Bearcats Battle Temple on Senior Night Saturday

TEMPLE (14-16, 6-11 AAC)
at CINCINNATI (19-10, 12-5 AAC)
Saturday, Mar. 7 // 8 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 33rd meeting; Cincinnati leads 23-9 overall; Cincinnati leads 9-2 at home;
Cincinnati leads 8-4 in Philadelphia; Cincinnati leads 6-3 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 89-82 on Jan. 22, 2020 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia 
STREAK: Cincinnati - 5
COACHES: John Brannen is in his first season at Cincinnati (19-10); fifth season overall (101-62)
Aaron McKie is in his first season at Temple (14-16); first season overall (6-11)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (MAR. 2): Cincinnati (--/--); Temple (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Alex DelBarrio provides play-by-play with color analyst Tim Doyle
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

// GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (19-10, 12-5 American) closes out the regular season against Temple on Senior Night Saturday, March 7 at Fifth Third. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET with the ceremony beginning at approximately 7:40 p.m. The game will be broadcast  by CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW. 
• The Bearcats rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to post a 79-67 win at USF on Tuesday. Keith Williams scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and Trevon Scott registered his 13th double-double this season, tallying 21 points and 11 rebounds. 
• Temple suffered a 61-51 home loss to Tulsa on Wednesday. Quinton Rose led the Owls with 15 points.
• Earlier this season, UC earned an 89-82 road win at Temple on Jan. 22. Five Bearcats scored in double figures led by Jarron Cumberland (22) and Chris Vogt (18). 
• The Bearcats have won six in a row against the Owls and lead the series 23-9 overall, including a 9-2 mark in Cincinnati. 
• UP NEXT: Reigning back-to-back AAC Tournament champion Cincinnati heads to the 2020 AAC Championship, Mar. 12-15 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bearcats have earned a first-round bye and will begin play on Friday, Mar. 13 in quarterfinals action. The complete AAC Tournament bracket will be announced Sunday, Mar. 8.

// CINCINNATI STORYLINES 

• Cincinnati will honor its three seniors (Jarron Cumberland, John Koz and Trevon Scott), two graduate transfers (Jaevin Cumberland and Chris McNeal) and lone senior manager (Will Slaise) Saturday during a pregame ceremony starting at approximately 7:40 p.m. ET inside Fifth Third Arena. 
• UC's 108 wins since the start of the 2016-17 season ranked as the eighth most in the nation entering Wednesday. Scott has played in 107 of those victories while Cumberland has played in 104 of the wins.
• Trevon Scott has posted four 20-point efforts over the last seven games, averaging 18.9 points and 14.0 rebounds while shooting 54.3 percent (51 of 94) from the floor during the stretch. 
• Jarron Cumberland has seven 20-point games this season, including five during AAC action. He ranks second in the AAC in assists (6.1) and fourth in scoring (16.6) in league play.
• Keith Williams scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting at USF Tuesday. It marked the most points by a Bearcat in a game this season. 
• A win Saturday would give UC 20 wins on the season, extending its current streak of consecutive 20-win campaigns to 10 and marking the 39th 
• 20-win season in program history. 
• UC has earned a first-round bye at next week's American Championship in Forth Worth, Texas.

// SCOUTING TEMPLE

• Temple enters Saturday's game having lost four in a row since a 93-89 overtime home win over UConn on Feb. 20. 
• Quinton Rose (16.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists) and Nate Pierre-Louis (11.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists)  lead the Owls' attack. 
• Rose ranks among the AAC's Top 5 this season in points (2nd at 16.3) and steals (T3rd at 2.0) while Nate Pierre-Louis is listed among the league's Top 5 in defensive rebounds (3rd at 7.1), rebounds (5th at 8.5) and steals (5th at 1.8). 
• Alani Moore II (8.3 points, 2.6 assists) ranks fifth in the league this season, averaging 2.1 3-pointers. 
• The Owls entered Thursday ranked among the nation's Top 40 in defensive rebounds (28th at 27.97) and field goal percentage defense (38th at 39.9).  
• New head coach Aaron McKie played under Hall of Fame head coach John Chaney and served as an assistant coach for five seasons under Fran Dunphy.

