The Cincinnati Bearcats (13) have cruised through the AAC thus far and will visit the Louisville Cardinals (12) for the first of two meetings this year.

Louisville, the defending national champions, have won six of their last seven games including a loss to AAC foe Memphis. On the other hand, Cincinnati is on a 12-game winning streak and is 8-0 in the conference.

CLICK HERE to watch a live stream of the game.

In their last four games, Louisville has held each AAC opponent below 37 percent shooting and forced an average of 16 turnovers. Coach Rick Pitino said his team needs to keep up this strong defensive play.

"We have gained a lot of strength in terms of being able to change our defenses and recognize when we should change our defenses," Pitino told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

Also working for Louisville is a lineup change that puts former starter Wayne Blackshear on the bench, where he has scored an average of 16 points and 65 percent shooting in the last three games. Luke Hancock and Montrezl Harrell have also played well since becoming starters. Pitino also emphasized the importance of getting Chris Jones back for Thursday's game.

"He's a big steal guy. He's an explosive scorer," Pitino said of the guard who has missed time with a strained oblique muscle. "When you have three guards like that, you're dangerous. We escaped while he was out."

Dating back to last season, Cincinnati had held 27 consecutive opponents under 70 points before Sunday's 80-76 win over Temple. In that game Justin Jackson, the team's leading shot blocker and rebounder hurt his ankle. Replicating his defensive presence will not be easy for Cincinnati. Even if Jackson plays, there is no guarantee he will 100 percent effective.

At 56.9 average points allowed per game, Cincinnati is among the top defensive teams in the country. Sean Kilpatrick leads the Bearcats with 19.1 points per game and without Jackson, his matchup with Louisville leading scorer Russ Smith could be pivotal.

"Obviously, Sean is bigger and Russ is faster," Cincinnati coach Mike Cronin said, "but I think when both of them are at their best their shot selection is great. I think both of them are at their worst when they take too many shots and too many hard shots.

"Their teams both tend to excel when they are judicious with their shot selection and their all-around offensive game is at its best."