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Cincinnati Battles Wichita State on Sunday

Cincinnati plays host to Wichita State on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN and 700 WLW. 

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Cincinnati Battles Wichita State on SundayCincinnati Battles Wichita State on Sunday
WICHITA STATE (20-6, 8-5 AAC)
at CINCINNATI (17-9, 10-4 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 23 // 1 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 36th meeting; Cincinnati leads 23-12 overall; Cincinnati leads 12-4 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati leads 10-8 in Wichita, Kan.; Cincinnati leads 1-0 at neutral sites
STREAK: Cincinnati - 5
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 80-79 on Feb. 6 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. 
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (17-9); fifth season overall (99-61)
Gregg Marshall is in his 13th season at Wichita State (328-119); 22nd season overall (522-202)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (FEB. 17): Cincinnati (RV/RV); Wichita State (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson;
TV: ESPN; Kevin Brown provides play-by-play with color analysts Bryce Drew
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES
  • Trevon Scott is averaging 21.5 points and 16.3 rebounds while shooting 56.7 percent (34 of 60) and 37.5 percent (6 of 16) from 3-point range over the past four games.
  • Scott's 22-points, 21-rebounds showing against UCF (2/19) marked the first 20-20 performance by a Bearcat since Kenyon Martin tallied 24 points and 23 rebounds in a 75-38 home win over DePaul (2/21/1998).
  • Over the last 10 games, Cumberland has averaged a team-best 17.8 points and 6.3 assists. He is one of four Bearcats in school history to score 1,700 points and hand out 400 assists in a career.
  • Chris Vogt entered Thursday's action ranked second in the nation, shooting 67.0 percent (130 of 194) from the field. 
  • UC closes out the February portion of its schedule Sunday. The month has seen the Bearcats play four overtime games with five of six contests determined in the final seconds.
  • Cincinnati's seven overtime games (4-3 record) this season are a school record (played six [5-1 record] in 1966-67); an AAC record; and are the most by a Division I team this season. 
  • With a win over Wichita State on Sunday, UC's John Brannen would register his 100th career victory as a head coach.
// GAME PREVIEW 
  • Cincinnati (17-9, 10-4 American) plays host to Wichita State (20-6, 8-5) on Sunday. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN and 700 WLW. 
  • The game is sold out but standing room only tickets are available at GoBearcats.com. Fans can also check availability on StubHub, the official secondary ticket marketplace partner of UC Athletics.
  • The contest is the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at Fifth Third Arena. The UC women's basketball team welcomes Tulane beginning at approximately 4 p.m. ET.
  • The Bearcats are coming off an 89-87 double-overtime home loss to UCF on Wednesday. Trevon Scott posted a game-high 22 points and career-best 21 rebounds. Jarron Cumberland tallied 19 points and nine assists. Keith Williams added 17 points and eight rebounds. Jaevin Cumberland hit four 3-pointers for 12 points. 
  • Wichita State earned a 65-55 home win over USF on Thursday. Jaime Echenique led the Shockers with 20 points and nine rebounds.
  • Cincinnati claimed a thrilling 80-79 win at Wichita State earlier this month on Feb. 6 when Jarron Cumberland converted a three-point play with 3.5 seconds left.  
  • UC leads its series with Wichita State 23-12 overall, including a 12-4 mark in Cincinnati.  
  • UP NEXT: Cincinnati plays at league-leader Houston on Sunday, Mar. 1. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN and 700 WLW.
// SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
  • Wichita State has won three in a row and climbed into a tie for fourth place in the AAC since dropping a 76-43 decision at Houston on Feb. 9. 
  • Thursday's 65-55 home win over USF gave the Shockers their 11th consecutive 20-win season. 
  • Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson (11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals) is one of three Shockers averaging double figures along with senior center Jaime Echenique (11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks) and freshman guard Tyson Etienne (10.0 points, team-best 2.1 3-pointers per game). Sophomore guard Jamarius Burton averages 9.9 points and a team-best 3.4 assists. 
// SERIES HISTORY
  • Cincinnati leads its series with Wichita State 23-12 overall, 12-4 in Cincinnati, 10-8 in Wichita, Kan., and 1-0 at neutral sites. 
  • Cincinnati claimed an 80-79 win at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan., on Feb. 6, marking the Bearcats fifth consecutive win in the series and third in a row in Wichita. 
  • 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.   
  • 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
  • GOING FOR CAREER WIN NO. 100: With a win over Wichita State on Sunday, UC's John Brannen would register his 100th career victory as a head coach. Brannen compiled 81 wins the past four season at Northern Kentucky (2016-19), captured one victory in two games as interim head coach at Alabama (2014-15) and enters Sunday with 17 wins leading Cincinnati's program this season.  
  • HOME SWEET HOME: The Bearcats are 60-5 (.923) at home since the start of 2016-17, including a 31-3 (.912) mark against AAC teams.
  • BONUS BASKETBALL: Through Wednesday's games, Cincinnati led the nation, having played in seven overtime games this season. The number is also a school and AAC record.
  • The previous school record was six overtimes set during  the 1966-67 season (5-1 record). 
  • UC also has played in four consecutive overtime games heading into Sunday which is tied for the NCAA record with Jacksonville (1982), Illinois State (1985) and Dayton (1988). 
  • The NCAA record for most overtime games in a season is eight set by Western Kentucky (1978), Portland (1984) and Valparaiso (1993).
  • Only 26 games into his UC coaching tenure, John Brannen already has tied Ed Jucker (4-5 in overtime games from 1960-65) for the fourth most overtime wins by a coach in school history (see page 11 of notes). 
  • Trevon Scott owns the school record, having played in 11 overtime games (8-3 record) during his career. Jarron Cumberland has played in 10 OT games (7-3 record) as a Bearcat, having sat out the Valparaiso (11/25) OT affair earlier this season due to injury.
  • WILD MONTH FOR THE BEARCATS: The month of February has seen the Bearcats play in four consecutive overtime games with five of the six games this month determined in the final seconds: Cincinnati held off then-No. 21 Houston 64-62 on Feb. 1 when Cougar guard Caleb Mills missed a 20-footer just before the buzzer ... Five days later, Jarron Cumberland connected on a three-point play with 3.5 seconds left to give UC an 80-79 win at Wichita State on Feb. 6 ... Cumberland couldn't get a shot off before the buzzer as Cincinnati fell at UConn, 72-71, in OT on Feb. 9 ... The Bearcats rallied from a 10-point deficit to Memphis (Feb. 13) with 6:11 left in regulation to later win in overtime, 92-86 ... Keith Williams scored six of his game-high 17 points in overtime and ECU's Jayden Gardner missed a running 30-footer at the buzzer as UC held off the Pirates for a 70-67 OT road win on Feb. 16... Jarron Cumberland hit a half-court shot that came just after the final horn in UC's 89-87 double-overtime loss to UCF on Feb. 19.