// TEMPLE SERIES HISTORY 

• Cincinnati leads the all-time series with Temple 23-9 overall. UC owns a 9-2 lead at home, an 8-4 advantage in Philadelphia, and a 6-3 lead at neutral sites.
• The Bearcats won their sixth in a row in the series, posting an 89-82 win in Philadelphia earlier this season on Jan. 22.  
• UC won the only meeting last season, earning a 72-68 decision in Philadelphia. 
• Temple is the last AAC opponent who has not played in the newly renovated Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats faced the Owls on the road only a year ago. The new-look arena reopened for the 2018-19 campaign.    
• Temple's last victory in the series came via a 67-65 double-overtime win in Philadelphia on Jan. 16, 2016.
• The Owls last won in Cincinnati, 77-70, on Dec. 29, 2015, in the conference opener for both teams. 
• Seven of the last eight games in the series have been decided by seven or fewer points.   
• Prior to joining The American, the last time the two teams met came in an 80-71 Bearcats' win on Dec. 9, 2006 at the Lenape Trail Classic in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

// HEADING INTO FINAL WEEKEND OF THE REGULAR SEASON

• An eventful 2019-20 campaign that has seen a new coach, a new system, a challenging non-league schedule, a nation-best seven overtime games, several standout performances from seniors Jarron Cumberland and Trevon Scott, improved team play in league action and a wild February full of close games comes down to its final weekend of the regular season.
• Cincinnati continues to fight for first place in The American, a game back of Tulsa and a half-game behind Houston  entering Thursday. 
• The Bearcats have secured no worse than a third-place finish in the league standings. UC has finished third or better in the AAC every year since the formation of the league, winning the conference twice (2014, 2018), finishing second twice (2017, 2019) and tying for third twice (2015, 2016). 
• AAC TOURNAMENT UP NEXT: Postseason play begins next week as the 2020 AAC Championship gets underway Mar. 12-15 in Fort Worth, Texas. 
• The Bearcats have won each of the last two league tournaments (69-57 over Houston in Memphis, Tenn. last year and 56-55 over Houston in Orlando, Fla., in 2018) and played in the championship game in each of the last three events (lost to SMU 71-56 in Hartford, Conn. in 2017).  
• Jarron Cumberland was the AAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player a year ago, scoring a championship-game record 33 points against Houston. He averaged 23.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists at the tournament last season. 
• VYING FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT BID: The Bearcats are also attempting to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament; what would be their 10th consecutive appearance in the Big Dance. It would also mark UC head coach John Brannen's third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past four seasons (made the tournament while at Northern Kentucky in 2017 and 2019). 
• Cincinnati is one of six schools in the nation to have appeared in the last nine NCAA Tournaments, joining Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State and North Carolina.
• SINCE LEAGUE PLAY BEGAN: Entering Wednesday, the Bearcats rank among the league's leaders in eight categories in league action: field goal percentage (1st at .449), scoring offense (1st at 72.4), scoring margin (2nd at +6.5), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd at .327), rebounding margin (2nd at +3.8), assists (2nd at 15.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd at 1.1) and blocks (3rd at 5.2). 
• Jarron Cumberland ranks second the AAC in assists (6.1) and fourth in scoring (16.6) during league action. He has seven 20-point games this season, including five during AAC action. Ninety-seven of his 126 assists in 2019-20 have come in conference play. He sat out the USF (3/3) game due to a foot injury. 
• Trevon Scott ranks first in the AAC in rebounds (11.6) and defensive rebounds (8.9), third in field goal percentage (.528), fourth in minutes (35.4) and fifth in steals (1.9) during AAC play. 
• He has posted 11 double-doubles in league play, scoring 20 or more points in four of the last seven games. He has  grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 13 AAC games, including each of the last nine games. 
• Keith Williams poured in a career-high 30 points at USF on Tuesday. He ranks among the league's leaders in free throw percentage (T5th at .833), field goal percentage (10th at .433) and points (15th at 12.8) in league games. 

// TIP-INS

• AAC'S WINNINGEST PROGRAMS MEET: Saturday marks a matchup of the two winningest programs in The American. Temple ranks fifth with 1,940 all-time victories while Cincinnati ranks 12th with 1,835 wins. 
• The two programs have combined for 3,775 all-time wins, 66 NCAA Tournament appearances, 95 postseason appearances and eight Final Fours. 
• LOOKING TO EXTEND 20-WIN SEASON STREAK: A win Saturday against Temple would be UC's 20th win of the season and extend the program's streak of 20-win campaigns to 10. It continues the longest streak since the Bob Huggins era when UC set a school record, winning 20 or more games for 11 consecutive seasons (1992-2002). It would mark the 39th 20-win season in program history.
• HOME SWEET HOME: The Bearcats are 61-5 (.924) at home since the start of 2016-17, including a 32-3 (.914) mark against AAC teams.