The game thread is already posted over on the Memphis Board. I'm having trouble sleeping of late so I'm going to post ours now. FedExForum. 6 PM. CBSSN. I'm concerned that this may be a tough out on the road. Memphis has won 4 of their last 5. Tubby has them playing better and with more confidence. They are 12 point dogs at home. Here are Cincinnati's head-to-head records against our rival Memphis:

42-33 All Time
4-1 L5
6-4 L10
13-7 L20
2-0 Current Streak

Here's a breakdown comparison between the two teams:

Memphis
13-7 (4-3)
4-1 L5
6-4 L10
Unranked
109 Live RPI
162 BPI
156 Kenpom (153 AdjO/152 AdjD)
128 Sagarin (0-2 vs. Top 25/0-3 vs. Top 50)
Martin 18.4 PPG
Davenport 12.8
Brewton Jr. 8.6
Rivers 7.7
Parks Jr. 7.0

Cincinnati
18-2 (7-0)
5-0 L5
10-0 L10
#9 AP
21 Live RPI
6 BPI
6 Kenpom (57 AdjO/2 AdjD)
7 Sagarin (0-2 vs. Top 25/1-2 vs. Top 50)
Evans 13.7 PPG
Clark 13.1
Washington 11.1
Cumberland 10.9
Broome 8.3

CBS Sports article:

Quote:Cincinnati puts win streak on line against Memphis

Cincinnati beat Temple on Wednesday, the Bearcats' 11th straight win and 37th consecutive home victory. The 18-2 Bearcats sit atop the American Athletic Conference with a 7-0 mark, two games clear of Wichita State and Houston.

They are ranked No. 9 as they head to FedExForum for a road game against Memphis on Saturday.

But all anyone could talk about after Wednesday's win was senior forward Gary Clark's remarkable accomplishment of joining the great Oscar Robertson, becoming only the fifth player in the program's 117-year history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

"I didn't realize it at first until coach (Mick Cronin) wrote it on the board and was explaining it and Kyle (Washington) always telling me how good of an accomplishment that will be. For me to do it tonight was pretty cool," Clark said.

When you have the best player on the floor, chances are pretty good something "pretty cool" will happen, at least that's what Cronin believes. And Clark's play draws praise from other coaches as well.

"He is an underrated player, other than among coaches," Cronin said. "If you talk to coaches, especially the coaches in our conference, Gary Clark is their favorite player. ... He makes no mistakes; he is just plus, plus, plus, plus. If he makes a mistake, it's like a meteor storm; it just never happens and you are in shock."

In the first game this season between the Bearcats and Tigers -- an 82-48 Cincinnati win -- Clark's numbers were rather pedestrian. He scored 13 and grabbed 10 rebounds in that Dec. 31 contest. But that's probably because the game was a blowout.

The Tigers (13-7, 4-3 AAC) were befuddled by the Bearcats' matchup zone in that game and got off to a sluggish start. Memphis shot a season-low 32.1 percent, including just 4 of 22 (18.1 percent) from 3-point range.

"We were intimidated early on, especially with our turnovers, we played so poorly, shot so poorly and against a good team like Cincinnati, they will make you look bad," Memphis coach Tubby Smith said.

Even though the Tigers are coming off a loss to Tulsa on Saturday, they have won four of their last five games, and point guard Jeremiah Martin is expected to play Saturday. The third-leading scorer in the AAC bruised a hip against Tulsa, but has had a week of treatment and is ready to go.

Martin is averaging 18.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

In that first game against the Bearcats, Martin scored just eight points. And it doesn't get any easier this time around as Cincinnati is giving up only 56.6 points per game, second best in the nation.

"They (Cincinnati) were taking us out of a lot of stuff with their matchup zone," Smith said after that first loss. "You've got to be patient enough to go to the second, third and fourth options and not just start to dribble and put your head down. Hopefully, our players have learned their lesson and do it the right way and do it the way we said."

Not only do the Tigers have to figure out how to stop Clark, who recorded his eighth double-double of the season against Temple, Memphis also must take care of the ball.

In Wednesday's win over the Owls, the Bearcats held their opponent to fewer than 20 field goals for the sixth time in conference play. They contested every possession, forced 20 turnovers and scored 24 points off those turnovers.

It's On

From the Commercial Appeal:

Quote:Memphis vs. Cincinnati preview: Tigers want prove they've improved, avenge historic loss

The Memphis men’s basketball team couldn’t avoid the harsh truth this week. It was right there in front of them on the film, as coach Tubby Smith went over what worked the last time the Tigers faced Cincinnati and (mostly) what didn’t.

“They kicked our butt,” point guard Jeremiah Martin said on Friday.

But as Memphis gets set to host No. 8 Cincinnati on Saturday, almost four weeks after suffering the program’s worst loss in the 75-game series between these longtime rivals, the motivation is more complicated than just redemption.

The Bearcats, winners of 11 games in a row, will be the first ranked team to come to FedExForum this season. A larger-than-usual crowd is also expected to be on hand after the Memphis athletic department handed out 2,000 free tickets on Thursday.

This, then, will double as a showcase for whether these Tigers are different now. Was the four-game win streak that came to an end in last Saturday’s setback at Tulsa progress or provisional?

As Martin put it on Friday, the changes really began once Cincinnati dealt Memphis that humiliating 82-48 defeat back on New Year’s Eve. He believes the Tigers are “a better team than when we first played those guys," and so does his coach.

“I’m not the same coach I was that day, and I won’t coach that way,” Smith said. “I think guys understand now how we have to play in order to be competitive.”

More proof will arrive once the ball is tipped on Saturday. Here are three more story lines that could determine the outcome.

