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The last time that the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Tulane Green Wave stepped on the hard wood together, UC won in a big way. It will expect the same results on Saturday afternoon when the Bearcats visit Tulane. The Bearcats have been on a hot streak lately with a nine-game winning streak to show for it. After a couple of close games recently, Cincinnati will look to bury Tulane early on to ride out a simple victory.
Get to Know the Opponent
The season for the Green Wave is no longer salvageable at this point as they ride into Saturday's game with a 4-14 record, including a 1-5 mark in conference play. There are not many bright spots for Tulane to look toward at the this juncture in the season, other than getting playing time for younger players to see what they have to work with next season.
The best player on Tulane is junior guard Cameron Reynolds, who is just about the only player who made an impact on the game last time they played the Bearcats, scoring 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Reynolds is scoring 15.6 points per game and is really the only consistent shooter on Tulane's team.
Tulane’s defense has been one of its biggest issues, especially its tendency to give up a lot of open three point shots. Look for UC to work the ball into the lane and kick it out to the perimeter for open looks around the arc. It certainly worked in the first meeting when UC nailed 13-of-24 shots from three-point range.
The Game Before the Shootout
This Saturday is the last time the Bearcats will take the floor before their inner city showdown against Xavier at Fifth Third Arena Thursday night. Mick Cronin will make sure that everything is working smoothly going into the most important game of the season. Although you never want to look past and opponent, the Tulane game will be looked as a tune-up game for the Crosstown Shootout.
The Bearcats will be looking to improve on a few key areas before they meet up with the Muskateers, such as their perimeter defense, getting young guys involved, and getting leaders to control the game, like what Troy Caupain did against Temple.
Prediction
Its simple. Expect another big win for the Bearcats against Tulane in their final game before the big matchup against Xavier.