UH-Cincinnati rundown: Perennial rivals meet in AAC title game, again

UH senior forward Justin Gorham shoots an off-balanced layup against Cincinnati on Feb. 21 at Fertitta Center. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar

The Houston men’s basketball team will face off against Cincinnati for the American Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth.

The Cougars are coming off a thrilling two-point victory over the Memphis Tigers in the AAC Tournament semifinals to secure their spot in the title game.

UH was led by junior guard Quentin Grimes, who finished with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line, and senior forward Justin Gorham, who had 15 points and seven rebounds.

Despite the tough victory, the Cougars were quick to point out they have to switch gears to Cincinnati.

“Now we just move on,” UH head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters after the Memphis win. “We have the championship game tomorrow against a team that is red-hot. We’ll get ready to play tomorrow.”

A look at the Bearcats

Cincinnati enters the championship game off an upset one-point win against No. 1 Wichita State.

In the victory, the Bearcats were led by freshman guard Mason Madsen, who ended the game with 10 points and four rebounds. Their defense held Wichita State sophomore guard Tyson Etienne to only 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.

Cincinnati’s leading scorer for the season, senior guard Keith Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for the campaign, left Saturday’s game with just under three minutes remaining in the first half and did not return. His status for Sunday’s game against UH is unknown.

During the regular season, UH and Cincinnati met once back on Feb. 21. In that contest, the Cougars jumped on the Bearcats from the opening minutes and led by 24 points at halftime. UH ended up winning the game by 38 points.

Grimes led UH with 20 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Despite the lopsided score, UH knows that it will be in for a tough task when it faces off against Cincinnati on Sunday.

“Three games in three days, it’s not about your record, or how you are playing,” Sampson said. “Three games in three days, you can throw everything out the window. It’s just a survival game more than anything else.”