Fifth Third Arena should be rocking when SMU visits the No. 22 Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday night, and that includes under the boards.
SMU (14-3, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) and UC (13-2, 3-0 AAC) both are hot, with SMU riding a 10-game winning streak and UC a six-game winning streak. The game also matches two strong rebounding teams, with SMU ranked No. 2 nationally with a plus-13.2 rebounding margin and UC tied for 46th at plus-5.6 per game.
UC expects a large crowd at its 13,176-seat arena, and the fans should see especially fierce action inside.
“They are the best rebounding team, statistically, that I think that I’ve ever played against,” UC coach Mick Cronin said.