American at Cincinnati

American opens its centennial season at Cincinnati tonight. American went 16-16 a year ago and brings back its top three scorers. Cincinnati returns one player, fifth-year guard Grant Darbyshire, and none of last season's points. Jerrod Calhoun's first game as head coach is also the first look at 14 newcomers. American leans on the three-point shot, and the other side of that is the glass. It ranked 329th in rebounding and 329th in offensive rebounding last season, and it went 6-13 in games where it lost the rebounding battle. A missed three that nobody chases down is an empty possession. Cincinnati's frontcourt has Riley Allenspach at 6-foot-11, Deshaun Vaden at 6-foot-11, and Jayden Hastings at 6-foot-10. Each is taller than Eric Michaels, American's 6-foot-9 forward, who is back after missing all of last season. American also allowed opponents to shoot 46.5% from the field last year, so a front line this size works near the rim against a defense that gave up good looks. I expect the size gap to show up without any chemistry. I'm laying the number with Cincinnati on the spread tonight, because the rebounding gap hands the Bearcats extra possessions.