Bearcats coach Cronin: This may be program's best defensive team ever

Mick Cronin thinks his 2017-18 University of Cincinnati basketball team may be the best defensive unit in school history. The UC coach especially will need such play here soon.

The No. 8-ranked Bearcats mostly have ripped through their American Athletic Conference basketball schedule, going 8-0 in the league and winning by an average of 20.4 points in those games.

Things are about to get much tougher, beginning when UC (19-2, 8-0 AAC) plays host to Houston (16-4, 6-2 AAC) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena.

"By far the best Houston team since we've been in the same conference," Cronin said. "That goes back to when I was an assistant here. Houston, to be honest with you, they should have one loss."

Cronin was referring to an 81-63 Cougars defeat at then-No. 9 Wichita State on Jan. 4. Cronin then mentioned mitigating factors in Houston's others losses, 84-80 to Drexel on Nov. 17 ("An aberration"), 80-77 at LSU on Dec. 13 ("They had that game won"), and 81-72 at Tulane on Jan. 17 ("Travel ... Ice storm probably got them beat.")

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Of its 10 remaining AAC games, UC has two games against both Houston and currently No. 16-ranked Wichita (home and away) and a visit to SMU. The Bearcats drilled SMU 76-56 on Jan. 7 at NKU, but the Mustangs always are dangerous in their loud, smallish Moody Coliseum.

UC-Houston will feature the Nos. 2 and 3 scoring offenses in the league (Houston 78.4 ppg, UC 76.9) and also two of America's top defenses. UC ranks No. 2 nationally in field goal-percentage defense (36.2) and Houston is No. 9 (39.1).

UC and Houston also rank highly in the Kenpom.com ratings for adjusted defensive efficiency. UC is No. 2 nationally at .841 points per defensive possession, and Houston is No. 27 at .954 per possession.

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UC's adjusted defensive efficiency is on pace to be the second-best in the history of the KenPom metrics, dating back to 2002. Only Virginia’s .811 mark this year is better.

"Up until now it's probably the best defensive team that's probably played at Cincinnati, ever, if you look at since the KenPom's come out," Cronin said. "We're not relying on playing one defense. Contrary to popular belief, we play more than one defense. We just don't talk about it."

UC plays a variety of matchup zones and man-to-man defenses, with occasional full-court pressure.

UC also has some of the top individual defenders nationally, per the BasketballReference.com "Defensive Rating" that estimates how many points the player allowed per 100 possessions he individually faced while on the court.

UC senior forward Gary Clark ranks No. 1 nationally among individuals, at 77.0 points allowed per 100 possessions. Senior forward Kyle Washington ranks No. 5 (83.9), junior guard Jacob Evans III is No. 6 (84.3) and sophomore guard Jarron Cumberland is No. 15 (86.3).

LONG STREAKS: UC enters with a 12-game overall winning streak, and a 37-game home-court winning streak that is the longest active streak in America.

"We have our home streak and we've won a couple of games in a row, but we just try to teach every game as just one," Evans said. "Just making sure we don't look past or look back on anything."

UC seeks its eighth consecutive 20-win season, and the Bearcats are on track for their eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. UC is projected as a No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed by Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and a No. 4 seed by Jerry Palm (CBS Sports).

SCOUTING HOUSTON: Houston is projected as a No. 10 NCAA Tournament seed by Palm and a No. 11 seed by Lunardi.

Houston was picked to finish sixth in the preseason AAC coaches poll, a projection that now seems low. UC was voted to win the league.

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The Cougars are led by senior guard Rob Gray, who leads the AAC in scoring at 18.7 points per game. Junior guard Corey Davis Jr. averages 12.5 points, and senior forward Devin Davis averages 10.5 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is in his fourth season with the Cougars, with a 72-44 record. Sampson is trying to guide Houston to its first NCAA appearance since 2010.

The 62-year-old Sampson has held multiple coaching jobs, including the head posts at Oklahoma and Indiana. Sampson was forced to resign at Indiana in February of 2008 due to allegations of serious NCAA violations. Sampson then spent six years as an NBA assistant (Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets) before taking the University of Houston job.

The game

No. 8 Cincinnati vs. Houston

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Wednesday at BB&T Arena (9,400), Highland Heights, Ky.

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

Scouting report

Houston

Record: 16-4 (6-2 AAC)

Offense: 78.4 ppg (No. 2 in AAC)

Defense: 65.7 ppg (No. 4 in AAC)

Projected lineup

Player, Pos, Ht, Ppg

Galen Robinson Jr., G, 6-1, 4.0 ppg

Corey Davis Jr., G, 6-2, 12.5 ppg

Rob Gray, G, 6-2, 18.7 ppg

Devin Davis, F, 6-7, 10.5 ppg

Breaon Brady, F, 6-8, 5.1 ppg

Player to watch

Rob Gray

The senior guard leads the AAC in scoring for the second straight year, this time at 18.7 per game. Gray is a deep threat but is especially dangerous when driving to the hoop. Gray gets fouled a lot and usually converts, ranking third in the AAC in free-throw shooting (83.7 percent).

No. 8 Cincinnati

Record: 19-2 (8-0 AAC)

Offense: 76.9 ppg (No. 3 in AAC)

Defense: 56.2 ppg (No. 1 in AAC)

Projected lineup

Player, Pos, Ht, Ppg

Justin Jenifer, G, 5-10, 5.1 ppg

Jarron Cumberland, G, 6-5, 10.7 ppg

Jacob Evans III, G, 6-6, 13.7 ppg

Gary Clark, F, 6-8, 13.3 ppg

Kyle Washington, F, 6-9, 10.8 ppg

Noteworthy

Magic number: 0 – Number of times Houston has won in Cincinnati, in 15 appearances. The Bearcats hold a staggering 29-2 series lead over the Cougars, but it might be noted that UC never played the great Houston teams of Elvin Hayes (late 1960s) and Clyde Drexler/Hakeem Olajuwon (early 1980s).

UC is No. 15 and Houston is No. 48 in the NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). In the Pomeroy Ratings, UC is No. 6 and Houston is No. 36.