Men's Basketball Plays at No. 12 Tennessee on Saturday

CINCINNATI (2-1) at No. 12/16 TENNESSEE (1-0)
Saturday, Dec. 12 // 12:30 p.m. ET
Thompson Boling Arena // Knoxville, Tenn.
SERIES INFO: Eighth Meeting; Cincinnati leads 6-1; Cincinnati leads 4-0 in Cincinnati and 2-1 in Knoxville, Tenn.   
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 78-66 on Dec. 18, 2019 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 3
COACHES: John Brannen - second season at Cincinnati (2-1); sixth season overall (104-63)
Rick Barnes - sixth season at Tennessee (106-64); 34th season overall (710-378)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 7): Cincinnati (--/--); Tennessee (12/16)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: SEC Network Alternate; Paul Sunderland provides play-by-play with color analyst Dane Bradshaw
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (2-1) plays at No. 12/16 Tennessee (1-0) on Saturday. Tipoff is 12:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network Alternate channel. 
• The Bearcats are coming off a 78-73 home win over Furman on Wednesday. Keith Williams scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Tari Eason, Chris Vogt and Jeremiah Davenport added eight points each. 
• The Volunteers opened their season Tuesday with a 56-47 home win over Colorado. John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi tallied 11 points to lead the way. 
• Cincinnati leads the series with Tennessee overall, including a 78-66 win at Fifth Third Arena last season. 
• UP NEXT: UC opens American Athletic Conference play hosting USF on Wednesday, Dec. 16. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPNU.  

CINCINNATI HEADLINE

• After Preseason AAC First Team honoree Keith Williams struggled with foul trouble in the season opener against Lipscomb, the senior guard is averaging 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in UC's last two games. 
• Michigan junior transfer David DeJulius ranks second on the team in points (10.3) and first in rebounds (6.7) and assists (5.0) through three games. 
• Of the five nonconference opponents on Cincinnati's 2020-21 schedule, three were picked to win their conference in the preseason: Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun), Furman (Southern Conference) and No. 12 Tennessee (Southeastern Conference). 
• UC was predicted to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference (behind Houston, Memphis and SMU) according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. 
• Senior guard Keith Williams earned preseason First Team All-AAC honors while senior center Chris Vogt was tabbed a Second Team 
• All-AAC selection according to league coaches. 
• John Brannen is one of six active coaches in the nation to have won a conference regular-season championship in each of the past three seasons (Northern Kentucky [2018, 2019], Cincinnati [2020]).
• In November, CBS Sports named Cincinnati the 10th greatest college basketball program since the advent of the NCAA Tournament in 1939. 

SCOUTING TENNESSEE

• Tennessee earned a 56-47 win over Colorado on Tuesday to open its season. Five other games on its schedule were canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. The Vols were the last team in the current AP Top 25 to start their season.
• A preseason poll of league media predicted Tennessee atop the Southeastern Conference at season's end. 
• John Fulkerson (13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds in 2019-20) was named First Team All-SEC while Yves Pons (10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks in 2019-20) was tabbed Second Team All-SEC honors. 
• Sacred Heart graduate transfer E.J. Anosike finished 2019-20 ranked among the NCAA leaders in offensive rebounds per game (4th at 4.18), total rebounds per game (6th at 11.6), double-doubles (7th at 18) and defensive rebounds per game (19th at 7.42).
• Oregon transfer Victor Bailey Jr. is eligible to play this season after averaging 7.0 points in 17.9 minutes during the 2018-19 campaign.  

SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati has won six of seven meetings, including three in a row, in its series with Tennessee. Prior to last season,  the two programs hadn't played since the Bearcats registered a 79-58 victory on Jan. 4, 1993 at the Shoemaker Center (now Fifth Third Arena). The Bearcats leads the series 4-0 in Cincinnati and 2-1 in Knoxville. 
• Tennessee's victory came by a 76-68 result on Dec. 10, 1956 in Knoxville, Tenn.