Memphis @ Cincinnati preview

Memphis at Cincinnati

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2017 ) Memphis 74, Cincinnati 87

Mick Cronin knows that point guard Jarron Cumberland will play a key role should No. 22 Cincinnati fulfill American Athletic Conference coaches’ expectations that the Bearcats will finish first in conference play. That journey begins Sunday when a revamped Memphis team visits Cincinnati at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky., which is the Bearcats’ home while their on-campus facility is being renovated this season.

Cumberland averaged 8.3 points on 49 percent shooting during his freshman campaign coming off the bench and is averaging 10.7 points on 39.7 percent shooting this season while still getting comfortable playing Cronin’s style of suffocating defense. “As a starter, you have to become a defender first and that is a challenge. ... It is hard to defend for 30 minutes and make shots,” Cronin explained after the Bearcats 81-62 victory over Cleveland State on Dec. 21. ”I am watching him go through it. He is a better shooter than he shows at times, but he is still learning how to play those extended minutes." Senior Gary Clark (12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds) scored a game-high 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting with five rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals, while Cumberland poured in 16 points with four assists and three steals as the Bearcats extended the nation’s longest home-court win streak to 33 consecutive games against the Vikings. Memphis, which returns only two letter winners from last season, suffered a 71-61 home loss to LSU on Thursday despite 17 points and 11 rebounds from junior Kyvon Davenport.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT MEMPHIS (9-4): Junior guard Jeremiah Martin (18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.5 steals), who scored 23 points and added 11 assists in last season’s loss to the Bearcats, leads a trio of Tigers averaging double figures in scoring. Davenport (13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks) serves as the team’s top rebounder and owns the best shooting percentage beyond the arc (39.1 percent). Senior forward Jimario Rivers (10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds) is shooting a team-best 53 percent from the floor.

ABOUT CINCINNATI (11-2): Junior wing Jacob Evans (13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists) needs 58 points to become the fourth member of the 2017-18 Bearcats with 1,000 or more career points, joining Sacred Heart transfer Cane Broome (1,263 points), Clark (1,160) and North Carolina State transfer Kyle Washington (1,006). Clark’s 931 career rebounds rank first in AAC history, first among all Cincinnati players during the Mick Cronin coaching era (since 2006-07) and third among all active players in the nation. Over the last five games, Washington (10.6 points per game this season) ranks second on the team, averaging 13 points while shooting a team-best 57.4 percent.

TIP-INS

1. Cincinnati leads the all-time series 41-33, including an 87-74 home triumph last season behind 16 points from Washington and 15 from Evans.

2. Memphis is tied with James Madison and Mississippi Valley State for the fewest number of returning letter winners in the nation. Among the 11 newcomers are five junior college transfers, five freshmen and one transfer.

3. Martin is the only player in the AAC and one of four in Division I to average at least 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.