Cincinnati Visits Wichita State on Thursday

CINCINNATI (14-7, 7-2 AAC) 
at WICHITA STATE (17-4, 5-3 AAC)
Thursday, Feb. 6 // 7 p.m. ET
Charles Koch Arena // Wichita, Kan.
SERIES INFO: 35th meeting; Cincinnati leads 22-12 overall; Cincinnati leads 9-8 in Wichita, Kan.;
Cincinnati leads 12-4 in Cincinnati and 1-0 at neutral sites 
STREAK: Cincinnati - 4
2018-19 MEETINGS: Cincinnati won all three meetings: 66-55 on Jan. 19 in Wichita, Kan.; 72-62 on Feb. 17 in Cincinnati 
and 66-63 on Mar. 16 in the semifinals of the AAC Championship in Memphis, Tenn. 
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (14-7); fifth season overall (96-59)
Gregg Marshall is in his 13th season at Wichita State (325-117); 22nd season overall (519-200)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (FEB. 3): Cincinnati (--/--); Wichita State (RV/RV)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN; Adam Amin provides play-by-play with color analyst Bryce Drew
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (14-7, 7-2 American) starts a two-game road swing Thursday at Wichita State (17-4, 5-3). The contest tips at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and 700 WLW.  
• The Bearcats rallied from a 15-point, second-half deficit Saturday to outlast then-No. 21 Houston, 64-62. Jarron Cumberland scored a game-high 17 points with seven assists. Trevon Scott tallied his seventh double-double this season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Keith Williams scored 10 of his 12 points during the rally. Chris Vogt posted 10 points and a career-best five blocks. 
• Wichita State is coming off a buzzer-beating, 54-51, setback at Tulsa on Saturday. Tulsa's Elijah Joiner connected on an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired. Jaime Echenique led the Shockers with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. 
• Cincinnati and Wichita State battled three times last season with the Bearcats claiming victory in each meeting, including a 66-63 win in the semifinals of the AAC Championship. Overall, the Bearcats own a 22-12 advantage in the series, including a slight 9-8 lead in Wichita, Kan.
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati remains on the road, playing UConn in Storrs, Conn., on Sunday. Tipoff is noon ET on CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW. 

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• Jarron Cumberland has been named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll each of the past three weeks (1/20, 1/27, 2/3). During the five-game stretch,  Cumberland has led the Bearcats in scoring four times, averaging 19.8 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 35.2 percent (28 of 62) from the floor and 41.1 percent (12 of 29) from 3-point range. 
• Chris Vogt entered Tuesday's action ranked fourth in the nation, shooting 67.7 percent (111 of 164) from the field. 
• Trevon Scott has registered seven double-doubles this season, including three in the last four games. During the stretch, he is averaging 12.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 56.8 percent (21 of 37) from the floor. 
• Cincinnati was listed 117th in the NET rankings on Dec. 16 but climbed to as high as 46th in the listing Tuesday.

// SCOUTING WICHITA STATE

• Wichita State saw its two-game win streak end Saturday at Tulsa, 54-51. The Shockers were ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll last week before the loss.  
• Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson (12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals) is one of three Shockers averaging double figures along with senior center Jaime Echenique (11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks) and sophomore guard Jamarius Burton (10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds). 
• Entering Monday, Wichita State ranked among the nation's leaders in field goal percentage defense (20th at .384), turnover margin (23rd at +3.4) and offensive rebounds (27th at 12.8). 
• Echenique ranks among the AAC leaders in field goal percentage (4th at .520), rebounds (T7th at 6.8) and blocks (T7th at 1.1) since the start of league play. 
• Junior forward Trey Wade (T5th at 2.5) and Echenique (10th at 2.1) rank among the AAC's best in offensive rebounding since the start of league play.  
• Sophomore guard Dexter Dennis (4th at 2.1) and freshman guard Tyson Etienne (T11th at 1.8) rank among the AAC's best in 3-pointers per game since the start of AAC action. 

// SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati leads its series with Wichita State 22-12 overall, 9-8 in games played in Wichita, Kan., 12-4 in Cincinnati and 1-0 at neutral sites. 
• The Bearcats won all three meetings last season: 66-55 on Jan. 19 in Wichita; 72-62 on Feb. 17 in Cincinnati and 66-63 in the semifinals of the AAC Championship on 
• Mar. 16 in Memphis, Tenn.   
• Last season, UC became the first school since Southern Illinois in 2009 to win back-to-back games at Charles Koch Arena. The Bearcats also posted a 62-61 win at Wichita State on Mar. 9, 2018 to claim the outright AAC regular-season championship. It marked UC's first outright regular-season title since 2001-02 (Conference USA).
• During the 2018 campaign, then-No. 19 Wichita State snapped then-No. 5 Cincinnati's 39-game home win streak (longest in the nation at the time), posting a 76-72 on Feb. 18, 2018 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky. 
• The matchup at BB&T Arena in Highland, Heights, Ky., two years ago, marked the first meeting in the series since an 87-67 Wichita State win over Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 1981. 
• Cincinnati posted a 16-10 mark against Wichita State from 1957-58 through 1969-70 during the Bearcats' membership in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• During its 13 seasons in the MVC, Cincinnati posted a 286-76 overall record, 128-52 conference mark, won seven league championships, advanced to five consecutive Final Fours (1959-63) and claimed two national titles (1961 and 1962).
• BRANNEN-MARSHALL TIES: UC head coach John Brannen and Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall first crossed paths during the 1996-97 season. Brannen was a senior in his second of two seasons (1996, 1997) as a player at Marshall University, earning First Team All-Southern Conference honors as the league's top scorer (20.9 points).  Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall was in the first of two seasons (1997, 1998) as an assistant coach at Marshall in 1996-97 under head coach Greg White. Brannen and Marshall helped lead the Thundering Herd to a 20-9 overall record. Their season ended with a 71-70 overtime setback to Chattanooga in the SoCon Tournament championship game. 

// TIP-INS

• COMEBACK CATS: UC registered its largest comeback win of the season Saturday against then-No. 21 Houston, rallying from a 15-point deficit with 13:01 remaining. From that point on the Bearcats finished the game on a 26-9 run while limiting Houston to 2 of 17 shooting (12.5 percent) from the floor. Keith Williams led UC with 10 points during the comeback.  
• HOME SWEET HOME: The Bearcats are 59-4 (.937) at home since the start of 2016-17, including a 30-2 (.938) mark against AAC teams.
• TRENDING UP: UC continues trending upward nine games into league play. Entering the week, the Bearcats rank among the league's top 3 leaders in 11 categories: scoring margin (1st at +11.2), field goal percentage (1st at .454), rebounding defense (1st at 30.2), scoring offense (2nd at 70.0), scoring defense (2nd at 58.8), field goal percentage defense (2nd at .373), rebounding margin (2nd at +7.2), assists (2nd at 16.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd at 1.2), rebounding offense (3rd at 37.4) and blocks (T3rd at 5.1).
• LEGACY BUILDERS: Cincinnati has won 103 games since the start of the 2016-17 season, tied for the sixth most in the nation entering play Monday. Redshirt-senior Trevon Scott has played in 102 of those victories while senior Jarron Cumberland has played in 100 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.