NEW ORLEANS -- Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin knows all about the microwave mentality that has infected college sports.

When a player isn't instantly successful and finds himself buried on the bench, usually he's looking to take his talents, if not to South Beach, then at least to another program that won't hold him back.

That's why Cronin was so giddy Saturday after his No. 20 Bearcats defeated Tulane 78-61 at Fogelman Arena for their 10th consecutive victory. Cincinnati improved its record to 17-2 overall and 7-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

Due to a rash of first-half foul trouble, Cincinnati reserve junior forward Quadri Moore, averaging just 2.8 points per game, exploited his chance to shine by scoring a career-high 14 points and grabbing six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Moore had 11 of his points in the first half when Cincinnati's top two scorers, guard Jacob Evans and forward Kyle Washington, were forced to sit with two fouls each.

"Obviously, Quadri Moore was the star of the game for us with our foul trouble in the first half," Cronin said. "Usually, you're trying to survive with Jacob and Kyle on the bench, you're two leading scorers. Instead we pulled away because he played an unbelievable game. It wasn't just his scoring. I thought his defensive rebounding was excellent. That's when we pulled away."

Moore's 11 first-half points -- which included three 3-pointers -- sparked the Bearcats to a 38-22 halftime lead. The 6-foot-8 junior made 4 of 5 from the field and also had a nifty, no-look feed to guard Kevin Johnson that led to an easy layup.

"Any time I go in the game I'm trying to get my shots off of what we're running on offense," Moore said. "Usually when I go in, it's just spread out and it makes things easier on me because I can step out and the other team doesn't expect that I'm going to be able to do that. I get a bunch of easy shots."

Moore had made just three 3-pointers this season (on nine attempts), so his three from long range in the first half had to be a bit of surprise to Tulane. But Moore said he's always been confident in his perimeter range.

"It feels good," he said. "I'm a part of the team, too. I'm probably not on a bunch of people's scouting reports, so it makes my life much easier. But it feels good to have a day like this every once in awhile."

Cincinnati overcame sloppy ball-handling -- it committed 18 turnovers -- with its typically balanced scoring. Evans, who played 80 miles away from New Orleans at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge, led the way with 15 points, 12 in the second half.

In addition to Moore, guards Troy Caupain and Kevin Johnson had 14 points each. The Bearcats led 38-22 at the half the extended their lead to 22 points in the second half by shooting 56.4 percent from the field, including 10 of 23 from 3-point range.

Evans said he was glad to play in front of family and friends, but he also pointed to Moore as the star of the game.

"He came up big for us today," Evans said. "He was knocking down shots, strong in the defensive post. Honestly, he's probably one of our best perimeter shooters on our team -- guards and bigs. He really has a nice touch out there."

Tulane (4-15, 1-6) lost for the eighth time in its last nine games. The Green Wave were led by guard Cameron Reynolds with 20 points and center Ryan Smith with 15.

"I was pretty disappointed with our first half," Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Turnovers (10) and second-chance points (nine) in the first half really buried us. A lot were unforced. A lot were careless."

NOTES: Cincinnati had strong fan support, with about 100 students in black Bearcats T-shirts making a 13-hour bus ride to New Orleans. They formed a cheering section near the Bearcats' bench and made more noise than the 24-member Tulane band. ... Cincinnati defeated Tulane by 36 points at home on Jan. 1. ... Cincinnati second-leading scorer Kyle Washington picked up his fourth foul with 16 minutes left and finished with four points.