Cincinnati looks for its eighth straight win in the head-to-head series over SMU in first week of the new year as the Cincinnati Bearcats will face the SMU Mustangs on Thursday 7th January 7pm ET at Moody Coliseum, Dallas. And if you are wondering to watch the action live, than you are at the right place.
Game Info: Cincinnati vs SMU
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Moody Coliseum in Dallas
TV/Radio: ESPNU, WLW-AM (700)
Live Stream: WATCH FREE HERE
Here is everything you need to know about this game is brought to you by (cincinnati.com)
University of Cincinnati men’s basketball coach John Brannen admitted on Tuesday that he hasn’t done a very good job of coaching this season.
“I just really didn’t understand our team,” he said. “Now, I feel like I do. So I think we’ll see a better product on the floor, certainly than what we’ve seen up to this point, because I don’t think we’ve played particularly well in a lot of stretches.”
Brannen, now in his second season at UC, is trying to figure out how to dig the Bearcats out of a five-game losing hole, the program’s longest losing streak since the 2007-08 campaign.
That year, Cincinnati lost five straight in December and then ended the season on a seven-game skid before finishing 13-19 under then-second-year head coach Mick Cronin.
Brannen hasn’t lost five straight since his first season at Northern Kentucky University in 2015-16. The Norse dropped their final seven games that year en route to a 9-21 record.
“The energy they’ve had the last few practices has been as rewarding to me as anything because during a pandemic where you’ve lost several in a row and there’s no students on campus, sometimes you fight that,” Brannen said. “I haven’t fought that at all with these guys, which is why I like this group a lot and why I do think we’re going to end up where we need to be. Honestly, it’s got to happen sooner than later because the losing needs to be done. We need to start winning games.”
Brannen and the Bearcats will look to end their skid on Thursday at SMU, which opened the New Year with a 74-60 loss against No. 11 Houston. It was the Mustangs’ first defeat of the season.
Series info: This is the 20th meeting between Cincinnati and SMU, and UC has a 15-4 advantage in the series. The Bearcats are 8-3 against the Mustangs, including seven straight wins, since the two schools became American Athletic Conference (AAC) foes. SMU’s last victory in the series came on March 12, 2017, a 71-56 win.
Players to watch
Kendric Davis
The preseason first-team All-AAC selection is averaging 19.7 points (first in AAC), 6.7 assists (first in AAC) and 1.7 steals (fourth in AAC) this season with a league-leading 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also is among the league leaders in FG% (54.3, sixth), 3FG% (50.0, first) and FT% (83.9, fifth). Davis has either made or assisted on 47% of all SMU field goals over the last five games.
Jeremiah Davenport
The energetic sophomore guard has been one of the more consistent and reliable players for the Bearcats this season. His 9.6 points per game are second on the team despite logging all of his minutes from the bench.
“I think for Jeremiah, you’re dealing with a guy that, especially in this environment, his enthusiasm and his energy really permeates even more because you’re dealing with nothing but sterile environments,” Brannen said. “So I think that energy really is something that is not only more valuable for our team but it lifts us up even more.”
Key to the game
Make free throws
Cincinnati has made just 66% of their free throws this season, while its opponents have shot more than 75% from the foul line. The missed opportunities at the line have proven costly, as three of the Bearcats’ six losses have been by five or fewer points.
