MEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
UCONN at CINCINNATI
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati
Records: UConn 93, Cincinnati 75
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FMESPN Hartford, WAVZNew Haven (1300 AM), WICCBrideport (600 AM), WINEDanbury (940 AM), WGCH Greenwich (1490 AM)
KEEP AN EYE ON
Counting on Carlton: Junior center Josh Carlton is working on three straight games without scoring in double figures (including a bagel on Dec. 22 against New Hampshire). Coach Dan Hurley notes that a 6foot10, postup player like Carlton might struggle against lowmajor, guardoriented teams, but can’t use that as an excuse moving forward.
“He’s had a ton of starts, played at a very high level against some really good teams. He’s above that, he’s better than that,” said Hurley. “We need a much better version of Josh if we’re gonna have a good conference season. So much of this game is mental, man. When it starts going sideways on you, you’ve got to be mentally strong, you have to believe in yourself and trust yourself.”
Carlton had 10 points and nine rebounds in an overtime loss last season at Cincinnati.
“A lot of times, with players, they walk into places where they had success and they remember that, and it helps.”
Bouknight alright? Freshman guard James Bouknight suffered a calf injury in the first half of UConn’s 6947 win over NJIT on Sunday. Trainer James Doran let Bouknight play through the injury in the second half, and Dan Hurley seemed fairly confident Bouknight would be good to go for Wednesday night.
AAC kings in Queen City: Since the
AAC was formed, Cincinnati has more wins — by far — than any other league opponent. The Bearcats are 8622, followed by Houston (6442) and Memphis (6048).
UConn is a distant sixth, at 5552.