Cincinnati Plays at No. 22 Memphis on Thursday

CINCINNATI (10-6, 3-1 AAC)
at No. 22 MEMPHIS (13-3, 2-1 AAC)
Thursday, Jan. 16 // 7 p.m. ET
FedExForum // Memphis, Tenn. 
SERIES INFO: 80th meeting; Cincinnati leads 46-33 overall; Memphis leads 22-15 in Memphis;
Cincinnati leads 25-10 in Cincinnati and 6-1 at neutral sites
STREAK: Cincinnati - 6
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 71-69 on Mar. 2, 2019 at Fifth Third Arena
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (10-6); fifth season overall (92-58)
Penny Hardaway is in his second season at Memphis (35-17); second season overall (35-17)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 13): Cincinnati (--/--); Memphis (22/22)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN; Dan Shulman provides play-by-play with color analyst Jay Bilas
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• The University of Cincinnati (10-6, 3-1 American) men's basketball team plays at Memphis (13-3, 2-1) on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and 700 WLW. 
• UC earned a 68-54 road win at UCF on Saturday. A trio of Bearcats scored in double figures led by Keith Williams, who had 16 points. Trevon Scott posted his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with four steals and four assists. Chris Vogt 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
• Memphis rallied for a 68-64 road win at USF on Sunday. Precious Achiuwa tallied 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 11 rebounds and five blocks. Tyler Harris scored 17 points while Lester Quinones added 13 points. 
• Cincinnati leads the all-time series with Memphis 46-33 overall. The Tigers own a 22-15 advantage in Memphis. UC leads 25-10 at home and 6-1 at neutral sites. 
• The Bearcats extended their win streak to six over the Tigers with a pair of victories last season: 69-64 on Feb. 7, 2019 at the FedExForum in Memphis and 71-69 on Mar. 2, 2019 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. 
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati returns home to face ECU on Sunday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU and 700 WLW.  

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES 

• Cincinnati continues trending up, especially since the start of league play. The Bearcats enter this week as AAC leaders in scoring defense (1st at 56.2), scoring margin (1st at +14.0), field goal percentage defense (1st at .366), 3-point field goal percentage defense (1st at .217) and rebounding defense (1st at 28.5).
• Chris Vogt entered Tuesday ranked second in the nation (behind Kansas' Udoka Azubuike [.783]) and first in the AAC, shooting 70.5 percent (91 of 129) from the field this season. During AAC play, Vogt is shooting 78.4 percent (29 of 37) from the floor.
• Trevon Scott was selected to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals ans 3.0 assists in two wins last week. He posted his fourth double-double of the season Saturday at UCF with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. 
• Jarron Cumberland is averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 assists while shooting 49 percent (25 of 51) from the floor and 45.0 percent (9 of 20) from 3-point range over the last five games. 

// SCOUTING MEMPHIS

• Memphis snapped a mini two-game losing streak Sunday  with a 68-64 comeback win at USF. 
• The Tigers are 9-1 at the FedExForum this season with their only home setback coming against Georgia, 65-62 on Jan. 4. 
• Forward Precious Achiuwa is the only freshman among the top nine conferences to average a double-double this season, with 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds. He has been tabbed the AAC Freshman of the Week each of the past two weeks. He leads the league in rebounds (10.4) and is third in blocks (2.0) and fourth in points (15.6) entering the week. 
•  Fellow freshmen Lester Quinones (10.8 points) and D.J. Jeffries (10.8) also average double-figures in scoring. 
• Sophomore guard Alex Lomax leads the league in assists (4.8) entering the week. 
• As a team, Memphis ranks first or second in the AAC in scoring offense (first at 77.8), scoring margin (first at +14.6), field goal percentage defense (first at .353), scoring defense (second at 63.2), field goal percentage (second at .466), 3-point field goal percentage defense (second at .296), blocks (second at 6.9) and steals (second at 8.9) for all games.  

// MEMPHIS SERIES HISTORY 

• Cincinnati leads the all-time series with Memphis 46-33 overall. UC leads 25-10 at home and 6-1 at neutral sites. Memphis leads 22-15 at home.
• Cincinnati has won the last six meetings in the series, including a pair of victories last season: 69-64 on Feb. 7, 2019 at the FedExForum in Memphis and 71-69 on Mar.2, 2019 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. 
• Cincinnati has won 10 of 12 meetings against Memphis as American Athletic Conference rivals, beginning with a 69-53 win in Memphis on Jan. 4, 2014.
• Memphis posted its last win in the series on Feb. 6, 2016, earning a 63-59 victory at the FedExForum.
• The Cincinnati-Memphis rivalry dates back to 1968. The two squads have played 79 previous times - UC's  longest series with a team from The American. Seventy-five of the previous 79 contests in the UC-Memphis series have been played as conference games. The two teams played annually from 1976 through 2005 before renewing the series in 2013-14. 
• Cincinnati and Memphis have competed in the same conference four previous times: Missouri Valley, Metro, Great Midwest and Conference USA.

// TIP-INS

• SINCE THE START OF LEAGUE PLAY: Cincinnati continues trending upward four games into league play. Entering the week, the Bearcats rank among league's top 3 teams leaders in nine categories: scoring defense (1st at 56.2), scoring margin (1st at +14.0), field goal percentage defense (1st at .366), 3-point field goal percentage defense (1st at .217), rebounding defense (1st at 28.5), rebounding margin (2nd at +10.2), assists (2nd at 17.3), field goal percentage (3rd at .474) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.2).
• JARRON CUMBERLAND'S LAST 5 GAMES: Jarron Cumberland is averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 assists while shooting 49 percent (25 of 51) from the floor and 45.0 percent (9 of 20) from 3-point range over the last five games. Since league play started he ranks second in the AAC with 6.5 assists and tied for third, shooting 50.0 percent (6 of 12) from beyond the arc. 
• VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Cincinnati is 1-1 this season against ranked foes, dropping the season opener at then-No. 11 Ohio State (64-56 on Nov. 6) and outlasting then-No. 21 Tennessee (78-66 on Dec. 18) at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. UC's last road win over a ranked foe came at then-No. 11 Wichita State (62-61 on Mar. 4, 2018), securing the 2018 AAC regular-season title outright for the Bearcats.