season opener. Chris Vogt has scored 10 or more points in each of those seven contests, including a career-high 21 against Valparaiso (11/25). Keith Williams has scored 10-plus five times during the stretch, including his career-high 23-point effort against Vermont (12/3). 
• JARRON CUMBERLAND'S 20-POINT GAMES: Senior guard Jarron Cumberland has scored 20 or more points in twice this season and 22 times during his career, the most by a Bearcat since Sean Kilpatrick ( 2011-14) registered 32 during his career. 
• 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 (11/30). 
• FREE THROWS GALORE: Cincinnati ranked seventh in the nation entering Wednesday with 222 free throw attempts this season. 
• UC has attempted more free throws than its opponent in each of the last six games (187-95). 
• 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.
• THREE OT GAMES IN A ROW: Cincinnati played three overtime games in a row from Nov. 24 through Nov. 30 posting a 2-1 mark. 
• It mark the most consecutive overtimes played in school history and fell one short of tying the NCAA record set by Jacksonville (1982), Illinois State (1985) and Dayton (1988). 
• During the stretch the Bearcats split  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. The Bearcats returned home and had to hold off UNLV 71-65 in an extra period. 
• 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.