Southern Methodist @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2019 ) Southern Methodist 74, Cincinnati 82

Cincinnati and SMU may share the same record in American Athletic Conference action, but only the former figures to be able to make a strong case for the NCAA Tournament with its play over the next three weeks. The Bearcats begin a challenging stretch against most of the AAC's top teams Tuesday when they hope to continue their recent dominance of the Mustangs.

Led by 21 second-half points from preseason conference player of the year Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati escaped Temple with an 89-82 victory Wednesday in a battle between the league's top two defensive teams. The Bearcats can go a long way in improving their postseason resume in the coming weeks, as four of their next five games come against AAC opponents who boast a .500 or better record in conference play - including a showdown at home on Saturday versus No. 20 Houston. SMU has won three in a row to forge a three-way tie for third place in the league with Cincinnati and Wichita State, but it has dropped all six meetings against the Bearcats over the last two seasons. The Mustangs, who won't play a team with a winning record in league play again until Feb. 15 (Houston) after this contest, held Memphis scoreless over the final six-plus minutes of the game Saturday to come away with a 74-70 road triumph.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNews

ABOUT SMU (15-4, 5-2 AAC): Sophomore guard Kendric Davis (team-high 16.2 points, conference-best 7.2 assists) scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half Saturday to keep his team relatively close early, and tallied five assists - his 14th straight game with at least that many. Junior forward Isiaha Mike (14.7 points, team-high 7.1 rebounds) picked up the slack after the break, producing all 13 of his points in the final 16-plus minutes of the contest after misfiring on his first five shot attempts (all 3-pointers). Sophomore guard Emmanuel Bandoumel (6.1 points) delivered a career-high 14 points of 5-of-10 shooting in 32 minutes after scoring nine points on 2-of-13 from the field across 61 minutes over the previous three games combined.

ABOUT CINCINNATI (12-7, 5-2): Cumberland (14.1 points) got plenty of help Wednesday, including four 3-pointers and 15 points from cousin Jaevin Cumberland (10.2 points) - a graduate transfer from Oakland who had reached double figures only once in his previous seven outings. Chris Vogt (13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds) improved on his league-best field-goal percentage (68.7) by converting all five of his shots against the Owls, and the 7-1 junior only accentuated his performance by finishing 8-for-9 at the foul line. Tre Scott (9.3 points, 9.2 rebounds) posted a double-double for the second straight time with 16 points and 11 boards; the senior forward has three double-doubles over his last four games, matching the number he recorded in his first 16 outings of the season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cincinnati is 57-4 at home since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, including a 28-2 mark against AAC foes.

2. Davis' streak with at least five assists is the longest by a Tiger since Butch Moore set the school record with 16 straight such efforts from March 14, 1985 to Jan. 8, 1986.

3. Vogt ranks third in the country in field-goal percentage and has enjoyed a perfect performance from the floor three times this season.

PREDICTION: Cincinnati 73, SMU 67