Martin’s health

Martin is expected to play after suffering a hip injury at Tulsa and took part in full practices on Thursday and Friday. He will wear additional padding as a precaution, but doesn’t think it should inhibit his performance.

The importance of having Martin on the court was highlighted in the team's most recent loss. Once the Tigers’ leading scorer left the Tulsa game with 6:16 remaining, Memphis didn’t get another basket and replacement Kareem Brewton Jr. committed four turnovers.

When Martin scores more than 20 points this season, the Tigers are 7-1. The junior was held to eight points on 4 of 14 shooting in the first meeting at Cincinnati.

Turning a corner

After committing a season-high 20 turnovers and shooting 35.3 percent from the field against Tulsa, Memphis faces the team that caused its worst offensive performance of the season. When the Tigers played Cincinnati on Dec. 31, they set season lows for points and field goal percentage (32.1).

Cincinnati enters Saturday ranked second in the country in scoring defense (56.6 points per game) and third in field goal percentage defense. It also forces more than 16 turnovers per game. To combat that, the Tigers must secure the ball better than they have of late and get production from the entire roster.

Martin and forwards Kyvon Davenport and Mike Parks Jr. accounted for 46 of the team’s 51 points at Tulsa and the Tigers’ bench went scoreless.

'Herculean effort' needed

The reasons Cincinnati is among the country’s elite in recent seasons revolve around its offensive improvements. The Bearcats currently have their best scoring average (77.6 points), field goal percentage (46.1) and 3-point percentage (36.6) since coach Mick Cronin took over the program in 2006.

Senior forward Gary Clark is averaging a double-double in conference play (14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds). Four others are also averaging at least 8.9 points per game this season, led by versatile junior Jacob Evans (13.7 points).

Cincinnati also leads the American Athletic Conference in offensive rebounding. Memphis, on the other hand, is the worst team in the league in terms of defensive rebounding percentage. Smith noted it would take a “Herculean effort” for the Tigers to control the Bearcats on the glass Saturday.

Revenge?

Need to avoid a let down. Fed Ex can be a tough place to play if it’s half empty. It’s cavernous.

Punch Memphis in the throat early and remind them that this is going to resemble the game at UC.

If you want to be considered an "elite" team and want a high-seed in the NCAA Tournament...especially this year when there is a lot of weakness at the top...you HAVE to win this game and win it decisively.

The last really good UC team (SK’s senior year) went in there and smacked them around. Hopefully we see more of the same today.

UC 74
Memphis 64

Memphis shows something and the game is closer than final score appears.

Per usual, UC, the ultimate body puncher wears them out and their legs are gone midway through second half as we pull away.

We don't cover the spread.

There is a reason they're called "upsets" and UC may be primed for one, psychologically. And that's not a criticism of the Bearcats and their fine season. But looking around college basketball, multiple ranked teams are losing each week, mostly on the road, in conference.

How bad are things in Memphis that they're giving away 2,000 tickets (per the article in this thread)? In the dark ages at UC we learned that giving tickets away doesn't even guarantee filling seats. So I'm hoping there are plenty of empty ones tonight.

The only thing missing for UC it seems is a fast start in the first half. That might help tonight. I expect a close game; I hope UC can pull it out--I'll even take a one point win to keep rolling. But I'd enjoy my viewing experience a lot more if UC took control early.

(01-27-2018 07:47 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  If you want to be considered an "elite" team and want a high-seed in the NCAA Tournament...especially this year when there is a lot of weakness at the top...you HAVE to win this game and win it decisively.

Agreed and I think we will.
Won't whoop them as bad as last time, but it will still be in our favor but a good deal.

(01-27-2018 10:47 AM)Recluse1 Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 07:47 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  If you want to be considered an "elite" team and want a high-seed in the NCAA Tournament...especially this year when there is a lot of weakness at the top...you HAVE to win this game and win it decisively.

Agreed and I think we will.
Won't whoop them as bad as last time, but it will still be in our favor but a good deal.

I'm guarded here, but I think...OK, OK, I hope...they will too.

Memphis is not good guys. Cats will roll.

KenPom says we roll, as you know, they are always right.

(01-27-2018 11:58 AM)CincyBro Wrote:  KenPom says we roll, as you know, they are always right.

I was looking at that and noticed that there is a sizable gap between UC at 6 and Gonzaga at 7.

It's really:

Villanova
Virginia
Purdue

Gap

Duke
Michigan State
Cincinnati

Gap

The rest.

Latest:

http://www.bracketmatrix.com/

(01-27-2018 12:23 PM)BcatMatt13 Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 11:58 AM)CincyBro Wrote:  KenPom says we roll, as you know, they are always right.

I was looking at that and noticed that there is a sizable gap between UC at 6 and Gonzaga at 7.

It's really:

Villanova
Virginia
Purdue

Gap

Duke
Michigan State
Cincinnati

Gap

The rest.

Michigan State might be dropping out of that tier quickly if they lose their HOF coach.

I’m thinking this will be the wake up L Mick has been clamoring for.

Help! Is there a stream for this game. I have to go somewhere that won't be airing the game.

(01-27-2018 05:43 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  I’m thinking this will be the wake up L Mick has been clamoring for.

I am SHOCKED you would say that Billy.

(01-27-2018 05:43 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  I’m thinking this will be the wake up L Mick has been clamoring for.

I hope not. This will not be a good L at all. At this point the only partially acceptable losses will be Houston, WSU, and SMU. A loss here could drop us 2 or 3 seed spots.

(01-27-2018 05:54 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 05:43 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  I’m thinking this will be the wake up L Mick has been clamoring for.

I hope not. This will not be a good L at all. At this point the only partially acceptable losses will be Houston, WSU, and SMU. A loss here could drop us 2 or 3 seed spots.

And given Duke lost today, we could move up one or two with a W.