From UH Athletics...

Quote:Winners of five of its last six games, the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program plays host to No. 5 and American Athletic Conference leader Cincinnati at 6 p.m., Thursday, inside H&PE Arena in a game presented by Maintenance Supply Headquarters.

Thursday’s game features two of the top-three teams in the league with the Cougars tied for second at 19-5 overall and 9-3 in league play. Cincinnati leads the league with a 12-0 mark and owns a 23-2 overall record.

The Cougars and the Bearcats also stand among the top-three teams in the league in multiple statistical categories, including scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin.

This will be the second top-10 opponent the Cougars have faced on their home court in 2017-18. Houston claimed a 73-59 win over No. 7/4 Wichita State on Jan. 20.

As Hofheinz Pavilion undergoes a $60-million renovation to become the Fertitta Center for the 2018-19 season, Houston has enjoyed tremendous success in H&PE Arena, their home away from home. The Cougars have collected 12 straight home wins, winning by an average of more than 21.0 points per game.

Houston enters the finale of their three-game homestand following an impressive 73-42 win over Tulane on Thursday night. Senior forward Devin Davis led all players with 16 points, thanks to 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while sophomore guard Armoni Brooks posted his second straight double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

For his impressive performances in home wins over SMU and Tulane, Brooks was honored as American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, a first in his career.

This season, senior guard Rob Gray continues to lead the Cougars and ranks fourth in the league with 17.7 points per game. The Forest City, N.C., native also paces the team with 4.4 assists per game and is one of only two players to rank among the top-four leaders in both scoring and assists.

Gray is one of 10 finalists for both the Jerry West Award, presented to the nation’s top shooting guard, and the Senior CLASS Award, which honors excellence in character, community, classroom and competition.

ABOUT CINCINNATI
• Cincinnati brings a 23-2 overall record and 13-0 mark in The American into Thursday’s game.
• Bearcats have a three-game lead over Houston and Wichita State for first place in the latest league standings.
• Cincinnati is ranked No. 5 in both national polls, receiving 1,359 points in the latest Associated Press poll and 675 points and a first-place vote in the most recent USA TODAY Coaches’ poll.
• In its most recent action, Cincinnati enjoyed a 76-51 win at SMU... Was the Bearcats’ 16th straight win.
• Cincinnati has not lost since a 66-60 setback against Florida on Dec. 9, 2017.
• Against SMU, Cincinnati jumped out to a 32-21 lead at halftime and never trailed in the game... Bearcats built as much as a 35-point advantage midway through the second half.
• Forward Kyle Washington posted 17 points with eight rebounds to lead the Bearcats in both categories... Guard Jarron Cumberland finished with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists, while forward Gary Clark totaled 11 points with six rebounds... Guard Justin Jenifer led Cincinnati with five assists.
• This season, Jacob Evans leads Cincinnati with 13.5 points per game... Clark ranks second on the team with 12.8 points per contest but leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game... Washington stands third with 11.5 points per game, and Cumberland averages 10.8 points per game to rank fourth.
• Head Coach Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati and his 15th season overall as an NCAA collegiate head coach.
• Has compiled an 260-137 record at Cincinnati and is 329-161 during his career.
• Previously built a 69-24 record at Murray State (2003-06).
• Cronin is 8-1 against Houston during his career with all eight previous meetings coming during his Cincinnati tenure.
• 1997 graduate of Cincinnati.

Tulane We Ain't

Seems like some copy and pasting going on.

I like that Gary Clark seems to have putting banners up as a goal!

Tonight. Houston, Texas. Texas Southern University's H&PE Arena. 7 PM. CBSSN. Rematch. If you can't get up for this one then forget viagra. I don't know what to tell you. I'm already pumped and primed to go. I have to wait for 7 more hours. Unreal. Leave the women and children at home. War. Blood. Guts. It's on. Coogs are currently 2.5 dogs. Enough about how good they are. Rob Gray is all this and all that. Their home win streak. Enough. This is about us. How good we are. The problems we pose to our combatants. Quiet confidence. Cats looking to extend two current streaks: 12 consecutive conference wins and 16 consecutive wins overall. We have taken everyone's best shot and remain standing. We expect their best shot again tonight. Here are Cincinnati's head-to-head records against Houston:

30-2 All Time
4-1 L5
9-1 L10
18-2 L20
3-0 Current Streak

Here's a breakdown comparison between the two teams:

Cincinnati
23-2 (12-0)
5-0 L5
10-0 L10
#5 AP
9 Live RPI
4 BPI
3 Kenpom (53 AdjO/2 AdjD)
5 Sagarin (0-1 vs. Top 25/2-2 vs. Top 50)
Evans 13.5 PPG
Clark 12.8
Washington 11.5
Cumberland 10.8
Broome 7.7

Houston
19-5 (9-3)
4-1 L5
7-3 L10
#33 AP
29 Live RPI
29 BPI
28 Kenpom (52 AdjO/22 AdjD)
42 Sagarin (1-2 vs. Top 25/2-2 vs. Top 50)
Gray 17.7 PPG
Davis, Jr. 12.5
Davis 10.7
Brooks 9.6
VanBeck 7.2

All i know from watching the first game is if we get the front court players in foul trouble things get real easy when they have to put #1 in. He was bad, bad. Got us back in the game.

How is this game on 3rd world country CBS Sports? God I hate this ******* TV contract.

(02-15-2018 01:58 PM)digibrink Wrote:  How is this game on 3rd world country CBS Sports? God I hate this ******* TV contract.

Particularly annoying when you see world class AAC programming such as ECU @ Tulane on an ESPN network the same week.

I have DirecTV and CBSSN is part of the package I pay for. No complaints from me but I am paying for it...

