Women's Basketball Hosts Tulane on Saturday

TULANE (6-3, 2-2 AAC)
at CINCINNATI (2-6, 1-3 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 9 // 2 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 35th Meeting; Cincinnati leads 18-16 overall; UC leads 9-6 in Cincinnati and 3-2 at neutral sites;
Tulane leads 9-6 in New Orleans
LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: Tulane won 64-59 on Jan. 18, 2020 in New Orleans;
UC won 87-63 on Feb. 13, 2020 in Cincinnati
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (48-27); 11th season overall (226-107)
Lisa Stockton is in her 27th season at Tulane (528-294); 30th season overall (591-320)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Tulane (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Matt Noonan and Sam Rodgers
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (2-6, 1-3 AAC) plays host to Tulane (6-3, 2-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• UC is coming off a 62-57 home loss to Tulsa on Wednesday. IImar'I Thomas registered her second consecutive double-double with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jillian Hayes tallied eight points, nine rebounds and three steals. 
• Tulane earned a 76-62 road win at Houston on Wednesday. Krystal Freeman led the way with 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting. 
• UC and Tulane split a pair of meetings last season with the home team winning each contest. UC owns an 18-16 lead in the series overall, including a 9-5 lead in Cincinnati. 
• UP NEXT: The Bearcats play at Temple on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Tipoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• Senior forward IImar'I Thomas has been named AAC Co-Player of the Week and a midseason watch list selection for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award this week.   
• Thomas entered Thursday ranked among the nation's top 20 leaders in six categories: points per game (3rd at 27.1), field goals made (3rd at 82), total points (4th at 217), minutes played (7th at 38.95), free throws made (12th at 52), free throws attempted (14th at 63).
• Entering the weekend, UC ranked among the top half of the AAC in five categories: blocked shots (1st at 5.3 per game), rebounding defense (2nd at 35.8), field goal percentage (3rd at .426), free throw percentage (3rd at .686). 
• Cincinnati is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since stringing together three consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2001-03.
• The Bearcats tied for second in the AAC regular-season standings a year ago with an 11-5 mark, the school's best finish in The American and its best league result since placing second in the Conference USA standings in 2004. 
• UC reached the championship game of the 2019 AAC Women's Championship, rallying from a 15-point deficit to post a 57-51 win over UCF. The effort resulted in the Bearcats first conference tournament championship game appearance since 2003 (Conference USA).
• Michelle Clark-Heard won more games (46) during her first two seasons at Cincinnati than any other head coach program history. She edged out Ceal Barry, who registered 45 wins combined through her first two seasons in Clifton (1979-80 and 1980-81). Clark-Heard is also the first coach in UC history to record 20-win seasons in each of her first two season on the job.

TOUTING IIMAR'I THOMAS

• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas entered Thursday ranked third in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game behind only Middle Tennessee's Anastasia Hayes (28.6) and Iowa's Caitlin Clark (27.6). 
• Thomas also entered Thursday ranked among the nation's top 20 leaders in seven categories: points per game (3rd at 27.1), field goals made (3rd at 82), total points (4th at 217), minutes played (7th at 38.95), free throws made (12th at 52), free throws attempted (14th at 63) and field-goal percentage (29th at .594).
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas entered action Monday ranked among the AAC leaders in 10 categories: scoring 
• (1st at 27.1), field goal percentage (1st at .594), minutes played (1st at 38.9), free throw percentage (2nd at .825), rebounds (5th at 8.6), defensive rebounds (6th at 5.9), assists (T7th at 3.5), offensive rebounds (8th at 2.8), blocks (11th at 1.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (15th at 1.5).
• CHART CHASER: The name IImar'I Thomas is peppered throughout the UC record book and her climb up the charts will be a storyline during the 2020-21 campaign.
• Thomas enters the ninth game of the season ranked among UC's best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .597), blocks (3rd at 111), rebounds (5th at 763), points (8th at 1,573) and rebound average (T8th at 7.1). 
• AWARD-WINNING: Thomas earned AAC Co-Player of the Week accolades after a standout effort in Cincinnati's 65-59 win at Wichita State (1/2), tallying a game-high 24 points with a season-best 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. She shot 8 of 18 from the floor and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. It marked her first double-double of the season and the 17th of her Bearcats career. 
• BECKY HAMMON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Thomas was named to the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Midseason Watch List announced Wednesday, Jan. 6, by Her Hoop Stats. 
• Thomas is one of 15 players nationally named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• BLOCK PARTY: UC leads the AAC in blocks, averaging 5.3 per game. Three Bearcats rank among the AAC leaders in blocks entering Thursday: Arame Niang (3rd at 1.5), IImar'I Thomas (11th at 1.1) and Jillian Hayes (T12th at 1.0).
• Niang posted a career-high four blocks against Tulsa (1/6) while Thomas and Niang recorded three blocks each at Wichita State (1/2).   
• NIANG NUGGETS: Arame Niang is averaging 10.0 points, 5.7 points and 2.7 blocks over UC's last three games. She has scored in double figures twice with 10 points against USF (12/22) and 10 points at Wichita State. 
• She enters the week ranked among AAC leaders in blocks (3rd at 1.5), defensive rebounds (11th at 4.1) and rebounds (T19th at 5.4). 
• Earlier this season, Niang recorded her second career double-double and the first as a Bearcat at Florida (12/5), posting 12 points and 13 rebounds. With Western Kentucky during the 2018-19 campaign, Niang tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds against Morgan State.
• HAYES ON THE GLASS: Freshman Jillian Hayes is tied with Niang for second on the team in rebounds (5.1). She pulled down a season-best nine boards against Tulsa (1/6) and has grabbed at least four rebounds in seven of eight games this season. 
• She entered Thursday ranked among AAC leaders in blocks (T12th at 1.0), free throw percentage (13th at .583), defensive rebounds (13th at 3.9) and rebounds (T19th at 5.4).

SCOUTING TULANE

• Tulane's roster features a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging double figures in points: Jerkaila Jordan (15.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7), Krystal Freeman (14.3 points, 9.1 rebounds), Arsula Clark (13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists) and Dynah Jones (10.3 points, 3.1 rebounds). 
• Jordan entered the week leading all freshmen in The American and ranked 14th nationally among first-year players. 
• Freeman (first team) and Clark (second team) received preseason recognition from AAC coaches. Freeman has led the Green Wave in points and rebounds each of the past two seasons.