Pre-game preview: Cincinnati
Two of the American Athletic Conference's biggest rivals will battle tonight in tournament quarterfinal action at the XL Center in Hartford.
Sixth-seeded UConn and third-seeded Cincinnati are old Big East foes.
The two also met last year in the inaugural AAC tournament, with the Huskies wrestling away a 58-56 victory in the semifinals at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
Six of the last seven meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
Expect a physical, defensive battle tonight.
"It's going to be a close game," senior Ryan Boatright said. "It's going to come down to whoever wants to win the most. It's going to be a dogfight."
Here's a pre-game preview:
-- Tip-off: approximately 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
-- Records: UConn 18-13, Cincinnati 22-9
-- Last game: UConn beat South Florida, 63-49, Thursday in American Athletic Conference tournament first round; Cincinnati defeated Memphis, 77-65, Sunday in regular season finale
-- Probable starters: UConn, 6-0 sr. guard Ryan Boatright (17.6 pts, 4.2 rebs, 4.0 assists), 6-4 so. guard Rodney Purvis (10.6 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Daniel Hamilton (11.1 pts, 7.4 rebs), 6-10 jr. forward Phil Nolan (1.1 pts, 1.8 rebs), 7-0 so. center Amida Brimah (10 pts, 4.8 rebs, 3.4 blks)
Cincinnati, 6-4 so. guard Troy Caupain (9.4 pts, 3.6 assists), 6-1 jr. guard Farad Cobb (8.6 pts), 6-5 sr. Jermaine Sanders (4.7 pts, 3.0 rebs), 6-7 fr. forward Gary Clark (7.9 pts, 6.9 rebs), 6-10 jr. forward Octavius Ellis (10 pts, 7.3 rebs
Noteworthy:
-- Series: UConn leads 10-6, splitting regular season series, winning 62-56 in Hartford on Jan. 10 and losing, 70-58, on the road on Jan. 29.
The Huskies shot 46 percent in the win and 32.8 percent in theloss. Boatright averaged 18 points and Caupain 17 points in those two games.
-- Top reserve: 6-7 forward Shaq Thomas (6.3 pts, 2.8 rebs).
-- Ellis (second team), Caupain (honorable mention) and Clark (rookie team) earned All-AAC honors.
-- The Bearcats riding a season-high tying five game winning streak. Ellis (12.8), Cobb (11.8) and reserve Kevin Johnson (10.4) all averaged double digits during the unbeaten run.
-- Cincinnati is sixth in nation in scoring defense at 55.2 points per game.
-- Hot: UConn tied a season-high with 11 3-pointers out of 17 attempts vs. USF. Cold: Cincinnati is 1-4 at the XL Center.
-- The Huskies are 7-1 overall this season in Hartford and 14-2 in the last two seasons.
-- UConn is 14-14 overall in conference tournament quarterfinal games.
-- Brimah ranks fifth in career blocks with 198.
-- Check back later for AAC tournament updates.
-- Follow me on Twitter: @GavinKeefe
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