Louisville coach Rick Pitino talked after Saturday's loss to the University of Cincinnati about how schedules can help dictate teams' winning and losing streaks. He was referring to the Cardinals' 9-1 start, thanks in part to nine home games. We're about to find out if some of that holds true for the seventh-ranked Bearcats, who have won 17 straight — all by double figures — but take to the road for five of their next six games.

        UC (17-1, 5-0 Conference USA) could move up again when the new Associated Press poll comes out today because No.5 Oklahoma and No.6 Oklahoma State lost this past week. So did No.3 Maryland and No.2 Florida. UC moved to No.5 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll Sunday.

        Cincinnati's next game is Tuesday night at Saint Louis (9:30 p.m., ESPN2). Here's what the next 2 1/2 weeks have to offer:

        Excluding a Jan.29 home game against East Carolina, the Bearcats will play five road games against teams with a combined record of 59-28 (.678), including 39-8 at home (.830).

        That includes Marquette, which is 10-0 in the Bradley Center in Milwaukee; 14th-ranked Wake Forest, which is 9-0 in Lawrence-Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Charlotte, which has defeated UC three of the past four times the teams have played in the 49ers' Halton Arena.

        “It's tough,” UC coach Bob Huggins said. “Any place in this league is tough on the road.”

        UC, 10-0 at Shoemaker Center, has only played four games on opposing teams' home courts, including Xavier, which is in town. The only times the Bearcats have had to travel to another team's home arena was to Oklahoma State, East Carolina and Houston.

        Senior guard Steve Logan said players tend to be more focused on the road, away from the distractions of Cincinnati.

        His formula for continuing the third-longest winning streak in school history is simple.

        “Keep working hard,” he said. “Come to practice every day, stay focused, have confidence in one another. If we keep doing that, we can go a long way.”

        Sunday story: UC grounds young Louisville

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