No. 14 Cincinnati braces for battle vs. pesky UConn (Feb 04, 2017)

By AP
Published

CINCINNATI -- It's fitting that the University of Cincinnati is honoring its 1992 Final Four team this weekend. After all, this season's team appears to have what it takes to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

For the first time in head coach Mike Cronin's tenure, No. 14 Cincinnati (20-2, 9-0 American) has balance on offense and a deep bench to go along with its typically tenacious defense. But, on Saturday afternoon, the Bearcats will face a team that has been a thorn in their side for the past decade or so -- the University of Connecticut.

The Bearcats have won 13 straight games and 21 straight at Fifth Third Arena.

Eleven of their past 12 meetings against UConn have been decided by seven or fewer points. Cincinnati is 6-6 in those games, including a four-overtime thriller won by UConn in last year's American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals. Huskies guard Jalen Adams hit a half-court shot to tie the score at the end of the third OT.

The Bearcats remember that game well.

"It's UConn versus Cincinnati," guard Kevin Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday. "Regardless of either of our records or rankings, it will be a great game. Great team, great guards, great coach. It's a game that will definitely help us prepare ourselves for March."

This has been a down year relatively speaking in Storrs, where head coach Kevin Ollie has gotten the most out of limited numbers this season. The Huskies (10-11, 5-4 American) have won three straight games for the first time this season despite being down to six available players on occasion.

With three other freshmen injured, Vance Jackson and Christian Vital have been asked to shoulder the load for UConn. Vital earned AAC rookie of the week honors after scoring 14 points with a career-high 10 rebounds in a win over Tulane. Jackson won the honor the previous two weeks.

Depth is not an issue for Cincinnati, especially with freshman Jarron Cumberland contributing nearly 10 points and 22 3-pointers off the bench. Cumberland earned AAC player of the week honors this week after averaging 20.5 points in a pair of victories over crosstown rival Xavier and South Florida.

Sophomore guard Jacob Evans leads the Bearcats with 14.1 points per game. Junior forward Kyle Washington contributes 13.3 points and seven boards.

Staying out of foul trouble is paramount for UConn on Saturday. The Huskies also are 4-0 when seniors Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey score in double figures, so they'll need big performances from his duo to have any chance to win at sold-out Fifth Third Arena where the Bearcats haven't lost since December 2015.

Cincinnati survived a scare on Wednesday when it rallied from an 11-point deficit to win at Tulsa. Cronin believes his team learned some lessons from that game.

UConn leads the all-time series with the Bearcats, 13-8. The previous nine meetings have been decided by a combined total of one point. Most people expect another close affair on Saturday.

"We know it's going to be a war at Cincinnati," Ollie told the Hartford Courant this week.