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Men's Basketball Greets UCF on Sunday

UC plays host to UCF on Sunday. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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Men's Basketball Greets UCF on SundayMen's Basketball Greets UCF on Sunday
UCF (6-10, 4-9 AAC)
at CINCINNATI (6-7, 4-4 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 14 // 1 p.m. ET
Fifth Third Arena // Cincinnati, Ohio
SERIES INFO: 17th meeting; Cincinnati leads 12-4 overall; Cincinnati leads 5-1 at home;
Cincinnati leads 5-3 in Orlando; Cincinnati leads 2-0 at neutral sites 
STREAK: UCF - 2
LAST MEETING: UCF won 75-70 on Dec. 22, 2020 in Orlando, Fla. 
COACHES: John Brannen - second season at Cincinnati (26-17); sixth season overall (108-69)
Johnny Dawkins - fifth season at UCF (89-58); 13th season overall (245-173)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (FEB. 8): Cincinnati (--/--); UCF (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN+; Matt Noonan provides play-by-play with color analyst Kevin Johnson
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB

GAME PREVIEW 
  • Cincinnati (6-7, 4-4 American) plays host to UCF (6-10, 4-9) on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
  • The Bearcats claimed their third consecutive victory by defeating Temple 71-69 on Friday. The contest marked UC's first home game in 41 days after a 25-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols amidst, what turned out to be, a four-game league road swing. 
  • Jeremiah Davenport led UC's effort against the Owls, posting a team-best 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Mika Adams-Woods added 12 points. David DeJulius accounted for nine points, eight rebounds and four assists. 
  • UCF earned a 53-49 home win over Tulane on Friday. Darin Green Jr., led the Knights with 18 points and six 3-pointers. Darius Perry added 14 points with a trio of threes. 
  • UCF held on for a 75-70 win over UC on Dec. 22, 2020 in Orlando, Fla. UC leads the series with UCF 12-4, including a 5-1 mark in the Queen City. 
  • UP NEXT: UC travels to face nationally ranked Houston on Sunday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN. 
CINCINNATI HEADLINES
  • Cincinnati is playing back-to-back home games this weekend for the first time since opening the season with a three-game homestand Dec. 2-9, 2020 (Lipscomb, Xavier, Furman). Friday's game with Temple marked UC's first home game since Jan. 2 vs. Tulsa (span of 41 days).
  • UC returned from a 25-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols last Thursday, Feb. 4, when it defeated Temple 63-60 in Philadelphia. 
  • David DeJulius was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in a pair of wins last week. He scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting with four 3-pointers and three steals at Temple (2/4). 
  • Since returning from the 25-day layoff (last three games), DeJulius leads the Bearcats, averaging 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals. He is tied with Jeremiah Davenport for the most 3-pointers during the stretch with six. 
  • Davenport ranks second on the team in scoring over UC's past 10 games, averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 44.2 percent (42 of 95) from the field with a team-best 17 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures six times during the stretch.
  • In November, CBS Sports named Cincinnati the 10th greatest college basketball program since the advent of the NCAA Tournament in 1939. 
BEARCATS TIP-INS
  • COVID-19 SCHEDULE CHANGES: UC played its first game in 25 days when it visited Temple (2/4) last week. The Bearcats had six games postponed and one other contest rescheduled following their 82-76 loss at Wichita State (1/10). 
  • The Bearcats started a make-shift lineup against the Owls that featured the first career starts for freshman guard Mike Saunders Jr. and sophomore walk-on Rob Banks. 
  • UC didn't have its full roster of players available for either game last week. 
  • UC entered the month of February having played only 10 games for the first time since 1944-45. 
  • UC's game with Temple on Feb. 12 marked UC's first home game since a 70-66 loss to Tulsa (1/2) - a span of 41 days. 
  • DEJULIUS NAMED TO AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL: Junior transfer David DeJulius was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in a pair of wins last week. 
  • He poured in a career-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting with four 3-pointers and three steals at Temple (2/4) and contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Tulane (2/7). 
  • He also was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 14 after posting 11 points and seven assists at then-No. 12 Tennessee.
  • Since returning from the 25-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols (last three games), DeJulius leads the Bearcats, averaging 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals. He is tied with Jeremiah Davenport for the most 3-pointers during the stretch with six. 
  • DeJulius enters the weekend ranked among AAC leaders in assists (2nd at 4.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4th at 2.2-to-1) for the season. 
  • He nearly recorded a double-double at SMU (1/7), grabbing a career-high nine rebounds and handing out a career-high 12 assists with three turnovers. 
  • The 12 assists were the most by a Bearcat since Steve Logan dished out a school-record 16 assists vs. Coppin State during the 2001-02 campaign. DeJulius becomes only the sixth Bearcat in school history to record 12 or more assists in a game. 
  • WILLIAMS JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB: Preseason AAC First Team honoree Keith Williams became the 54th member of UC's 1,000-point club on Sunday at Tulane with a game-high 20 points against the Green Wave.  
  • He entered Saturday seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 14.8 points this season. He also ranks among league leaders in steals (15th at 1.2) and blocked shots (T13th at 0.7).
  • Williams was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll following his performance against UCF (12/22). He posted his first career double-double with a team-high 19 points and game-best 10 rebounds against the Knights.
  • Williams has led the Bearcats in scoring in six of 12 games this season. 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 against city-rival Xavier (12/6). 
  • DAVENPORT TRENDING: Sophomore guard Jeremiah Davenport ranks second on the team in scoring over UC's past 10 games, averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 44.2 percent (42 of 95) from the field with a team-best 17 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures six times during the stretch.
  • In his first career start against SMU (1/7), he posted his first career double-double, matching a career-high with 18 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds while hitting a trio of 3-pointers.
  • He posted 18 points at Georgia (12/19) on 6-of-13 shooting. He hit four 3-pointers and posted 14 points at then-No. 12 Tennessee (12/12) and tallied 16 points with seven rebounds and a trio of threes against Tulsa (1/2).   
  • Since the start of AAC play, Davenport ranks among the AAC leaders in defensive rebounds (8th at 5.0), rebounds (8th at 6.3) and scoring (23rd at 10.3).
  • BLOCKS BY VOGT: Senior center Chris Vogt recorded a career-high six blocks vs. Temple (2/12). It marked the most blocks by a Bearcat since Octavius Ellis had six blocks at UConn on Jan. 10, 2015. 
SCOUTING UCF
  • UCF features three players averaging double figures in scoring: Darius Perry (14.2 points, 2.9 assists, 2.3 3-pointers), Brandon Mahan (13.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 3-pointers), Darin Green Jr., (11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 3-pointers)
  • The Knights rank second in the league, shooting 35.0 percent (117 of 334) from 3-point range.