Final: UConn Fails to Contain No. 14 Cincinnati

At the beginning of the season, it was expected to be a showdown between the top teams in the American Athletic Conference. Cincinnati has lived up to its part, but the Huskies have struggled and the Bearcats flexed their muscles Saturday afternoon in an 82-68 romp at Fifth Third Arena.

In front of a sold-out crowd, the Bearcats (21-2, 10-0 AAC) were just too much for the Huskies (10-12, 5-5), who lost three players for the season after being chosen second in the preseason AAC poll.

Kyle Washington scored 27 points and Gary Clark added 20 and 11 rebounds as the Bearcats stayed unbeaten in the conference. Jarron Cumberland finished with 15 points.

Cincinnati led 34-26 at the half and buried the Huskies after the break, shooting 58.6 percent overall and hitting 8-for-11 on 3-pointers. They scored 16 points on UConn’s 11 turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 35-29. The Huskies never led and were tied just once – when it was 4-4 2:17 into the first half.

Rodney Purvis led UConn with 20 points, Amida Brimah had 16 and Christian Vital added 13. Sophomore point guard Jalen Adams played only 11 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble and failed to score a point. He added eight in the second half.

On a positive note for the Huskies, Steve Enoch and Juwan Durham returned from foot injuries, which kept them out of the last four and three games, respectively.

The Huskies return home to host South Florida at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion.