Cincinnati won its fourth-straight game and earned a split of the season series with UConn in Thursday’s lone conference game.
The Bearcats defeated the Huskies 70-58 at Fifth Third Arena as Cincinnati improved to 15-5 and 6-2 in The American. G Troy Caupain led Cincinnati with 20 points while F Gary Clark added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Cincinnati had eight blocks as a team and held UConn to 32.8-percent shooting from the floor. G Ryan Boatright had a game-high 22 points to lead the Huskies, who fell to 11-8 and 4-3 in conference play.
Seven conference teams are in action Saturday with three conference games and one nonconference clash.
Temple looks for a season sweep of Tulane when the Owls host the Green Wave in Philadelphia (Noon, CBSSN.) Temple won the first meeting of the season Jan. 7 in New Orleans 64-56 with 15 points from G Quenton DeCosey and a double-double from F Jaylen Bond. Tulane G Jonathan Stark had 12 assists in the meeting earlier in the month. The trip to Temple will be the first for Tulane since the 1996-97 season.
Tulsa and USF square off for the second time in 15 days (1 p.m., ESPNews) with the Golden Hurricane aiming for a season sweep. G James Woodard had 21 points to lead all scorers as Tulsa won 75-58 Jan. 17 in Tampa. The Golden Hurricane enters Saturday as one of six teams in the nation standing at 8-0 or better in conference play, joining Albany, Gonzaga, Murray State, North Carolina Central and Wichita State. USF G Nehemias Morillo has scored 18 points in each of the Bulls’ last two games, raising his season average to 9.9 points per game.
SMU, winner of seven straight and 15 out of 16, hosts UCF at Moody Coliseum (8 p.m., ESPNU.) The Mustangs won the previous meeting between the teams this year 70-61 in Orlando Jan. 11. G Nic Moore had a game-high 21 points in the first meeting of the year to lead SMU as the Mustangs shot 57.1-percent from the floor as a team. The Knights have had a different player lead the team in scoring in each of the last four games, most recently a 17-point effort from G Brandon Goodwin against Temple Wednesday.
Memphis will face a challenging nonconference test when the Tigers travel to No. 3/3 Gonzaga (10 p.m., ESPN2.) The game in Spokane is the rematch of a showdown at FedEx Forum last Feb. 8, a game won 60-54 by Memphis. Gonzaga is 21-1 and 10-0 in the West Coast Conference and has won 14 straight games. The Tigers have hit their stride as of late, winning five out of six. Memphis F Austin Nichols is third in The American with 15.7 points per game in conference action.