Three games left on the regular season slate. Next one up. Tulsa. Sunday. High noon. CBSSN. Final home game of the year. Senior Day. Clark and Washington will be honored. Emotions will be running high for sure. Current line is Tulsa 18 point dogs. We just need to take care of business on our home floor. I think we'll roll. Here are Cincinnati's head-to-head records against Tulsa:

24-12 All Time
4-1 L5
7-3 L10
11-9 L20
3-0 Current Streak

Breakdown comparison between the two teams:

Tulsa
17-10 (10-5)
5-0 L5
7-3 L10
Unranked
78 Live RPI
114 BPI
112 Kenpom (125 AdjO/119 AdjD)
103 Sagarin (0-2 vs. Top 25/1-3 vs. Top 50)
Etou 15.4 PPG
Taplin 12.0
Jeffries 10.4
Henderson 9.8
Igbanu 9.0

Cincinnati
24-4 (13-2)
3-2 L5
8-2 L10
#11 AP
12 Live RPI
6 BPI
5 Kenpom (53 AdjO/2 AdjD)
8 Sagarin (0-2 vs. Top 25/2-4 vs. Top 50)
Evans 13.3 PPG
Clark 12.9
Washington 11.2
Cumberland 11.0
Broome 8.0

From the Enquirer:

Quote:Cincinnati Bearcats' Clark, Washington to take final bows on Senior Day
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com Feb. 24, 2018 | Updated 2:24 p.m.

When Gary Clark and Kyle Washington are introduced to expectedly thunderous ovations Sunday on University of Cincinnati basketball Senior Day, coach Mick Cronin may be as much or more emotional than the players and their families....

Not only have forwards Clark and Washington been two of the best players in Cronin's 12-year tenure as UC head coach, but they also are two of the finest men ever to suit up for the Bearcats. To Cronin, that is just as important as won-lost records.

"Gary and Kyle as people are two of the best, most mature young people that I’ve ever coached," Cronin said. "Our school has been very lucky to have them as representatives of our university, as well as our basketball program."

Clark, Washington and walk-on forward Jackson Bart will be the main honorees before the game, as No. 11-ranked UC (24-4, 13-2 American Athletic Conference) will play Tulsa (17-10, 10-5 AAC) at noon Sunday at Northern Kentucky University. It is the final home game of the UC season.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Clark, from Clayton, North Carolina, has been a starter since he walked through the door at UC. Clark holds the UC record for career starts (129), and the Bearcats are 99-32 in his tenure. This year, Clark will have helped UC extend its streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to eight straight.

With 1,360 career points and 1,058 rebounds, Clark is the only the fifth UC player to reach 1,000 in both categories. Clark ranks No. 19 on the UC career scoring list, No. 5 in rebounds and also No. 5 in blocked shots (172).

"It’s been quite the journey, coming in as a freshman not expecting to play and then playing as much as I did," Clark said. "This year, my senior year, has been the best year so far."

Clark is averaging a career-high 12.9 points per game, second on the team to junior guard Jacob Evans III (13.3). Clark's 8.5 rebounding average, which leads the team, is just below his career-high 8.8 as a sophomore.

"Gary has impacted his team for four years," Cronin said. "Some guys play four years, but without Gary Clark, we don’t make the NCAA Tournament for the last four years. You cannot overstate his importance to the program during his career. In my mind, he’s one of the most valuable players to have ever played in our program."

Clark said his final goals include winning both an AAC title and AAC tournament championship for the first time in his career and getting past the NCAA Tournament first weekend for the first time as a Bearcat.

"Those are also huge things for my team," Clark said. "And, of course maybe a Final Four and national championship. This is a team that can do it."

Washington, Clark's running mate at forward, began his career with two seasons at North Carolina State. Washington then transferred to UC, sat out the 2015-16 season but practiced with the team as a transfer, and since has started 61 of 64 games. UC is 54-10 since Washington arrived.

"It just happened that we put together two pretty good seasons thus far," Washington said. "What Gary and I built our senior year, I think we’re very proud of that in terms of team cohesiveness and how bad we want it."

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Washington, from Champlin, Minnesota, has scored 1,181 points in his college career. That includes 777 points at UC.

This season, Washington ranks third on the team in scoring (11.2 per game) and second in rebounding (5.3 per game).

"Kyle has impacted our winning in all three years he has been with us," Cronin said. "His positive attitude and his work ethic have been infectious for our program. He has been a tremendous scorer and great player for us. Hopefully, he will win over 60 games or more in the two years he has played for us. That alone tells you how good a player he has been."

Clark and Washington are remarkably different, at least outwardly. Clark is calm and soft-spoken, Washington animated and outspoken. A common thread is that both have been immensely popular with UC fans.

"It hasn’t hit me yet," Clark said. "I think it’s slowly coming, hitting me now, that all my family is coming up for Senior Night. My mother (Tammy) asked me, 'Are you gonna cry?' I’m just like, no, I can’t cry, there's too many people. It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it."

Washington, when asked about the highlights of his UC career, said:

"It's the teammates and the relationships that I’ve built. A lot of people talk about winning games and personal statistics, but really it’s about the relationships you’ve built over time. I think that’s the beautiful part of it."

Naturally, both Clark and Washington hope the journey continues for at least another month.

"Everybody can do the math themselves," Washington said. "This team has great potential to do big things."

SCOUTING TULSA: Tulsa enters with a six-game winning streak. The Golden Hurricane is a veteran team, with 78 percent of its scoring having returned from last season.

Tulsa is rather undersized, with two 6-foot-8 forwards (Junior Etou and Martins Igbanu) the biggest men in the starting lineup. Etou leads the team with averages of 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, while Igbanu averages 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Point guard Sterling Taplin averages 12.0 points and 4.4 assists. Forward DaQuan Jefferies comes off the bench to average 10.4 points.

"They are a smaller team, but they play with grit and toughness to make up for their lack of height," Cronin said. "They have some very competitive kids that are starting to jell late in the year. Whenever you have a quality point guard, which they do in Sterling Taplin, you’re a dangerous team."

Tulsa coach Frank Haith is in his fourth year at the school, with a 63-47 record. Tulsa was an NCAA First Four team in 2016.

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Scouting report

TULSA

Record: 17-10 (10-5 AAC)

Offense: 73.7 ppg (No. 5 in AAC)

Defense: 71.6 ppg (No. 9 in AAC)

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PROJECTED LINEUP

PLAYER POS. HT. KEY STAT

Sterling Taplin Guard 6’1” 12.0 ppg

Corey Henderson Jr. Guard 6’4” 9.8 ppg

Lawson Korita Guard 6’5” 3.0 ppg

Junior Etou Forward 6’8” 15.4 ppg

Martins Igbanu Forward 6’8” 9.0 ppg

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PLAYER TO WATCH

Sterling Taplin

While senior forward Junior Etou is Tulsa’s top scorer and rebounder, junior point guard Taplin is the man UC must first contain. Taplin (12.0 ppg, 4.4 assists) is a steady veteran capable of big scoring nights, including 30 points against UConn in a 73-71 win on Feb. 15.

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NO. 11 CINCINNATI

Record: 24-4 (13-2 AAC)

Offense: 75.8 ppg (No. 3 in AAC)

Defense: 56.9 ppg (No. 1 in AAC)

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PROJECTED LINEUP

PLAYER POS. HT. KEY STAT

Justin Jenifer Guard 5’10” 5.0 ppg

Jarron Cumberland Guard 6’5” 11.0 ppg

Jacob Evans III Guard 6’6” 13.3 ppg

Gary Clark Forward 6’8” 12.9 ppg

Kyle Washington Forward 6’9” 11.2 ppg

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THE GAME

Tipoff: Noon Sunday at BB&T Arena (9,400), Highland Heights, Kentucky

TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network/WLW-AM (700)

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NOTEWORTHY

Magic number: 15 – Home wins by UC over Tulsa, in 17 lifetime meetings on the Bearcats’ floor. The ESPN BPI matchup predictor gives UC a 97.7 percent chance to win this game.

