WBB: Bearcats Play Host to Wichita State on Wednesday

WICHITA STATE (3-6, 0-4 AAC)
at  CINCINNATI (3-9, 2-6 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 27 // 2 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: Sixth Meeting; Cincinnati leads 5-0 overall; UC leads 1-0 in Cincinnati; 
UC leads 3-0 in Wichita, Kan., UC leads 1-0 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: UC won 65-59 on Jan. 2, 2021 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 4
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (49-30); 11th season overall (227-110)
Keitha Adams is in her fourth season at Wichita State (45-56); 20th season overall (329-265)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Wichita State (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Matt Noonan and Betsy Ross
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (3-9, 2-6 AAC) greets Wichita State (3-6, 0-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff is 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
• The Bearcats dropped a 61-52 home decision to Memphis on Wednesday, Jan. 20. IImar'I Thomas posted a game-high 24 points to go with nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. Jillian Hayes added 11 points. 
• The Shockers suffered a 65-55 at Temple on Saturday. Asia Strong scored a team-high 17 points with a trio of threes while Trajata Colbert added 13 points.
• UC and Wichita State last played on Jan. 2 in Wichita with the Bearcats earning a 65-59 win. Four UC players scored in double figures led by Thomas' 24 points and 17 rebounds. 
• UP NEXT: UC's contest at USF on Saturday, Jan. 30 has been postponed due to a positive COVID-19 case and the ensuing contact tracing within the USF program. The Bearcats will next play host to Temple on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 
  6 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• Senior forward IImar'I Thomas was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after tallying a game-high 24 points with nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks against Memphis (1/20). She registered her 10th 20-point game of the season and finished just shy of completing her fourth double-double in the last six games.
• Thomas leads the AAC in 10 statistical categories entering the week and ranks in the top 20 nationally for minutes played (third at 39.1), field goals made (eighth at 106), points per game (11th at 23.9) and free throws made (11th at 72). 
• Freshman guard Jillian Hayes has put together three double-digit scoring performances in UC's last four games, averaging 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds during the stretch. 
• UC ranks among the AAC's top teams in blocks (1st at 4.3), free throw percentage (2nd at .709), field goal percentage (4th at .402) and rebounding defense (4th at 35.8) this season.
• 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 in program history. She is also the first coach in UC history to record 20-win seasons in each of her first two seasons on the job.

TOUTING IIMAR'I THOMAS

• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas entered Monday ranked 11th in the nation in scoring at 23.9 points per game. Thomas also entered the week ranked among the nation's leaders in: minutes played per game (3rd at 39.08), field goals made (8th at 106), free throws made (11th at 72), total points (14th at 287), free throws attempted (22nd at 85) and field goal percentage (36th at .544). 
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas enters the week ranked among the AAC leaders in 10 categories: scoring (1st at 23.9), field goal percentage (1st at .544), free throw percentage (1st at .847), minutes played (1st at 39.0), rebounds (5th at 8.4), offensive rebounds (5th at 2.9), defensive rebounds (5th at 5.5), assists (8th at 3.4),  assist-to-turnover ratio (11th at 1.7) and blocks (T11th at 1.0). 
• 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 13th game of the season ranked among UC's best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .588), blocks (3rd at 114), rebounds (4th at 795), points (8th at 1,643) and rebound average (8th at 7.2).    

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• BLOCK PARTY: UC ranks atop the AAC in blocks per game at 4.3. Arame Niang (10th at 1.1), IImar'I Thomas (T11th at 1.0) and Jillian Hayes (T15th at 0.8) rank among AAC leaders entering the week.
• Since the start of league play, Niang and Thomas are tied for seventh in the AAC, averaging 1.3 blocks. 
• Niang posted a career-high four blocks against Tulsa (1/6) while Thomas and Niang recorded three blocks each at Wichita State (1/2).   
• AMONG AAC LEADERS (ALL GAMES): UC also ranks among AAC team leaders in free throw percentage (2nd at .709), rebounding defense (4th at 35.8) and field goal percentage (4th at .402) for all games. 
• HAYES' IMPACT INCREASING: Freshman Jillian Hayes put together three double-digit scoring performances in UC's last four games, averaging 12.0 points during the span. She had 11 points vs. Memphis (1/20) and registered a career-high 20 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter in UC's win at league unbeaten Temple (1/13). Prior to that, she posted 16 points with eight rebounds vs. Tulane (1/9). 
• On the glass, Hayes ranks second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. She has grabbed at least four rebounds in 10 of 11 games this season, including a season-high nine boards against Tulsa (1/6).  

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE

• Wichita State returned to action following a two-week pause on Saturday, dropping a 65-55 result at Temple. 
• The Shockers have lost their last seven games since a 57-53 win over Southern on Dec. 4, 2020.
• Four Shockers average 10 or points, led by Asia Strong (15.4 points, 5.9 rebounds) and Rachel Johnson (11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds).
• Strong has scored in double figures in eight of Wichita State's last nine games.