TicketsCINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team is heading southwest for its first AAC road game of the season, battling Memphis at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.
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THE RUNDOWN
Cincinnati never trailed and led by as much as 25 in Thursday's 77-60 win over SMU. It snapped the Mustangs' eight-game win streak and marked its fewest points since Jan. 31, 2021. David DeJulius' 22 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season, paced the team, while Mika Adams-Woods registered career-highs of 17 points with five threes (on eight attempts).
Mike Saunders, Jr. added a team and career-high seven assists off the bench while making a triple for the 12th time in 13 games (he was 5-for-23 as a freshman). Ody Oguama also grabbed 10 rebounds for the second time this season (also Arkansas, with those two games coming in a combined 38 minutes). UC improved to 11-1 when winning the rebound battle and had 20 assists for the third time. It has led at the half in all but two games, with the 44 points a season-high at the break.
The arc has been a tell-tale sign as well. UC's 11 makes matched a season-high, and it is now 7.2 percentage points higher in wins than losses. Defensively, there is a 10.7-percent difference. The Bearcats nationally are eighth in field-goal defense (36.9), 18th in turnovers (10.1 per game), 27th in assist-turnover ratio (1.45) and 30th in scoring defense (60.8). Mika Adams-Woods is third in assist-turnover ratio (4.73). This trip to Memphis also serves as the team's second flight this season (Kansas City trip as the other).
SERIES HISTORY
Cincinnati's 47-35 all-time mark includes an 11-4 record in AAC play. Mike Saunders, Jr., who had just two double-figure scoring games while averaging 3.5 ppg as a freshman reserve, went for a career-high 19 in the team's lone meeting last year, an 80-74 home defeat. Of the three mutual opponents, both fell to Tulane in their respective AAC openers while defeating Tennessee Tech at home. UC topped Georgia at home in its second game of the season (73-68), while the Tigers fell 82-79 in Athens on Dec. 1. UC has won two of its last three games in FedExForum.
BEST GPA IN PROGRAM HISTORY
The Fall 2021 semester saw UC post a 3.484 GPA, its highest ever. All 15 players earned Honor Roll accolades for earning a 3.0, while nine more made the Dean's List with a 3.4 or higher (Mika Adams-Woods, Abdul Ado, Rob Banks, Jarrett Hensley, Hayden Koval, Mason Madsen, Sam Martin, Ody Oguama, Mike Saunders Jr.).
GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY
Limited single-game tickets are available as the Bearcats continue their season. You can get yours today here or by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX. Other questions can be directed to uc.tickets@uc.edu.