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In case you are unfortunately without a way to attend the Cincinnati Bearcats’ contest against the Mississippi State Bulldogs tonight, we’ve provided all the information you’ll need to watch/listen/stream it from the comfort of your home, car, local grocery store. Don’t forget those Pop-Tarts.
If you are going to be there in person, make sure you’re ready for a bit of traffic.
- Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN2/WatchESPN
- Announcing crew: Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and John Thompson (analyst)
- Radio: 700 WLW
- Announcing crew: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Terry Nelson (analyst)
- Series history: Back in April, the Bearcats and Bulldogs came together to announce a home-and-home series. This is the first part of that agreement. It will also mark the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs, with each have two wins to their names. UC won the most recent contest back during the SEC/Big East Invitational days, claiming a 75-63 triumph on Dec. 18, 2008.
If this year’s Bearcats are really the best team of the Mick Cronin era, they haven’t shown it yet. Tonight is where the long road to redemption will begin. OK, so that’s a little heavy-handed with the drama, but this is an important game all the same.
After losing to Xavier and Florida, UC can’t afford to drop many more (if any) non-conference games before American Athletic Conference competition gets started. After this game, there are only three more non-league tilts on the slate, including a major one at UCLA this weekend. A return to form from Jacob Evans, Jarron Cumberland and Kyle Washington is another necessity for the rest of the season and tonight would be a good time for all three to turn it up.
This is also a big game for the Bulldogs, who are 8-0 but haven’t really played anybody of note. Jacksonville State (96) is the highest ranked opponent they’ve faced based on KenPom’s ratings. A win here would cement the Bulldogs as a legitimate threat and not just a beneficiary of an easy first eight games.