A little over a week ago, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team pieced together its best all-around road outing of the season with a convincing win against USF's Bulls in Tampa 85-69. Coach Wes Miller insisted the Bulls were highly talented which was indicated just days before when they held a second-half lead against then-No. 1 Houston on the road, eventually losing by only six points.
The Bearcats had won three American Athletic Conference games in a row for the first time in a year. Then, Memphis came to town and UC found itself down 10 at the break. The 3-pointers didn't fall as they did in Tampa and UC was just 1-of-13 from the arc to start the game.
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Back-to-back triples from Jeremiah Davenport tied the game at 50 at 12:08 of the second half, but two minutes later Memphis went back up six and would win by seven. It was an opportunity for UC's first Quadrant 2 win.
Saturday, they can pick up a Quadrant 1 win but it comes on the road where Houston has only lost to then-No. 8 Alabama and last Sunday to Temple 56-55. That dropped the Cougars to the No. 3 national ranking.
They'll return home with a purpose and with just two days to prepare for the Bearcats after winning at UCF Wednesday to go to 19-2. For the Bearcats, the road has had twists and turns. From the mysterious second half at NKU with just 11 points to a whopping 63 in the second half of their loss to Arizona in Maui.
The opening road loss at Temple saw them up seven with seven minutes to go in the first half, only to be outscored 15-2 over the next five minutes. Four days later they squandered a big lead at Wichita State but still won. Jan. 14 was a tight one at SMU, followed by the improved performance at USF.
Since Houston's arena became the Fertitta Center, the Bearcats haven't won. They last won in Houston when it was the Hofheinz Pavilion in 2017. Wes Miller admires what coach Kelvin Sampson has done with the Cougars, taking them from the AAC to the Final Four in 2021 and Elite Eight in 2022.
"My level of respect for what he's done and how they do it is really high because we really value the way you defend, we really value the way you rebound, the edge that you play with," Miller said. "They do those things at the highest levels."
Tip: 2:15 p.m., Fertitta Center (7,100)
TV/Radio: CBS/700WLW
Series info: UC leads 33-12
Houston (19-2, 7-1 AAC)
Coach: Kelvin Sampson (218-72, ninth season)
Offense: 75.4 ppg
Defense: 54.3 ppg
Projected lineup (Position, Height, Stats)
Jamal Shead (G, 6'1", 9.0 ppg)
Marcus Sasser (G, 6'2", 16.6 ppg)
Jarace Walker (F, 6'8" 10.4 ppg)
J'Wan Roberts (F, 6'7", 9.7 ppg)
Tramon Mark (G, 6'5", 10.0 ppg)
Cincinnati 14-7 (5-3 AAC)
Coach: Wes Miller (32-22, second year)
Offense: 76.8 ppg
Defense: 67.7 ppg
Projected lineup (Position, Height, Stats)
Landers Nolley II (G/F, 6'7", 15.5 ppg)
David DeJulius (G, 6', 14.5 ppg)
Viktor Lakhin (F, 6'11", 12.6 ppg)
Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6'3", 9.8 ppg)
Ody Oguama (F, 6'9", 3.5 ppg)
UC vs. Houston players to watch
Jarace Walker
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman had his way with the Bearcats on Jan. 8 scoring 21 points with five rebounds and three steals. He was 8-of-14 from the floor with a 3-pointer and made all four of his free throws. Walker has a 7-foot-2 wingspan and was a five-star recruit coming out of the IMG Academy in Bradenton. He was rated the No. 1 power forward out of high school by ESPN and 247Sports and was a McDonald's All-American. NBAdraftroom.com lists him as the No. 2 power forward available in the upcoming draft as he's likely a one-and-done with the Cougars.
"When you're preparing for a guy that's thought of as a top 10 pick in the next draft, you're not going to have a body out there that resembles that on your scout team," Miller said. "You can create some of the scenarios which he's being effective and in which he's scoring."
Mika Adams-Woods
Wes Miller certainly will be hing Adams-Woods has his worst game out of his system after going just 1-for-10 against Memphis for two points. Back on Jan. 8, Adams-Woods had his season-high against Houston with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including a 3-for-4 game from the perimeter. Thus far, he's shooting nearly 45% from the field, the best of his four-year career.
Keys to the UC vs. Houston basketball game
Start and finish
When the Bearcats last beat the Cougars three years ago in Cincinnati, only Mika Adams-Woods from the current roster was on the floor. UC did come from down 10 at the half to win, something they haven't been able to do this season. All 14 Bearcats wins have come with a halftime lead, so the obvious key is to play a solid opening 20 minutes, then finish in the next 20.
Value the basketball
Houston's players seemingly have three hands each as the last time out the Bearcats turned the ball over 17 times. The Cougars had 13 steals, including five from starting guard Marcus Sasser.
Don't be average
The Cougars on average keep their opponents in the 50s and score in the upper 70s. When they score below 70, the games have been closer. Alabama beat them 71-65 and Temple won 56-55. Kent State only lost 49-44, then-No. 2 Virginia lost 69-61. The exception is USF which lost 83-77, then fell by 16 to the Bearcats at home.
"The league (AAC) is undervalued nationally and that's got to change," Miller said. "It doesn't surprise me to see parity and see people beating each other. Every night you need to be able to bounce back because every night you're going to be against a really good team and a really good coach."
Ratings
NCAA NET: Houston is No. 1, Cincinnati No. 80
KenPom.com: Houston is No. 1, Cincinnati No. 68
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