South Florida @ Cincinnati preview
Fifth Third Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2020 ) Cincinnati 79, South Florida 67
Cincinnati was challenged to compete with its last opponent. Staying on the court also proved to be a difficult foe.
The Bearcats (2-2) look for a more disciplined performance on Wednesday when they host South Florida (4-2) in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Foul trouble, and the subsequent disparity in visits to the foul line, played a significant role in Cincinnati's 65-56 loss to Tennessee on Saturday.
Preseason first-team All-AAC selection Keith Williams was limited to a season-low six points versus the Volunteers, well off his team-leading 14.5 points per game. He was whistled for two quick fouls, similar to what happened when he was held to seven points in the Bearcats' 67-55 victory over Lipscomb in the season opener on Dec. 2.
Preseason second-team All-AAC selection Chris Vogt fouled out for the third consecutive contest and fellow big man Rapolas Ivanauskas also found himself in foul trouble on Saturday.
"I think there was too much fouling on our part, first and foremost," Cincinnati coach John Brannen said. "And I thought we got really, really, really tough calls late."
The end result was the Bearcats were whistled for 26 fouls. Tennessee made them pay by converting 25 of 30 attempts from the free-throw line, while Cincinnati was just 4 for 7 from the charity stripe.
Williams also found himself in foul trouble the last time the Bearcats faced USF. But he still erupted for a career-high 30 points in Cincinnati's 79-67 victory on March 3.
Jeremiah Davenport saw significant playing time off the bench given the Bearcats' foul trouble on Saturday. A 4-for-7 performance from 3-point range highlighted his career-high 14-point effort.
"That's just my job, coming in, being the spark," Davenport said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Speaking of solid bench play, Jamir Chaplin stole an inbounds pass and scored the winning basket with 18 seconds remaining to lead South Florida to a 58-56 victory over Wofford on Saturday. The win was the third in a row for the Bulls and the 300th of Brian Gregory's coaching career.
Chaplin finished with eight points and a career-best eight rebounds.
David Collins followed up his 18-point performance in South Florida's 73-62 win victory over Stetson on Tuesday with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds versus the Terriers. For his efforts, Collins was named AAC Player of the Week on Monday.
"(Collins) had two outstanding games last week and his performance was one of the big reasons we won both games," Gregory wrote on Twitter.
Foul trouble was an issue for Collins in his last meeting with the Bearcats. He was limited to just nine points on 2 of 10 shooting from the floor.
Justin Brown, who had a team-high 16 points in that game, had just nine against Wofford on Saturday.
--Field Level Media