Preview Paw Prints: South Florida Bulls

Cincinnati has won 11 of the past 13 meetings in this series.

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats (13-6, 4-2) are trying to bank some more conference wins following a nice 2-0 run last week, and South Florida (8-10, 1-4) awaits next.

Last year's USF win in Fifth Third Arena was the Bulls' second triumph in the past 13 meetings. Cincinnati has typically dominated this rivalry and needs to again for the season goals to stay on track.

South Florida enters the game ranked 143rd on KenPom, while Cincinnati is 71st. ESPN's matchup predictor gives Cincinnati a 59.6% chance to win in Tampa.

Rebounding Rising

© Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Bearcats took it on the chin in their board matchup against Temple on New Year's Day (46-28 margin in the loss). Since then, the team has locked in on snagging misses, outrebounding their past four opponents by 45 combined boards.

"We know we haven't arrived," Miller said following the win over SMU. "We still got a long way to go there. But you know, again, for me, in my core, if we defend and we rebound, you're always gonna give yourself a chance to win. Even with a difficult offensive night tonight—we did those two things."

Whether it's slight tweaks in practice or just an overall buy-in, Cincinnati is crashing the glass like longtime fans are used to seeing. Senior guard Landers Nolley has been a strong catalyst. He's recorded 10-plus rebounds in three of the past four games.

"Coach has emphasized that when I crash the boards and get more rebounds it's just better for our team," Nolley said this past weekend. "So I told him from now on, I'm gonna try and get 10 boards every game."

The margin for error increases dramatically for UC if they keep crashing the glass like this. Shots have fallen consistently for the third-best offense in the AAC, but that's obviously not always going to hold.

South Florida's biggest strength is rebounding, so this will is a nice test for UC's growing acumen. The Bulls average 37.2 boards per game (71st), and 10.6 offensive rebounds per game (38th).

Viktor Blakhin

© Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

Viktor Lakhin just posted the most single-game blocks by a UC player in over 15 years (eight). He was all over the floor defensively against SMU, a culmination of all the hard work amassed over the past year.

Lakhin is comfortable in his UC life now—leading to uncomfortable opposing trips to the paint. The Russian's timing, court awareness, and tenacity are all coming together in a fantastic package. Lakhin isn't playing great offensively right now, but that hasn't changed his defensive mentality.

The frontcourt piece has been below 50% shooting in five of the past six games. That included Saturday's 3-of-9 showing. Outings like that feel a lot better with 8 blocks and a win. Now, Lakhin faces arguably his toughest interior test of the season.

USF's second-leading scorer, Russell Tchewa (11.8 Pts, 7.8 Reb, 0.9 Ast), is a 7-foot, 260-pound force on the inside. He is equaling Lakhins' 62.7% shooting mark this season and will be a very tough defensive assignment down low. Tchewa ranks third among AAC players in rebounding and FG%.

Hot Harris

© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

USF relies on Tchewa down low and guard Tyler Harris (16.6 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 3.0 Ast) on the outside. The senior just made this week's AAC Honor roll after averaging 27.5 points and 2.5 assists in two games last week, including 31 points at No. 1 Houston.

The Memphis transfer is a certified bucket that shoots from deep at a high clip. 

The 5-foot-9 guard won't scare anyone down low, but he's arguably the best outside shooter in the conference. Harris holds the AAC's third-best three-point percentage (39.2%) and has taken more triples than any player in the top 14.

That's the No. 1 thing to defend in this contest for Cincinnati, as USF is shooting 36% from deep in conference play (third in AAC). Connecting the backcourt defense on Harris with the frontcourt defense on Tchewa and turning that into rebounds will determine this game for Cincinnati.

The Bearcats have to hit the glass hard on defense with Tchewa in and then avoid giving the ball away. South Florida forces a turnover on 20.8% of possessions (67th nationally). Flipping that on Harris (0.5 A/TO ratio) and the Bulls should lead to a road win.

Catch the game on ESPN+, Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

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