GAME NOTES: Seeking to lengthen a three-game win streak, the Cincinnati Bearcats entertain the East Carolina Pirates in an American Athletic Conference tilt at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday.

Cincinnati has taken three consecutive decisions, which includes a 56-50 AAC- opening win over SMU on Saturday. The Bearcats own a 10-3 record on the season, and are an impressive 8-1 at home so far.

East Carolina on the other hand, hasn't been up to Cincinnati's level. The Pirates are 7-8 this season, and have started conference play with an 0-2 mark, dropping back-to-back clashes with Tulane (67-59) and South Florida (58-50). It doesn't help that ECU is 0-4 on the road this season.

These two new conference rivals have met a total of seven times on the basketball court, though this will be the first head-to-head clash since the 2005 campaign. Cincinnati has won all seven of those meetings, and owns a 4-0 series mark in Cincinnati.

East Carolina had a perfect opportunity to notch a conference win against South Florida on Saturday, as the Pirates held a 27-25 lead at halftime over the Bulls. But the visitors came out flat in the second half, and allowed USF to shoot 50 percent from the floor and go 9-of-15 from the free-throw line to capture the win. Freshman B.J. Tyson netted 16 points off the bench to lead the team in scoring, while Terry Whisnant chipped in with 11 points in 31 minutes of action. The Pirates collectively shot 35.3 percent from the field in the loss.

The freshman Tyson leads ECU in scoring coming into this matchup, netting 13.3 ppg on 45.5 percent shooting. Caleb White (13.1 ppg) and Whisnant (12.9 ppg) aren't very far behind Tyson's scoring mark for ECU, which collects 68.7 ppg as a unit. Michel Nzege (7.1 ppg, team-high 5.4 rpg) leads ECU and the conference in field goal percentage at 70.1 percent from the floor. Containing opponents hasn't always been the strongest area for the Pirates, who are allowing 66.9 ppg on 44.2 percent shooting.

Cincinnati hosted a powerful SMU team on Saturday, and was forced to come back from a three-point halftime deficit in order to grab the win. But that's just what the Bearcats did behind a 59.1 second-half shooting percentage. Farad Cobb scored 18 points off the bench to lead Cincinnati, and Octavius Ellis contributed 12 points with six rebounds in the win. Gary Clark grabbed a team- high seven boards for the Bearcats, who were outscored by SMU in the paint, 34-20.

Cincinnati hasn't just skated by, but rather thrived without a single player averaging a double-digit scoring margin this season. Ellis leads the team in scoring at 9.8 ppg, and also owns a team-best 7.2 rpg. Troy Caupain (9.2 ppg) and Clark (8.2 ppg) are up there in scoring for the Bearcats, who average 62.5 ppg and hold opponents to just 54.6 ppg, which is the best scoring defense in the conference. Caupain has dished out a team-high 44 assists this season, and has notched 14 steals to lead Cincinnati.

The good news for East Carolina is that the Pirates don't have to worry much about an overwhelming scoring attack by the Bearcats. But the Pirates do need much more of a contribution from role players like Antonio Robinson (zero points against USF) and Michael Zangari (three points). Going to Cincinnati in search of a win however, is a near impossible mountain to climb.