Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats attracting more attention after win over Xavier

Jan 29, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jarron Cumberland (34) drives against South Florida Bulls guards Michael Bibby (10) and Jake Bodway (11) during the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati won 94-53. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Cincinnati basketball’s big win against the Xavier Musketeers has helped turn some heads.

When did the Cincinnati Bearcats last lose a game? It hasn’t happened since Dec. 10 to Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Since then, the Bearcats have won 12 straight games, including wins last Thursday against Xavier and Sunday against South Florida.

At 19-2 (and 9-0 in conference), the Bearcats have stood out among the crowd in the AAC.

The recent polls released on Monday have the Bearcats ranked 14th in both the AP and Coaches poll. Cincinnati has built a solid resume up to this point, not only scoring wins against Xavier but also against Iowa State and SMU.

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Depth is critical to the Bearcats success, as of late. Led notably by Jarron Cumberland, the Bearcats star freshman. In the 86-78 comeback win against Xavier, Cumberland had 15 points off the bench. He had 26 in Sunday’s 94-53 win against USF. The freshman averages 7.5 points per game off the bench for Cincinnati this season. Add that to a lineup that spreads the ball around, and it’s easy to see why the Bearcats are 19-2.

Jacob Evans, Kyle Washington, and Troy Caupain all average at least 10 points per game, while Gary Clark is close to double figures with 9.7 points per outing. All four players help contribute to the Bearcats’ 78.5 points per game average, which leads the AAC.

Of the starters, Evans leads the team with 14.3 points per game, ninth in the conference. Evans scored 21 points in the Xavier win. The sophomore’s best scoring performances came when he scored 25 points in the loss to Rhode Island and in an overtime win versus Marshall.

Cincinnati’s target on their back will only get bigger from here as they still have match-ups the rest of the way against teams like SMU, Memphis, Houston, Tulsa (twice) and UConn (twice). Thus far in conference play, SMU has given the Bearcats its toughest challenge thus far to date. The two face off again in Dallas Feb. 12. A win for Cincinnati at that point would give the Bearcats a tiebreaker edge in the regular season standings.

Next: The projected field as it stands and the crazy week that it was

The schedule gets tougher for Cincinnati from here on out. They hit the road Wednesday night to take on a Tulsa team that sits third in the AAC despite a rough non-conference slate.

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