On Wednesday, the (13-6 SU, 12-6 ATS) Cincinnati Bearcats and (8-10 SU, 11-7 ATS) South Florida Bulls will take the floor at the Yuengling Center for an American Athletic Conference clash. Cincy, 2-2 on the road, beat SMU 54-52 in its last game. USF, 5-6 at home, defeated East Carolina 81-70 on Sunday.
The Bearcats and Bulls split their two meetings last season. Cincinnati has won 11 of the past 13 meetings and holds a 35-10 advantage in the series' history.
Tip-off from Tampa, FL, is at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Bearcats are 3.5-point spread favorites, and the game total is 142 points.
The Bearcats took on a challenging non-conference schedule, including games against Arizona, Ohio State, and Xavier. Those early season bouts could pay dividends in conference play as the battle-tested Cats push toward NCAA Tournament eligibility.
Cincinnati, 4-2 in conference competition, picked up its latest AAC win on Saturday at Southern Methodist. It was a closely-contested affair as the Bearcats eked out a two-point win. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, as Cincy hit 33.8 percent of its field goals and the Mustangs converted 31.9 percent of their shot attempts. Each team was held under 30 percent from distance, too. Cincinnati cleaned up on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 52-41, with 19 offensive rebounds. The Bearcats were sloppy, too, turning the ball over 17 times.
Still focused on the mission. ?????#Bearcats | #TheMovement pic.twitter.com/O8lUSYw8fc
— Cincinnati Men's Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) January 13, 2023
Cincinnati scores 76.8 points per game on 45.0 percent shooting, including 36.2 percent from long range. Its offensive efficiency rating is 88th, per KenPom. The Bearcats are 59th nationally in rebounding (35.2 per game) with a +4 rebounding margin.
Senior guard Landers Nolley II paces Cincinnati in scoring, averaging 15.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The former Memphis Tiger, who started his collegiate career at Virginia Tech, boasts a 43.6 three-point shooting percentage on roughly six attempts per game. The Cats also count on contributions from senior guard David DeJulius (14.2 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG), sophomore forward Viktor Lakhin (12.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.4 BPG, and 62.7 FG%), junior guard Mika Adams-Woods (10.4 PPG, 3.3 APG, and 40.6 3PT%), and junior guard Jeremiah Davenport (9.6 PPG and 4.0 RPG).
Cincinnati surrenders 67.3 points on 41.1 percent shooting with a 31.6 three-point percentage. The Bearcats are 54th in defensive efficiency and 45th in assist-per-turnover ratio (1.31).