Will anyone else be at the game? Know of any good places to grab a bite to eat and a beer prior to creating a UC cheering section in the cavernous general seating area that is 85% of the H&PE Arena?

I'm stoked to see the Cats in-person - should be a great game!

I use these CBSSN away games as a way to see my favorite bartender at Salem Gardens a couple thusday evenings during the winter. I chalk it up as mental health expense.

(02-15-2018 02:48 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I use these CBSSN away games as a way to see my favorite bartender at Salem Gardens a couple thusday evenings during the winter. I chalk it up as mental health expense.

Love me some Salem Gardens.

(02-15-2018 02:57 PM)bctn8n Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 02:48 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I use these CBSSN away games as a way to see my favorite bartender at Salem Gardens a couple thusday evenings during the winter. I chalk it up as mental health expense.

Love me some Salem Gardens.

That's where I went for my first legal beer when I turned 21. My dad and I's go to lunch spot when I'm on that side of town.

Less than 4 hours to go! I may have to calm down with a cold one.

(02-15-2018 03:15 PM)ThinkBigPine Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 02:57 PM)bctn8n Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 02:48 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I use these CBSSN away games as a way to see my favorite bartender at Salem Gardens a couple thusday evenings during the winter. I chalk it up as mental health expense.

Love me some Salem Gardens.

That's where I went for my first legal beer when I turned 21. My dad and I's go to lunch spot when I'm on that side of town.

I am a 5 minute walk from there so like Rath, I am a regular


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(02-15-2018 02:17 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  I have DirecTV and CBSSN is part of the package I pay for. No complaints from me but I am paying for it...

Playstation Vue for me, part of my base package. Love it. No complaints from me either, I haven't missed a game as season.

I am getting nervous about this one. I really want to keep this streak going, especially seeing our competitors starting to drop off. This conference just doesn't allow for any wiggle room. Freaking OU is still a 5 seed and UK is like a 7 seed, and they haven't won in a game in a month. We could fall 2 or 3 seeds if we lose.

(02-15-2018 03:29 PM)bctn8n Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 03:15 PM)ThinkBigPine Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 02:57 PM)bctn8n Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 02:48 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I use these CBSSN away games as a way to see my favorite bartender at Salem Gardens a couple thusday evenings during the winter. I chalk it up as mental health expense.

Love me some Salem Gardens.

That's where I went for my first legal beer when I turned 21. My dad and I's go to lunch spot when I'm on that side of town.

I am a 5 minute walk from there so like Rath, I am a regular


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice. I grew up in Mt. Washington, we went all the time as a family growing up.

It would be a much longer walk now from Covington.

No. 5 Cincinnati wary of showdown at Houston

Quote:Fifth-ranked Cincinnati's showdown against Houston on Thursday is the second half to the Bearcats' Texas Two-Step, but will be the surging American Athletic Conference front-runner's most challenging dance move in months.

The Bearcats (23-2, 12-0 AAC) are riding high on a nation-leading 16-game win streak that includes a 76-51 victory over SMU in Dallas on Sunday. But Houston, winners of three straight and owners of a perfect 12-0 record in their home-away-from-home at Texas Southern University's H&PE Arena, might be the last true roadblock to a perfect league season for Cincinnati.

"They're undefeated at home even though, like us, they're not at home," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "That's pretty impressive. We learned hopefully, the first time, that they're a really good team.

"I'm hoping our guys have great respect for their talent level from the first time we played them, how good of shooters they are and how hard they played against us."

The Cougars gave Cincinnati one of its biggest scares of the season when the Bearcats rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Houston 80-70 on Jan. 31 at Northern Kentucky University.

"They're going to be all fired up because we beat them at home," Cincinnati forward Gary Clark said. "For teams that are all trying to get in the tournament, a win against us would be huge."

Houston (19-5, 9-3) is unranked and underrated by pollsters. The Cougars and No. 19 Wichita State are tied for second place in the AAC, three games off the Bearcats' pace. Wichita State will travel to the Queen City on Sunday for the latest in a series of huge games for Cincinnati.

Cronin is wary of Houston's offensive ability to score as the Cougars rank second in the AAC at 77.0 points per game. Cincinnati is third, at 76.5.

Houston brings its own modicum of momentum into Thursday's game after defeating Tulane 72-43 on Sunday in its most recent outing.

As big a game as it for Cincinnati, it's even more important for the Cougars as they have a chance to not only pad their NCAA resume but possibly lock in an at-large bid with a victory. All the major national projections have Houston safety in the NCAA Tournament, anywhere between a 10-11 seed.

Houston sophomore guard Armoni Brooks earned AAC Player of the Week honors on the strength of his play in wins over SMU (23 points and 10 rebounds) and Tulane (11 points and 10 rebounds). They were the first two double-doubles of Brooks' career.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said he understands the challenge his team faces from Cincinnati.

"We have already played them once, it's not like we have to go and study them hard," Sampson explained. "They aren't a hard team to prepare for. They are just a monster to play against. They don't try to trick you with fancy stuff. They line up and have a 100 mile per hour fastball, with movement on it and they say hit it."

Sampson added that the Cougars will prepare for Cincinnati the way they prepare for every game.

"We don't have different ways to prepare," Sampson said. "This game will be a big game to a lot of people outside our program. For us, we have played them and it's another conference game. We are not going to make this game any bigger than our next game."

Cincinnati owns a 30-2 advantage in the series, which began Dec. 21, 1957. The Bearcats have won the last three meetings and 18 of the past 19. A 69-56 Houston home win March 3, 2016 snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Bearcats and was the Cougars' first win against Cincinnati since Feb. 2, 1973.

Down to 2 hours until tip off!!!

Met several board members for the first time many years ago at Salam Gardens (then left there to head down to Bockfest) as well as several I had stumbled upon at previous UC games and trips.