UCLA vs. Cincinnati: How they matchup

A look at how UCLA and Cincinnati will match up in Sunday’s second-round NCAA tournament game in Sacramento.

Who: No. 3 UCLA (30-4) vs. No. 6 Cincinnati (30-5).

What: NCAA South Regional second-round game, Sunday, 6:30 p.m. PDT.

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento. TV: TBS; Radio: 570.

Update: UCLA wants to vroom its way to a regional semifinal. Cincinnati intends to set out a spike strip. The Bearcats’ defense forces teams to expend an average of 18.2 seconds per possession on offense, according to analytics expert Ken Pomeroy. That’s nearly four full seconds longer than the Bruins have averaged on their possessions this season. Cincinnati Coach Mick Cronin said his team would be able to slow the Bruins only with smart, efficient offense because “if you’re playing transition defense against this UCLA team you’re going to lose.” Cincinnati has held 28 of its 35 opponents under 70 points and kept 20 teams below 40% shooting. UCLA Coach Steve Alford said freshman point guard Lonzo Ball would “be close to 100%” after suffering a bruised right hip during a hard fall against Kent State in the first round. Alford also said he expected reserve forward Ike Anigbogu to play after having sat out the last game with a sprained left foot. Cronin called Ball “probably the best passer since Jason Kidd or Magic Johnson playing with the ball in his hands.”

STARTERS

CINCINNATI; Ht; Wt; PPG; P; UCLA; Ht; Wt; PPG

Troy Caupain; 6-4; 210; 10.5; G; Lonzo Ball; 6-6; 190; 14.6

Kevin Johnson; 6-3; 185; 7.8; G; Bryce Alford; 6-3; 185; 15.6

Jacob Evans; 6-6; 210; 13.5; G; Isaac Hamilton; 6-5; 195; 14.1

Gary Clark; 6-8; 225; 10.8; F; TJ Leaf; 6-10; 225; 16.4

Kyle Washington; 6-9; 230; 13.1; F/C; Thomas Welsh; 7-0; 245; 10.8

RESERVES

Jarron Cumberland; 6-5; 218; 8.1; G; Aaron Holiday; 6-1; 185; 12.7

Tre Scott; 6-8; 225; 3.1; F; Ike Anigbogu; 6-10; 250; 4.9

Justin Jenifer; 5-10; 175; 2.9; G/F; Gyorgy Goloman; 6-11; 215; 3.8

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch