Cincinnati @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Houston 62, Cincinnati 64

Houston looks to remain unbeaten at home in the American Athletic Conference when it hosts Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon in a showdown between two of the three teams on top of the league standings. The Cougars fell into a tie with Cincinnati and Tulsa for first place after suffering a 60-59 loss at Memphis on Feb. 22, missing all four of their field goal attempts in the final 2:23.

“We’ve lost four games by one point or the last possession. You got to make winning plays,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team is 7-0 at home and 4-4 on the road in the league. “We had some opportunities to make big shots, and that’s the difference between winning and losing.” One of those close losses came at Cincinnati on Feb. 1 as the Cougars coughed up a 15-point lead in the second half before falling 64-62 and dropping to 5-33 all time against the Bearcats, including setbacks in the last two AAC championship games. Cincinnati has won three of four and eight of its last 10 after ending an amazing stretch of four straight overtime games by edging Wichita State 67-64 last Sunday in regulation, and it is ready for another big challenge. “We don’t need no sense of urgency,” Bearcats senior guard Jarron Cumberland told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’ve got to come out and play our game. We know what the main goal is. We’ve got to win, so we just come out and follow the game plan and the results will come out.”

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT CINCINNATI (18-9, 11-4 AAC): Cumberland is averaging 17.8 points along with 6.5 assists over the last four games to boost his team-leading marks to 15.5 and 4.9, respectively, and scored 17 in the earlier win over Houston. Junior guard Keith Williams (12.2 points) ended a stretch of eight straight games in double figures by going scoreless against Wichita State and junior center Chris Vogt (11.8) is averaging just 6.8 points the last four games. Senior forward Tre Scott scored eight last time out after averaging 21.5 points the previous four games, but he leads the AAC in rebounds per game (10.4).

ABOUT HOUSTON (21-7, 11-4): Guard Caleb Mills tops a balanced team at 13.2 points per game and has a chance to become the second freshman in Houston history to lead the team in scoring (Rob Williams, 1979-80). Quentin Grimes is second on the team in scoring (11.8), but he is questionable due to a hip injury, while fellow sophomore guard Nate Hinton also averages in double figures scoring (10.3) and is fourth in the AAC in rebounds (9.0). Junior guard DeJon Jarreau, who adds 9.5 points per contest, dishes out a team-high 3.8 assists and 6-10 senior center Chris Harris Jr. leads the Cougars with 55 blocks.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cincinnati senior G Jaevin Cumberland, a cousin of Jarron, averages 9.2 points and has 21 combined in the last two games.

2. Houston freshman G Marcus Sasser had 17 points in the first matchup with the Bearcats, and he leads the team with 52 made 3-pointers.

3. The Cougars entered the weekend leading the nation in rebound margin (plus-9.7) and Cincinnati is third in the AAC at plus-4.5.

PREDICTION: Houston 76, Cincinnati 72