Memphis basketball preview: Another chapter of old school rivalry awaits Thursday

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA sports coverage. Today, our Memphis Correspondent previews the basketball game between Memphis and Cincinnati.

In a rivalry that dates back to the late 60's, spanning four conferences—the Missouri Valley, Metro, Great Midwest, and Conference USA—the #22 Tigers (10-3) will renew their acquaintances with former Conference USA and current Big East member Cincinnati (9-4) Thursday at FedExForum.

The Bearcats are traveling to Memphis on the heals of a 79-66 loss to Ohio; while the Tigers are riding the momentum of double digit wins over Middle Tennessee (86-46) and Lamar (87-62).

Last year, the Tigers rallied behind Antonio Anderson's career-high 32-point performance to pull off the 91-81 win at Cincinnati. This year, the Bearcats will be looking to return the favor on the Tigers' home court.

Key to the Tiger defense of FedExForum Thursday will be their performance under the glass, as Coach John Calipari has stressed in practice this week: rebounding is essential against the Bearcats' physical play.

The Tigers currently have three players averaging over 10 points per-game: Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'6, So) with 15.8, Jeremy Hunt (6'5, Sr) with 13.0, and Robert Dozier (6'9, So) with 11.1.

However, to get the ball to them Joey Dorsey (6'9, Jr) and Kareem Cooper (6'11, So) must contribute significantly to the Tigers under the glass. Dorsey and Cooper are averaging 9.8 rpg, and 6.8 rpg respectively, with Dozier adding another 6.0rpg as well. If the big men can keep pulling in the rebounds, Memphis could light up the scoreboard quickly with their fast paced offense. But, if the Tigers shooting is cold, that rebounding will be the life force keeping them in the game, allowing them to make up for missed shots.

Cincinnati's performance, on the other hand, hinges heavily on two factors:

First, freshman guard Deonta Vaughn (6'1) is going to have to step up. He's already averaging 14.5 points per-game, and has the proven ability to take the ball to the hole, scoring 24 against Xavier on Dec. 13. The Bearcats will look to him to lead the charge, and the Tigers must shut him down for a win.

Second, the consistency of their big men Marcus Sikes (6'8, Jr), Cedric McGowan (6'7, Fr) in getting their combined 18.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per-game, and the ability of John Williamson (6'6, Jr) , to average his 15 points per-game and 8.2 rebounds per game. If those Bearcats can keep their averages against Tiger big-men Joey Dorsey, Kareem Cooper, and Robert Dozier, they will be in the game.

Memphis is the heavy favorite to win this one, having both home-court advantage and already played a tough pre-conference schedule with a close lose to #7 11-1 Arizona (79-71) and a big win over 10-3 Kentucky (80-63), they will be well prepared for everything the Bearcats can throw at them. However, Cincinnati has a 2-point loss to UAB (59-57), which gave #3 Florida all they could chew last week falling 75-70 after leading most of the game.

The Bearcats have also defeated Xavier and Temple already this year, and are capable of giving the Tigers a run for their money.

The storied rivalry continues at 8:00CT at FedExForum and on ESPN2.