The Cincinnati Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena looking to even their record in American Athletic Conference play.
On the back of a tense, tight Sunday game against the Memphis Tigers that ended with UC on the wrong end of an 87-80 result at FedExForum, Cincinnati welcomes East Carolina with an opportunity to pull itself back to .500 in the AAC.
More:Analysis: Here's what we've learned about Wes Miller's UC Bearcats in AAC play
UC was about a minute from closing out a memorable win against Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway's side but saw the Tigers retake the lead with 40 seconds to play and hold the Bearcats scoreless through to the final buzzer.
There are no moral victories at a program like Cincinnati, but players and head coach Wes Miller alike took positives from the contest.
"Disappointed in the result but not disappointed in our team," Miller said.
The Bearcats continue AAC play against East Carolina, which is 1-1 in the league following a Jan. 5 win against Tulane and a 78-75 Saturday loss to Temple.
THE GAME
Tipoff: 7p.m. ET on Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena
TV/Radio: ESPN+/700 WLW AM
Series history: Cincinnati leads the all-time series against East Carolina, 15-2.
SCOUTING REPORT
East Carolina (10-4, 1-1 AAC)
Coach: Joe Dooley, fourth season of second tenure at ECU (39-56 overall during this tenure)
Offense: 73.9 ppg
Defense: 69.9 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Vance Jackson (F, 6'9'', 10.9ppg)
Tristen Newton (G, 6'5'', 18.2 ppg)
Brandon Suggs (F/G, 6'6'', 10.4 ppg)
J.J. Miles (G, 6'7'', 9.1 ppg)
Brandon Johnson (F, 6'8'', 6.8 ppg)
Cincinnati
Coach: Wes Miller, first season (11-5, 1-2 American)
Offense: 71.2 ppg
Defense: 62.2 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
David DeJulius (G, 6’0", 12.1 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6’3”, 8.3 ppg)
John Newman III (G, 6’4”, 7.2 ppg)
Jeremiah Davenport (G, 6'7", 13.9 ppg)
Abdul Ado (F, 6’11”, 2.8 ppg)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tristen Newton
Sure, Newton is the highest-scoring ECU player. That makes him an easy candidate to keep an eye on. The scary thing about Newton is his ability to blow a game wide open. Case in point: Newton had an absolute field day against Tulane Jan. 5. He played every minute of the game, scored 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and threw in one block, three steals and five rebounds. His hot-shooting night wasn't an anomaly either as he's scored at least 18 points six times in 2021-22.
Jeremiah Davenport
Davenport is our "player to watch" selection for the third consecutive game and for good reason. Last time out on Sunday at Memphis, Davenport managed early foul trouble and still found a way do pour in 21 points. He hit his first seven attempts from deep before going slightly cold in the closing minutes of the game. He finishing 7-of-10 from the field but his performance was still immense for UC, and it included six rebounds and an assist.
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