It will be a battle of grit and defense when Memphis and Cincinnati take the floor Thursday at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Tigers will enter the matchup with a 12-5 record (3-1 in the American Athletic Conference), coming off of a 71-56 victory over USF.
The Bearcats enter Thursday’s game with a 13-6 record (3-3 in the AAC), coming off a 67-65 double overtime loss to Temple.
Although Cincinnati spent most of the early stretches of the season ranked inside the top 25, the Bearcats have struggled since hitting conference play, dropping three of their first six American Athletic Conference matchups.
This matchup is key for both squads, as Memphis will be looking to get its first true road win of the season, while Cincinnati will look to course correct and gain some momentum in conference play.
Both Memphis and Cincinnati excel on the defensive end of the floor, as KenPom.com rates Memphis (21) and Cincinnati (17) in the top 25 in adjusted efficiency ratings for defense.
Memphis is currently ranked first in the conference in rebounds per game (43), but the Tigers will have to focus on not giving up too many second chance points to a bearcats teams that ranks first in the AAC in offensive rebounding (14.1 offensive rebounds per game).
On the offensive end, Cincinnati differs from Memphis in the fact that it does not have just two or three go to players, but relies on an entire team effort. Senior guards Farad Cobb (11.9 points per game) and Troy Caupain (10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists) lead the way for the Bearcats as they are the only two Bearcats who average over double figures in scoring.
Sophomore forward Gary Clark adds 9.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while senior forward and Memphis native Octavius Ellis averages 9.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
The Bearcats get solid production from four other players as well: Jacob Evans averages 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, Shaq Thomas adds 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, Kevin Johnson puts up 6.3 points per game and Coreontae DeBerry averages 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
The Tigers will have to play sound and very balanced defense against this Bearcats squad, as it is hard to predict where most of their offensive production will come from.
Dedric Lawson (14.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game), Shaq Goodwin (13 points and 7.8 rebounds per game) and Ricky Tarrant (13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game) continue to lead the way for Memphis.
Lawson was named the AAC rookie of the week for the fifth time this season, which ties the AAC record. He averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, 1.5 blocks and a steal through two wins last week.
Goodwin was also honored by the conference for his play throughout the week. He was named AAC Player of the Week for the third time in his career, as he averaged 17.5 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks through the Tigers’ wins over Temple and USF.
The Tigers will need its core three at their best if they want to take down a Cincinnati squad who’ll be looking to regain their conference title hopes.
The Tigers and Bearcats will tipoff at 6 p.m. Thursday at Fifth Third Arena.
Memphis senior forward Shaq Goodwin is averaging career-highs in points (13.0) and rebounds (7.8) this season.
