HOUSTON — The No. 5-ranked University of Cincinnati basketball team is cruising along with a 16-game winning streak, but the Bearcats will face one of their toughest challenges of the season here Thursday (7 p.m.).
UC (23-2, 12-0 American Athletic Conference) will play a Houston team (19-5, 9-3 AAC) that also is projected as an NCAA Tournament club. The Cougars gave UC one of its biggest scares of the season when the Bearcats rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Houston 80-70 on Jan. 31 at Northern Kentucky University.
"They're going to be all fired up because, of course, we beat them at home," UC senior forward Gary Clark said.