Cincinnati Clashes with No. 21 Houston on Saturday

HOUSTON (17-4, 7-1 AAC) at CINCINNATI (13-7, 6-2 AAC)
Saturday, Feb. 1 // 6 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 38th meeting; Cincinnati leads 32-5 overall; Cincinnati leads 16-1 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati leads 14-4 in Houston;
Cincinnati leads 2-0 at neutral sites. 
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
2018-19 MEETINGS: Houston won 65-58 on Feb. 10 in Houston and 85-69 on March 10 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati won 69-57 in the AAC Championship finals on Mar. 17 in Memphis, Tenn.
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (13-7); fifth season overall (95-59)
Kelvin Sampson is in his sixth season at Houston (133-56); 31st season overall (633-326)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 27): Cincinnati (--/--); Houston (21/20)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Dave LaMont provides play-by-play with color analyst Mark Adams
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (13-7, 6-2 American) plays host to No. 21 Houston on Saturday evening at Fifth Third Arena. 
• The contest tips at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 700 WLW.
• Fans are encouraged to wear white.
• The game is sold out but standing room only tickets are available. Fans can also check availability on StubHub, the official secondary ticket marketplace partner of UC Athletics. 
• Winners of three straight and five of their last six, the Bearcats are coming off a 65-43 home victory over SMU on Tuesday. Jarron Cumberland tallied a season-high 28 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting with four 3-pointers. Keith Williams scored 13 points and Chris Vogt added nine points and eight rebounds.   
• Houston (17-4, 7-1) won its fifth consecutive game Wednesday, earning a 69-59 win at East Carolina. Caleb Mills scored a team-high 18 points with a trio of threes.
• Cincinnati and Houston have battled six times in the past two seasons with each team winning three times. The Bearcats have defeated the Cougars in each of the last two AAC Tournament championship games and lead the series 32-5 overall. UC holds a 16-1 lead in games played in Cincinnati, though Houston claimed an 85-69 win a year ago at Fifth Third Arena. 
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati plays at Wichita State on Thursday, Feb. 6. Tip time is 7 p.m. ET on either ESPN or ESPN2.   

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• Jarron Cumberland was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for the second straight week.
• He enters the weekend ranked among the AAC's leaders in scoring (2nd at 16.9), assists (2nd at 5.6), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd at .444), free throw percentage (7th at .833), 3-pointers made (7th at 2.0), assist-to-turnover ratio (7th at 1.6), field goal percentage (8th at .494) and minutes played (9th at 32.5) in league play. 
• Chris Vogt entered Thursday's action ranked seventh in the nation, shooting 66.9 percent (107 of 160) from the field. 
• Since the start of league play, the Bearcats rank among the league's top three teams in 12 categories overall and first in scoring offense (70.8), scoring margin (+12.4), field goal percentage (.454), rebounding defense (29.8) and assists (16.9). 
• Cincinnati was listed 117th in the NET rankings on Dec. 16 but climbed to as high as 50th in the listing Wednesday. 
• The Bearcats are 58-4 (.935) at home since the start of 2016-17, including a 29-2 (.935) mark against AAC teams.

// SCOUTING HOUSTON

• Houston enters Saturday's game having won five in a row and 15 of its last 17 games. 
• The Cougars rank among the nation's best in multiple categories: rebounding margin (1st at 10.2), offensive rebounds (4th at 14.38), blocked shots (14th at 5.5) and field goal percentage defense (17th at .379) entering Thursday.
• Four Cougars average 10 or more points, including Caleb Mills (13.1 points, .374 3-point field goal percentage), Quentin Grimes (12.4 points, 2.6 assists), Nate Hinton (10.4 points, 9.3 rebounds) and Fabian White Jr. (10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds). 
• Nine different players have scored in double figures in at least one game this season while five have posted a double-double.  

// SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati leads its series with Houston 32-5 overall, including a 16-1 record in Cincinnati, 14-4 mark in Houston and 2-0 record at neutral sites. At least one team in the series has been ranked in the previous eight meetings. 
• Last season, Houston defeated UC 65-58 on Feb. 10 in Houston and 85-69 on Mar. 10 in Cincinnati. The Bearcats earned a 69-57 win over Houston in the championship game of the 2019 AAC Tournament on Mar. 17. 
• The Bearcats won two out of three games against the Cougars during the 2017-18 season. UC rallied from 18-points down to earn an 80-70 victory on Jan. 31, 2018 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky. It marked the largest comeback win of the Mick Cronin coaching era (2007-2019). Houston earned a 67-62 win at Houston on Feb. 15 that snapped UC's nation-leading 16-game overall win streak. UC claimed a 56-55 victory in the championship game of the American Championship on March 11.  
• Prior to both teams becoming members of The American in 2013-14, the last time the two teams met was on 
• Jan. 29, 2005 at Fifth Third Arena (UC won 87-68).
• The two teams played as members of the Missouri Valley Conference for three seasons (1958-60). Four nonconference games followed the next four years. The two teams also met for three consecutive seasons from 1973-75.

// TIP-INS

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Bearcats are 58-4 (.935) at home since the start of 2016-17, including a 29-2 (.935) mark against AAC teams.
• HOME SWEET HOME II: In four AAC home games this season, the Bearcats are outscoring the opposition by 23.5 points (72.3 to 48.8), holding foes to 30.9 percent (71 of 230) shooting from the floor and 20.5 percent (18 of 88) shooting from 3-point range and outrebounding foes by 11.3 rebounds (42.5 to 31.3).  AAC opponents are also averaging 15.5 turnovers at Fifth Third Arena. 
• VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Cincinnati is 1-2 this season against ranked foes, dropping the season opener at then-No. 11 Ohio State (64-56 on Nov. 6), outlasting then-No. 21 Tennessee (78-66 on Dec. 18) at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati and falling to then-No. 22 Memphis (60-49 on Jan. 16) in Memphis.   
• LEGACY BUILDERS: Cincinnati has won 102 games since the start of the 2016-17 season, seventh most in the nation entering play Wednesday. Redshirt-senior Trevon Scott has played in 101 of those victories while senior Jarron Cumberland has played in 99 of the wins.
• UC great Steve Logan owns the school record for playing in the most school wins, seeing action in 111 victories from 1998-99 through 2001-02. 
• DEFENSIVE EFFORT VS SMU: UC limited the AAC's top scoring offense (74.1 points entering Tuesday) to a season-low 43 points and held the Mustangs to a season-low .259 field goal percentage (14 of 54) Tuesday. The 43 points are the fewest scored by a UC foe this season. 
• OFFENSIVE EFFORT VS. TEMPLE: UC's 89-82 win at Temple (1/22) marked the first time the Bearcats won a road game in regulation while allowing 80 or more points since a 92-83 victory at Vanderbilt on Dec. 10, 2005 (17 such occurrences). The Owls entered the week ranked 22nd nationally in field goal percentage defense. However, the Bearcats managed to shoot 52.0 percent (26 of 50) from the floor. 
• COUSIN COMBO: The cousin duo of Jarron and Jaevin Cumberland have combined to tally more than 30 points on four occasions this season for the Bearcats: 38 vs Tulsa (1/8): Jarron (22), Jaevin (16); 37 at Temple (1/22): Jarron (22), Jaevin (15); 32 vs. Bowling Green (11/24): Jaevin (21), Jarron (11) and 31 vs. SMU (1/28): Jarron (28), Jaevin (3).