Coach Josh Pastner By Courtney Smith
The AP Top 25 poll in college basketball was released on Monday, giving fans a chance to see whether or not their favorite teams ranked in the top 25 or had vanished from the list.
Five teams were ranked in the top 25 from the American Athletic Conference: Louisville (11), Cincinnati (15), SMU (18), Connecticut (19) and Memphis (20).
The Tigers (22-7, 11-5 AAC) should be done celebrating their win over defending national champion Louisville Cardinals (24-5, 13-3 AAC), from Saturday. Now, the Tigers have another task on their hands as they are out to get revenge on the Cincinnati Bearcats (24-5, 13-3 AAC).
"As I told our guys after the Houston game, we can't have a hangover from that game going into Louisville, same thing from Louisville game going into Cincinnati," Pastner said. "We can't have a hangover meaning we now got to focus on Cincinnati."
In the last meeting between these two teams, the Bearcats had their way with the Tigers by not allowing them to get the easy transition points that the Tigers are so used to getting.
Senior forward Justin Jackson was effective for the Bearcats on both ends of the court. He added 13 points, eight rebounds, seven rebounds, and two assists to lift his team to an 69-53 victory in front of Tiger Nation.
The Bearcats' star player Sean Kilpatrick added 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.4 percent) from the field.
"I think they're (Cincinnati) one of the very best defensive teams in the country," Pastner stated to the media.
The AP Top 25 poll in college basketball was released on Monday, giving fans a chance to see whether or not their favorite teams ranked in the top 25 or had vanished from the list.
Five teams were ranked in the top 25 from the American Athletic Conference: Louisville (11), Cincinnati (15), SMU (18), Connecticut (19) and Memphis (20).
The Tigers (22-7, 11-5 AAC) should be done celebrating their win over defending national champion Louisville Cardinals (24-5, 13-3 AAC), from Saturday. Now, the Tigers have another task on their hands as they are out to get revenge on the Cincinnati Bearcats (24-5, 13-3 AAC).
"As I told our guys after the Houston game, we can't have a hangover from that game going into Louisville, same thing from Louisville game going into Cincinnati," Pastner said. "We can't have a hangover meaning we now got to focus on Cincinnati."
In the last meeting between these two teams, the Bearcats had their way with the Tigers by not allowing them to get the easy transition points that the Tigers are so used to getting.
Senior forward Justin Jackson was effective for the Bearcats on both ends of the court. He added 13 points, eight rebounds, seven rebounds, and two assists to lift his team to an 69-53 victory in front of Tiger Nation.
The Bearcats' star player Sean Kilpatrick added 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.4 percent) from the field.
"I think they're (Cincinnati) one of the very best defensive teams in the country," Pastner stated to the media.
Senior guard Michael Dixon Jr. is getting hot at the right time for the Tigers. In their win on Saturday against Louisville, Dixon had 18 points. Cincinnati proved they are an elite defensive bunch against the Tigers. As a team, the Tigers shot 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field and went 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Senior guard Joe Jackson led the Tigers in scoring with 13. Michael Dixon Jr. added 12 points.
Jackson is eager to get back on the floor against the aggressive Cincinnati team.
"Yeah, of course, because for one we lost to them. It's a chance to get a great win," Jackson said. "This last time we lost to them, they were all on Instagram and social media acting elementary about the win, so it's just going to be great to play against them and try to get the victory."
Jackson has been in a funk as of late. In the Tigers' last two games, Jackson combined to score 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting (21.4 percent).
Jackson said he's not worried about his shooting woes and feels he will get back to his normal self.
"It was all good. When I went back to watch the (Louisville) game, I seen that the rest of my teammates stepped up and they played great," Jackson said. "Usually, I am one of the guys that's playing good in a situation like that. I am not one of those selfish guys. It just hit me unexpectedly. I thought I was going to play great against Louisville."
With wins over Cincinnati and SMU, the Tigers could possibly finish in the top three in the conference.
The game between Memphis and Cincinnati is slated for Thursday at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tip-off for the game is at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN and ESPN3.
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