American Athletic Conference teams went 3-0 on Tuesday night, as No. 25 Cincinnati, UCF and Memphis all captured home victories.
For Cincinnati, the win was the Bearcats’ 31
st straight home win, the longest active streak in the nation.
No. 25/rv Cincinnati 65, No. rv/rv Mississippi State 50
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) -- No. 25 Cincinnati had plummeted to the fringe of the rankings and needed a confidence boost. The Bearcats got it against a previously unbeaten team.
Jacob Evans III had 24 points and eight rebounds as Cincinnati recovered from its back-to-back losses and handed Mississippi State its first defeat, 65-50 on Tuesday night.
The Bearcats (8-2) were coming off losses to crosstown rival Xavier and Florida that dropped them from No. 11. They ended the slump with a solid defensive showing against the Southeastern Conference's last unbeaten team, blocking 11 shots.
"We needed to get this win for us to build our confidence and get this thing back on track," Evans said.
Mississippi State (8-1) was off to its best start since 2003-04. The Bulldogs struggled to make shots in their first game against a ranked team. They missed 10 straight in the first half and 14 in a row in the second as Cincinnati blew open a close game.
"I think we took a multitude of things away from them," said Kyle Washington, who added 16 points. "We knew what we wanted to do on defense. We were locked in on how they played well as a team. We just wanted to take all of that away."
Aric Holman matched his career high with 18 points and had 10 rebounds for Mississippi State, which shot a season-low 30 percent from the field. The Bulldogs weren't ready for Cincinnati's defense.
"We lost the game tonight because of our inability to attack that zone," coach Ben Howland said. "We were standing way too much, not enough ball movement, not enough cutting and getting the ball inside."
Cincinnati has won 31 straight home games , the longest streak in the nation. The Bearcats are playing this season at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University while their on-campus arena is renovated. They went 18-0 at Fifth Third Arena last season.
UCF 61, Southeastern Louisiana 53
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tacko Fall scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both season highs, and Central Florida won its third straight with a 61-53 win over Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night.
The win was the ninth in the last 10 home starts for the Knights.
UCF (7-3), which started its streak by beating No. 24 Alabama, led by two at intermission on a layup by A.J. Davis with :14 left, but trailed through most of second half.
Fall knocked down two free throws with 5:17 left in the game to put UCF in front for good, 50-49 while the defense limited the Lions to one field goal the rest of the way. Terrell Allen knocked down a jumper, scored on a layup and went 4-for-4 from the line in the final two minutes to put the game away.
James Currington and Marlain Veal each scored 10 points for Southeastern Louisiana (5-4).
Memphis 67, Albany 58
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Kareem Brewton Jr. scored 19 points with three 3-pointers, Jeremiah Martin scored the go-ahead basket, and Memphis held off Albany 67-58 in Tuesday night's Gotham Classic matchup to win its third straight.
Albany rallied on an 8-1 run to tie it at 45 on David Nichols' layup midway through the second half. Martin scored a go-ahead layup, Raynere Thornton dunked and Memphis pulled away.
Albany closed to 49-48 on Alex Foster's 3-point play, but Jimario Rivers scored five in a 9-0 run and Memphis led 58-48. Joe Cremo's two free throws with 3:04 left pulled Albany within three points, but Jamal Johnson hit a corner 3 and the Great Danes got no closer than seven down the stretch.
Martin scored 13 with four assists and Rivers scored 11 for Memphis (7-2), which led 29-22 at halftime. The Tigers shot 46.9 percent from the floor to Albany's 34.4 percent.
Cremo scored 16, Nichols had 14, and Greg Stire grabbed 11 rebounds for Albany (10-2), which saw its four-game win streak end.
It was the first meeting between the schools.