It's hard to miss Amida Brimah, a 7-foot bundle of pure energy and joy.

To say the least, Brimah stands out. He enjoys himself whether he's in the game or rooting for his UConn teammates on the sidelines.

The Huskies prefer that he stays on the court.

The Huskies are a more lethal team with their intimidating rim protector playing major minutes as Brimah did in Thursday's upset of No. 21 Southern Methodist in Hartford.

It was the junior center's best performance since returning from an 11-game absence due to injury. He'll be in the starting lineup again Saturday when UConn (19-7, 9-4) visits Cincinnati (19-8, 9-5) in a pivotal American Athletic Conference showdown at Fifth Third Arena (4 p.m., ESPN2).

If Brimah contributes anywhere near Thursday's 16-point, eight rebound and five block effort, the Huskies will be tough to beat.

"He was unbelievable," sophomore Daniel Hamilton said on Thursday. "Not only did he get a lot of blocks but he changed a whole lot of shots out there. Those count as blocks for me. He's getting better and it shows. He came out and played big.

"With that contribution, we showed that we can win games like that. We needed that going to Cincinnati."

Perhaps the biggest thing that Brimah did against SMU was remain in the game for long periods. He didn't pick up a foul until the second half and finished with two, playing a season-high 33 minutes.

Brimah, the ultimate team player, deflected the postgame praise.

"This team is a great team with me or without me," said Brimah, who played without the tape on his healed broken finger for the first time, improving his grip on the ball. "When I'm on the court, I try to be a great motivator and make this team better."

His teammates would respectfully disagree.

They feed off his energy. When he helps out on defense and rejects a shot, he fires up the Huskies.

"We just all get energized," frontcourt partner Shonn Miller said. "If you were tired, you're not tired anymore. You get that extra oomph to go out and play hard and do everything."

It will take more than energy for the Huskies to defeat the Bearcats. This rivalry is basically a grueling tug-of-war. Forget about style points when the AAC's two top defensive teams square off.

The game means a great deal to both sides. UConn is tied with SMU in second place, half-game behind Temple (10-3). Cincinnati is in a three-way deadlock for fourth with Houston and Tulsa.

"(If) we take care of Cincinnati and play hard, it can really separate us right now," coach Kevin Ollie said. "So we can't get drunk off of winning against SMU. We have to make sure we stay sober... and go take care of business on Saturday."

Both teams are dealing with challenges that come with a quick turnaround. UConn may be a bit more rested than Cincinnati, which arrived home early Friday morning after losing in overtime at Tulsa Thursday.

The motivation edge may go to UConn.

The Huskies are seeking to avenge a 58-57 loss in the first meeting on Jan. 28 in Hartford. They failed to hold a four-point lead with just over a minute left and misfired on three shots in their final possession after sophomore Gary Clark's 3-point play with 12.1 seconds put Cincinnati ahead.

It was another brutal late-game collapse for the Huskies.

But they remained composed under fire on Thursday to hold off SMU's late-game comeback and secure a marquee win.

"We had a couple of harsh lessons, the Temple game, the Cincinnati game," freshman Jalen Adams said. "We just learned from them. We're ready to go to (Cincinnati) and give them a little payback."

And the Huskies will have Brimah patrolling under the basket. His injury kept him out of the first meeting.

UConn is determined to finish strong in the final five remaining regular season games.

"We've got to continue to climb together and don't let anybody or anything distract us," Ollie said.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe

UCONN at CINCINNATI

Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati

Tip: 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Records: UConn 19-7, 9-4; Cincinnati 19-8, 9-5

Last game: UConn beat No. 21 SMU, 68-62, Thursday; Cincinnati lost at Tulsa, 70-68 (OT), Thursday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-2 grad. guard Sterling Gibbs (12.3 pts), 6-6 sr. guard Omar Calhoun (4.5 pts), 6-7 so. forward Daniel Hamilton (11.8 pts, 9 rebs, 5 assists), 6-7 grad. forward Shonn Miller (13.3 pts, 5.6 rebs), 7-0 jr. center Amida Brimah (7 pts, 4.3 rebs, 2.5 blks)

Cincinnati, 6-4 jr. guard Troy Caupain (11.7 pts, 4.7 assists), 6-1 sr. guard Farad Cobb (11 pts), 6-7 sr. forward Shaq Thomas (6.5 pts, 3.9 rebs), 6-8 so. forward Gary Clark (11.1 pts, 8.8 rebs), 6-10 sr. forward Octavius Ellis (10 pts, 7.1 rebs)

Noteworthy: Huskies 8-2 in last 10 games. Coming off first win over a ranked foe this season. ... Bearcats 2-2 in last four. ... Series: UConn leads series, 12-7, losing last meeting, 58-57, Jan. 28 in Hartford. Clark's 3-pt play with 12 seconds left was the difference. Gibbs had 14 pts for UConn, which shot 38.3 percent and had 14 turnovers. ... Nine of last 10 meetings decided by single digits. ... Huskies 5-2 in away games, out-scoring foes by an average of 8.2 pts. Bearcats 45-7 at Fifth Third Arena since start of 2013-14 season. ... Top reserve: 6-6 fr. swingman Jacob Evans III (7.2 pts, 4.1 rebs) ... Game pits two top defensive teams in AAC. ... Hot: In the last 9 games, Clark leads Cincy in scoring (13.8), rebounds (9.4) and blocks (2.4) per game while shooting 56.6 percent from field. Cold: Gibbs shooting 35.3 percent (12-for-34) in last 4 games. ... Up next: UConn visits South Florida on Thursday.

— Gavin Keefe