UC to welcome back Mamoudou Diarra, Tennessee Tech in final test before opening AAC play

In this modern college athletics world where student-athletes have the freedom to hop in the transfer portal and make their way onto another campus, a team could look drastically different in a matter of a few short weeks.

The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team had six players enter the portal at the conclusion of last season. Two players – Mason Madsen and Mike Saunders Jr. –  elected to return, while four players – Mamoudou Diarra (Tennessee Tech), Tari Eason (LSU), Zach Harvey (UC Santa Barbara) and Gabe Madsen (Utah) – went elsewhere.

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One of those departed players – Diarra – will make his return to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday night when the Bearcats (9-3) host Tennessee Tech.

"It's going to be really exciting seeing him coming back to Cincinnati where he started," UC junior guard Jeremiah Davenport said. "Us being around for so long for two years. It's going to be really exciting to see what he does and what we do. It's going to be really fun."

Diarra, a four-year Cincinnati letterwinner and UC graduate, averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game over his four-year UC career.

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound native of Bamako, the capital of the West African nation of Mali, is averaging 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 12 games (five starts) for the Golden Eagles (3-9).

Tuesday will be the last test for the Bearcats before they take a break for the holidays and then open American Athletic Conference play Dec. 28 at No. 13 Houston.

"We have to make sure we amp up our intensity, our focus level to finish strong so we can feel good about going home and seeing our family and coming back, resuming against a very good Houston team, as everyone in the country knows," Cincinnati senior guard David DeJulius.

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THE GAME

Tipoff: 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena

TV/Radio: ESPN+/WLW-AM (700)

Series info: Cincinnati has won both meetings against Tennessee Tech, with the last coming in the 2005 Las Vegas Holiday Classic. The Bearcats defeated the Golden Eagles, 105-62.

SCOUTING REPORT

Tennessee Tech (3-9)

Coach: John Pelphrey, third season (17-53)

Offense: 73.8 ppg

Defense: 72.2 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

Jr. Clay (G, 6', 12.2 ppg)

Keishawn Davidson (G, 6'2", 11.7 ppg)

Diante Wood (G, 6'4", 6.2 pgg)

Daniel Ramsey (F, 6'9", 6.4 ppg)

Shandon Goldman (F, 6'10", 5 ppg)

Cincinnati (9-3)

Coach: Wes Miller, first season (9-3)

Offense: 71.3 ppg

Defense: 59.8 ppg

Projected lineup

Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)

David DeJulius (G, 6’, 13.4 ppg)

Mika Adams-Woods (G, 6’3”, 6.8 ppg)

John Newman III (G, 6’5”, 6.3 ppg)

Jeremiah Davenport (G, 6'7", 12.5 ppg)

Abdul Ado (F, 6’11”, 1.3 bpg)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kenny White Jr.

The 6-foot-7, 205-pound freshman forward from Madisonville, Kentucky, scored a career-high 24 points in 24 minutes off the bench for Tennessee Tech in its 72-63 loss Saturday at Wright State. White shot 10-for-12 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3  from 3-point range. White is averaging 8.3 points per game this season.

Jeremiah Davenport

Davenport is averaging 15.8 points over the last four games after scoring six combined points in the two games prior. His six 3-pointers on 11 attempts Saturday against Ashland were a career-high and the most by a UC player since Jaevin Cumberland on Nov. 24, 2019, against Bowling Green.

KEY TO THE GAME

Lock in

With UC's holiday break set to start as soon as the final buzzer sounds Tuesday, the Bearcats could stumble against Diarra and an upset-minded Tennessee Tech team without the right amount of focus. Cincinnati needs to play well against the Golden Eagles since its the Bearcats' last opportunity to iron out any kinks before facing Houston, a team that defeated UC by 38 and 37 points in their two meetings last season.

RANKINGS

KenPom.com: Tennessee Tech (282); Cincinnati (69)

NET: Tennessee Tech (275); Cincinnati (48)

RPI: Tennessee Tech (343); Cincinnati (110)