Cincinnati Plays at UCF on Tuesday

CINCINNATI (2-4, 0-1 AAC)
at  UCF (2-1, 0-0 AAC)
Tuesday, Dec. 22 // 4 p.m. ET
Addition Financial Arena // Orlando, Fla. 
SERIES INFO: 16th meeting; Cincinnati leads 12-3 overall; Cincinnati leads 5-2 in Orlando; 
Cincinnati leads 5-1 at home; Cincinnati leads 2-0 at neutral sites
STREAK: UCF - 1
LAST MEETING: UCF won 89-87 in double overtime on Feb. 19, 2020 in Cincinnati 
COACHES: John Brannen - second season at Cincinnati (22-14); sixth season overall (104-66)
Johnny Dawkins - fifth season at UCF (85-49); 13th season overall (241-164)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 21): Cincinnati (--/--); UCF (RV/RV)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Kevin Johnson
TV: ESPN+; Austin Lyon provides play-by-play with color analyst Mike O'Donnell
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (2-4, 0-1 AAC) returns to league play Tuesday when it travels to UCF for a 4 p.m. ET game. The contest will be available on ESPN+. 
• UC is coming off an 83-68 loss at Georgia on Saturday. Jeremiah Davenport led the Bearcats with 18 points. Keith Williams scored 14 points. Tari Eason added 11 points, six rebounds two steals and two blocks. 
• UCF posted an 86-74 road win at No. 15 Florida State on Saturday, snapping the Seminoles' 27-game home court win streak. Brandon Mahan (32), Isaiah Adams (22) and Darin Green Jr. (20) combined for 74 of UCF's 86 points. 
• UC owns a 12-3 lead in its series with UCF, including a 5-2 mark at UCF. 
• UP NEXT: After the Holiday break, Cincinnati plays host to Tulsa on Jan. 2 at Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff is 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• David DeJulius has 25 assists with only eight turnovers while averaging 29.9 minutes this season. His 3.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the AAC and 48th nationally.
• Jeremiah Davenport ranks second on the team averaging 9.0 points with a team-best nine 3-pointers. Both of his double-figure scoring games have come on the road this season. 
• 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's non-league opponents own a combined record of 26-8 entering play Monday.
• 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. 

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• SOLID PLAY AT THE POINT: Michigan junior transfer David DeJulius was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll  on Dec. 14 after posting 11 points and seven assists at then-No. 12 Tennessee. 
• DeJulius is averaging 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Bearcats. His 3.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the AAC and 48th nationally.
• He tallied seven points and a game-high nine rebounds and five assists in UC's 78-73 win over Furman (12/9)  and posted 11 points with seven assists and three steals at No. 12 Tennessee (12/12).
• He tallied 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting with five rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers against Xavier (12/6).
• WILLIAMS LEADS SCORING EFFORT: Preseason AAC First Team honoree Keith Williams enters the week 11th in the league in scoring, averaging 14.5 points. 
• Williams has led the Bearcats in scoring in three games this season but also has battled foul trouble, logging 23 minutes or less in four games. 
• He scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five rebounds against Furman (12/9) and accounted for a team-high 18 points with six rebounds and three assists against city-rival Xavier (12/6).
• He scored 12 consecutive points in the second half against USF (12/16) to get UC back into the game. 
• EASON'S CONTRIBUTIONS GROWING: Freshman Tari Eason continues to make an impact for the Bearcats whether it's as a start or off the bench. Over the last four games, he is averaging 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent (16 of 31) from the field. 
• Eason has led the Bearcats in rebounds in four of six games this season. 
• Eason posted the game best of his young career against USF (12/16), tallying 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in 24 minutes. 
• SHOOTING STRAIGHT: Chris Vogt ranks third in the league shooting 67.7 percent (21 of 31) from the field entering the week. He has shot 80 percent or better from the floor in four this season. Vogt scored a season-high 13 points against USF (12/16). 
• Vogt helped the Bearcats rally late for the victory over Lipscomb (12/2). Trailing  49-43 with 7:50 left, UC closed the game on a 24-6 run thanks in part to Vogt's eight points, four rebounds and two blocks during the span. 

SCOUTING UCF

• Brandon Mahan enters the week leading the AAC, averaging 21.7 points. He ranks fifth in the league, shooting 60.0 percent from the field (21 of 35) and has made all 19 of his free throw attempts this season.
• Isaiah Adams (14.0 points, .517 FG percentage) and Darin Green Jr., (13.0 points, 3.0 3-pointers ) also average double figures for the Knights. 
• UCF finished 16-14 overall and tied for seventh in The American at 7-11 last season. The Knights were picked to finish eighth in the AAC in 2020-21 in a preseason vote of the league's coaches. 
• UCF played a challenging non-league slate this season, defeating Auburn (63-55) and then-No. 15 Florida State (86-74) and falling at Michigan (80-58).