UC is No. 12 and Tulsa is No. 78 in the NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). In the Pomeroy Ratings, UC is No. 5 and Tulsa is No. 113.

Clark and Washington's Last Home Game

From Tulsa Athletics:

Quote:TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will look to extend its six-game winning streak when it takes to the road for an 11 a.m. matchup at No. 11 Cincinnati on Sunday, Feb. 25 at BB&T Arena.

The Golden Hurricane (17-10, 10-5) retained sole possession of fourth place with a 70-61 win over UCF on Wednesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center behind 19 points off the bench from DaQuan Jeffries. Junior Etou added 17 points, all of which came in the second half, as Tulsa used a late 12-2 run to build a double-digit lead with two minutes to play.

TU finished with a season-high 18 assists on its 23 baskets and the Hurricane shot 53.5-percent to become the first UCF opponent this season to shoot better than 46-percent in a game.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats (24-4, 13-2) snapped a two-game skid with a 77-52 win over UConn on Thursday night at BB&T Arena. Cincinnati has won 40 of their last 41 home games, with the lone loss during that stretch coming against then-No. 19 Wichita State on Feb. 18. Jacob Evans leads four players averaging in double-figures at 13.3 ppg, while Gary Clark is averaging 12.9 points and a conference-leading 8.5 rebounds per game.

Cincinnati leads the all-time series 25-12.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• TU will look to extend its season-best six-game winning streak when it faces No. 11 Cincinnati at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday, Feb. 25 at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
• Sunday's game will mark the 38th all-time meeting betwen the programs and Cincinnati leads the series 25-12.
• Tulsa is coming off a 70-61 win over UCF on Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center. DaQuan Jeffries scored 19 points off the bench and TU (.535) became the first UCF opponent this season to shoot better than 46-percent.
• Tulsa has surpassed last season's overall (15) and conference (8) win totals and the program now has recorded at least 15 wins in 11 consecutive seasons.
• Tulsa's six-game winning streak is its longest since winning 12 straight games during the 2014-15 campaign, which was head coach Frank Haith's first season at TU.
• Sterling Taplin was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after he averaged 18.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in wins last week over UConn and USF.
• Junior Etou leads the team at 15.4 ppg and 7.8 rpg and those marks rank seventh and third in The American, respectively. His 8.9 rpg during conference play lead the league.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +4.9 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double-digits six times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 44 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only Cincinnati (54) and SMU (51) during that span (2014-present).
• Tulsa was picked to finish eighth in The American Preseason Poll. TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in all three previous seasons under head coach Frank Haith.

Notes
The Game
• Tulsa will continue American Athletic Conference play at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday, Feb. 25, when it will face No. 11 Cincinnati at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
• This will be the only meeting between the Bearcats and Golden Hurricane this season. Tulsa also faces UCF, SMU and Houston only once during the regular-season.
• Sunday's game can be seen on CBS Sports Network, while fans in the Tulsa area can tune to Big Country 99.5 FM with Bruce Howard and former Hurricane player J.R. Rollo calling the action. Live audio from the game also can be found on tulsahurricane.com or by using the TuneIn app.

The Series
• Sunday's game will mark the 38th all-time meeting between Tulsa and Cincinnati. The Bearcats own a 25-12 lead in the series and have won 15 of the 17 matchups on their home court.
• Cincinnati has won five of the six meetings since Tulsa joined the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season. The Hurricane and the Bearcats also were members of the Missouri Valley Conference together from 1957-69.
• The series dates back to Dec. 30, 1946, when the Bearcats took a 43-42 win over Tulsa in Cincinnati.

Scouting the Bearcats
• Cincinnati snapped a two-game skid with a 77-52 win over UConn on Thursday night at BB&T Arena. The American preseason favorites sit atop the conference standings with a 24-4 overall record and 13-2 league mark.
• The Bearcats have won 40 of their last 41 home games, with the lone loss during that stretch coming against then-No. 19 Wichita State on Feb. 18.
• Jacob Evans leads four players averaging in double-figures at 13.3 ppg, while Gary Clark is averaging 12.9 points and a conference-leading 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Cincinnati leads the nation in scoring margin (+18.9) and ranks second in scoring defense (56.9 ppg).

