Cincinnati still unbeaten in AAC

Sixth-ranked Cincinnati is still undefeated in the American Athletic Conference, putting together its longest winning streak and highest ranking in coach Mick Cronin’s 12 seasons.

The key now for the Bearcats is staying focused on the immediate future — and not what could happen in March.

“We obviously know where we’re at, but we have to keep on going,” senior Kyle Washington said.

Washington scored 17 points in 18 minutes as the Bearcats won their 16th straight game — including all 12 AAC games — with a 76-51 victory over shorthanded SMU on Sunday in Dallas.

The Bearcats ( 23-2) missed their first seven shots in the game but were down only 5-2 when they finally scored just more than 3 minutes in on a dunk by Nysier Brooks. That started a 9-0 run that put them ahead to stay, and they had as much as a 35-point lead midway through the second half.

Jimmy Whitt and Jahmal McMurray each had 19 points for SMU (15-10, 5-7), which has l ost three straight and seven of 10.

“Obviously they’re dealing with injuries, but it’s still 5-on-5, so you’ve got to come out ready to play,” Cronin said. “We were able to get separation and do what we should have done in this situation that SMU is in, and be able to pull away from them.”

SMU was without preseason AAC player of the year Shake Milton for the third straight game because of an injured right hand. Other Top 25 games: Grayson Allen scored 23 points, and No. 9 Duke beat host Georgia Tech 80-69 to end a two-game losing streak. Held to single-digits the last two games in losses at St. John’s and North Carolina, Allen added six assists and four rebounds for the Blue Devils (20-5, 8-4 ACC). Josh Okogie had 29 points for Georgia Tech (11-14, 4-8). ... Moe Wagner scored 20 points and added 11 rebounds as visiting Michigan (20-7, 9-5 Big Ten) rode a hot-shooting first half to beat Wisconsin 83-72. Duncan Robinson added 16 points for the Wolverines. Ethan Happ led the Badgers (11-16, 4-10) with a season-high 29 points.