Cincinnati - UConn left behind snowy Storrs on Wednesday, arriving at its hotel in downtown Cincinnati during the evening hours.

On the road for the fifth time in eight games, the Huskies picked up some steam from a successful two-game homestand.

UConn is shooting for its season-high tying third straight victory tonight, playing at 8 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena.

The Huskies (11-7, 4-2) are attempting to boost their RPI, which stands at 78th, and jump over the Bearcats (14-5, 5-2) into third place in the American Athletic Conference standings.

These two teams have a history of playing tight games, with the last seven decided by seven points or fewer.

"It's going to be a dogfight, like always," coach Kevin Ollie said. "We usually come down to one-possession games. … We're going to keep fighting. This is a game that we have to have. There's not a lot of them left. We can't keep passing up opportunities like this."

Cincinnati also is placing tonight's game, a marquee match-up by AAC standards, in the big-stakes category. After a bumpy early-season stretch, the Bearcats are on the rise, winning seven of their last nine games. They're 28th in the RPI.

One of those two losses came on Jan. 10 in Hartford, a defensive tug-of-war that UConn won 62-56.

"Any time Connecticut comes to town, or a team that beat us previously comes to town, I would like to think we'd be really motivated," said associate coach Larry Davis, who's still filling in for Mick Cronin (medical leave). "I think we've gotten better defensively since that game, which is going to be a key for us. It's going to be a rock fight.

"They're really good defensively. Hopefully, we'll be really good defensively. It's going to come down to some guys making some shots and who wins the rebounding battle."

Davis said the Bearcats are a better defensive team than the last meeting. That's really saying something because they already specialized in applying a stranglehold, relying on an aggressive matchup zone.

Dating back to last season, they've held 23 straight opponents to under 70 points, tying New Mexico for the longest active streak. They're fifth in the nation in scoring defense (54.5).

"They just load up to the basket," senior Ryan Boatright said. "They make you shoot a lot of jumpers. They're big on the inside and physical at the same time. You've got to knock down jump shots and go to the hole strong."

UConn also has a Ph.D. in D.

It's one of the few things that Huskies have done consistently well this season. They frustrated Cincinnati into shooting 39.6 percent in the first meeting and rank third in scoring defense in AAC games at 60.2.

After that game, coach Ollie praised his team for rallying from a four-point halftime deficit and responding like champions. It was the Huskies fifth win in six tries.

But they've gone 2-2 since then.

For UConn to grind out a tough road win tonight, it will require near flawless execution and an endless supply of energy. The Bearcats have lost only two games at home since the start of last season.

"You've got to execute on the offensive and defensive end," Ollie said. "They make it tough scoring. We're going to have to have some big performances from our guys. We're going to have to execute down the stretch and make free throws.

"The most important thing is to take care of the basketball and beat them on the boards."

UConn's bench will be bit a shorter without guard Sam Cassell Jr., who's sidelined for a couple weeks with a stress fracture of his right tibia. Cassell, a junior college transfer, has appeared in 18 games, averaging 3.9 points. He's on crutches for now.

Cassell's absence means more playing time for sophomore Terrence Samuel.

"Next man has got to step up," Ollie said. "His health is the first and foremost thing. We want to get him back healthy. But we're kind of deep in the guard rotation."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe

UConn at Cincinnati

Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati.

Tip-off: 8 p.m. (ESPN2).

Records: UConn 11-7, 4-2; Cincinnati 14-5, 5-2.

Last game: UConn beat South Florida, 66-53, Sunday; Cincinnati won at Central Florida, 56-46, Sunday.

Probable starters: UConn, 6-0 sr. guard Ryan Boatright (16.5 pts, 4.2 rebs, 4.6 assists), 6-5 jr. guard Omar Calhoun (7.3 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Daniel Hamilton (10.1 pts, 6.3 rebs), 6-9 so. forward Kentan Facey (5.8 pts, 6.4 rebs), 7-0 so. center Amida Brimah (10.4 pts, 5.0 rebs, 2.7 blks).

Cincinnati, 6-4 so. guard Troy Caupain (9.9 pts, 3.6 assists), 6-3 so. guard Kevin Johnson (6.5 pts), 6-5 jr. forward Jermaine Sanders (5.2 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Gary Clark (7.8pts, 7.3 rebs), 6-10 jr. forward Octavius Ellis (9.5 pts, 6.9 rebs, 2.4 blks).

Noteworthy: Start of a two-game road trip. … Huskies won first meeting 62-56 on Jan. 10 in Hartford. Boatright had 18 points and Bearcats shot 39.6 percent. UConn leads series 11-5. Last seven games decided by seven points or fewer. ... Bearcats 29-2 at home since start last season. … Huskies 2-2 on the road. … Cincy first in steals (7.2) and second in blocks (5.7) in AAC games, but last in scoring offense (60.2). … Clark an AAC rookie of year candidate. … Hot: Boatright 8-for-13 from 3 in last two games. Cold: Cincy holding opponents to league-low 54.5 points. … Bearcats 7-3 since associate head coach Larry Davis took over for Mick Cronin (medical leave). … Huskies sinking 73.7 percent from foul line in wins and 56 percent in losses. … Up next: UConn visits Houston on Sunday

- Gavin Keefe