Last Meeting
• Corey Henderson Jr. had 15 points and Sterling Taplin added 10, but No. 7-seed Tulsa dropped an 80-61 decision to No. 2-seed Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on March 10, 2017, at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
• Cincinnati slowly built a double-digit lead in the first half after a 7-7 tie in the early minutes and the Bearcats had a 15-point edge at halftime.
• Kyle Washington led Cincinnati with 21 points, while Jacob Evans added 20 and Troy Caupain finished with 15.

Last Time Out
• DaQuan Jeffries came off the bench to score 19 points and Tulsa used a late 12-2 run to pull away for its sixth consecutive win with a 70-61 victory over UCF on Wednesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• With the victory, the Hurricane retained sole possession of fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings with three games to go in the regular-season.
• Junior Etou added 17 points, all of which came in the second half, and Tulsa shot 53.5-percent to become the first UCF opponent to shoot better than 46-percent this season.
• TU also finished with a season-high 18 assists on its 23 baskets, led by six from Sterling Taplin.
• A highlight, and-1 dunk from Jeffries sparked a 9-1 run for a 51-46 lead. UCF came back to tie the score at 53 with 7:38 remaining before Tulsa's game-deciding 12-2 run made it 65-55 with two minutes to play.

Hurricane Preview

Let's welcome the Golden Hurricane with a ritualistic Golden Shower.

(02-25-2018 10:15 AM)TubaCat Wrote:  Let's welcome the Golden Hurricane with a ritualistic Golden Shower.

I never understood the "Golden Hurricane" as OK has tornados not hurricanes. The below explains it although I still think it is stupid:

Teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tulsa (TU) had many unofficial team nicknames including Kendallites (from TU's predecessor institution Henry Kendall College), Presbyterians (from the university's founding by the Presbyterian Church), Tulsans, Tigers, Orange and Black and Yellow Jackets. The name "Golden Tornadoes" was chosen by TU football coach H.M. Archer (1922–24) based on new gold and black uniforms (rather than the previous orange and black) and a remark made during practice of the team "roaring through opponents" (during a season when TU went undefeated, including wins over Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas). However, it was quickly discovered that the same name had been chosen in 1917 by Georgia Tech. Archer then substituted the term "hurricane" for "tornado" and a team vote prior to leaving for the game against Texas A&M confirmed the official nickname as "Golden Hurricane".

Now you know the rest of the story.

view for today’s game:

https://i.imgur.com/Up9a7Xt.jpg

go Cats!!

Looking for Cane to have a big game. Watch espeen app is having issues with Spectrum cable subscribers- been down since at least Thursday.

Looks like Cronin finally made the change. Washington not switching on in our man-to-man.

And we've given up 4 wide open threes in their fire 5 attempts.

Running great offense but every one of Tulsa's shots have been wide open.

(02-25-2018 11:55 AM)FenderCat Wrote:  Looking for Cane to have a big game. Watch espeen app is having issues with Spectrum cable subscribers- been down since at least Thursday.

CBSSN duh. Don't get that anyway.

Tulsa lighting it up from 3 to start. How many times have we seen that? But UC lighting it up even better! Never seen that!

UC. Definitely UC’s best offensive team under Cronin.

Where is Cane and D?

Tulsa is red hot from 3. They have some nice players. UC is hot also.

I think it's safe to predict the Cronin will not be happy with the D this game.

Cumberland 2-2 from three, hope this is a sign of him getting hot for the rest of the season.

If only we could make a four foot shot.

There were a couple of nice feeds inside to Washington.

So at what point do we stop leaving them wide open on the perimeter?

Offense has been magnificent but Tulsa has repeatedly gotten wide open looks. I can't remember a single game this year where shooters have repeatedly been this wide open.

Are they using a women's ball?