Cincinnati set to play 5th-ranked Connecticut

 The road will not get any easier for the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team Saturday, Jan. 10, as they welcome Jim Calhoun and the No. 5 ranked Connecticut Huskies to Fifth Third Arena for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff.

Calhoun has been coaching the Huskies since 1987 and has the second most wins among active coaches in Division I with 774 victories.

UC has never beaten UConn since entering the Big East Conference but came close last season when the Huskies beat UC by just one point on the Bearcats’ home court.

During that game the Cats led by 12 points with less than six minutes to play, but could not hold on despite Deonta Vaughn scoring a game-high 34 points.

UC’s John Williamson missed a pair of free throws down the stretch and Marcus Sikes missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer to help UConn escape with the win.

UC will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak after an 87-79 loss to Providence Wednesday night.

UConn comes into Cincinnati touting a 2-1 Big East Conference record and a 13-1 overall record after beating No. 25 West Virginia Tuesday night 61-55, marking the fourth time this season that they have beaten a top 25 team. 

The Huskies lone loss was an 11-point defeat against Georgetown University on Dec. 29, 2008.

UConn features three players who average 14 points per game, including Hasheem Thabeet and Jerome Dyson.

Thabeet, who tied his career high with 22 points in UConn’s one-point win over the Cats last season, averages a team best 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game, which is good enough for fourth best in the country.

As a team the Bearcats average just 3.8 blocks per game.

His 4.5 blocks per game last season earned Thabeet the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award and landed him on the 2008-09 All-Big East First Team.

Joining Thabeet on the All-Big East First Team was point guard and fellow teammate A.J. Price, who is averaging 9.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds.

One thing that both teams have done exceptionally well this season is rebound. Something will have to give Saturday afternoon, as both teams out-rebound their opponents by an average of 9.6 boards per game.

The Huskies also come into Saturday’s game shooting 49 percent from the field for the season, which is 11th best in the country.

UC has allowed its opponents to shoot 54 percent in each of their last two games and have shot an average of 38 percent from the field during those two games.