The Bench

Because everyone and their sister wrote about Deonta Vaughn struggling yesterday (I'm looking at you Mike DeCoursey and the Enquirer), I decided to write about the bench play. With Vaughn struggling, and Lance Stepheson being handcuffed at times, who is picking up their slack off the pine?

The best way to do this is to break down every game and see how well the bench played statistically. We are just breaking down UC's bench, not the starters. The opponent numbers are just bench numbers, no starters. I got all the box scores from ESPN, so if they are wrong with who started, it's their fault. The high is for the bench high, not the game high. Keep that in mind. This is long, so there is a jump.




11-16 Prairie View
Starters: Cashmere Wright, Deonta Vaughn, Lance Stephenson, Yancy Gates, Steve Toyloy.
Points: 69 Bench: 28 High: Larry Davis 13.
Rebounds: 44 Bench: 11 High: Darnell Wilks 5.
Assists: 17 Bench: 6 High: Wilks, Rashad Bishop 2.
Opponent Points: 14

Opponent Rebounds: 3

Opponent Assists: 0

11-18 Toledo
Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Gates, Toyloy
Points 92: Bench: 38 High: Rashad Bishop 20
Rebounds: 34 Bench: 19 High: Bishop 8
Assists 27: Bench: 9 High: Bishop 5
Opponent Points: 11

Opponent Rebounds: 10

Opponent Assists: 1

11-23 Vanderbilt
Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Gates, Rashad Bishop
Points: 67  Bench: 26  High: Dion Dixon 12
Rebounds: 45  Bench: 21 High: Dixon 10
Assists: 11  Bench: 2 High: Dixon, Jaquon Parker 1

Opponent Points: 14

Opponent Rebounds: 6

Opponent Assists: 1

11-24 Maryland

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Gates

Points: 69  Bench: 14  High: Dixon 8

Rebounds: 45  Bench: 14 High: Dixon 5

Assists: 12 Bench: 2  High: Dixon, Parker 1

Opponent Points: 15

Opponent Rebounds: 12

Opponent Assists: 4

11-25 Gonzaga

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Gates

Points: 59 Bench: 16 High: Davis, Dixon 5

Rebounds: 31 Bench: 6 High: Steve Toyloy 3

Assists: 11 Bench: 2  High: Dixon 2

Opponent Points: 3

Opponent Rebounds: 4

Opponent Assists: 1

12-1 Texas Southern

Starters: Dion Dixon, Wright, Stephenson, Bishop, Gates

Points: 94 Bench: 49 High: Toyloy 13

Rebounds: 46 Bench: 18 High: Parker 7

Assists: 24 Bench: 10 High: Vaughn 4

Opponent Points: 6

Opponent Rebounds: 8

Opponent Assists: 3

12-10 Miami

Starters: Jaquon Parker, Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Toyloy

Points: 63  Bench: 33 High: Wright 12

Rebounds: 34  Bench: 15  High: Dixon, Gates 4

Assists: 8  Bench: 3  High: Dixon 2

Opponent Points: 19

Opponent Rebounds: 7

Opponent Assists: 3

12-13 Xavier

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Toyloy

Points: 79 Bench: 35 High: Gates 18

Rebounds: 43 Bench: 20 High: Gates 6

Assists: 11 Bench: 2 High: Dixon, Davis 1

Opponent Points: 29

Opponent Rebounds: 12

Opponent Assists: 2

12-16 UAB

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop Gates

Points: 47  Bench: 23 High: Dixon 13

Rebounds: 29  Bench: 7 High: Toyloy 4

Assists: 8 Bench: 0  High:

Opponent Points: 4

Opponent Rebounds: 7

Opponent Assists: 2

12-19 Lipscomb

Starters: Vaughn, Larry Davis, Stephenson, Ibrahima Thomas, Toyloy

Points: 80  Bench: 34 High: Dixon 18

Rebounds: 36  Bench: 15 High: Bishop 5

Assists: 21  Bench: 8 High: Wright 4

Opponent Points: 15

Opponent Rebounds: 9

Opponent Assists: 1

12-22 Winthrop

Starters: Vaugh, Davis, Stephenson, Thomas, Toyloy

Points: 74 Bench: 42  High: Gates 16

Rebounds: 40  Bench: 22 High: Bishop 7

Assists: 18 Bench: 8 High: Wright, Dixon 3

Opponent Points: 20

Opponent Rebounds: 9

Opponent Assists: 10

12-30 Connecticut

Starters: Vaughn, Davis, Stephenson, Thomas, Toyloy

Points: 71  Bench: 15 High: Gates, Bishop 6

Rebounds: 34 Bench: 9 High: Wilks, Gates 3

Assists: 16 Bench: 8 High: Dixon 4

Opponent Points: 10

Opponent Rebounds: 11

Opponent Assists: 5

1-2 Rutgers

Starters: Vaughn, Davis, Stephenson, Thomas, Biggie McClain

Points: 65 Bench: 34 High: Gates 10

Rebounds: 37  Bench: 18 High: Gates 8

Assists: 11  Bench: 4  High: Dixon 2

Opponent Points: 15

Opponent Rebounds: 8

Opponent Assists: 6

1-4 Pittsburgh

Starters: Vaughn, Davis, Stephenson, Thomas, Gates

Points: 71 Bench: 21 High: Dixon, Bishop, Toyloy 6

Rebounds: 27 Bench: 9 High: Bishop 6

Assists: 13  Bench: 4 High: Bishop 2

Opponent Points: 28

Opponent Rebounds: 9

Opponent Assists: 5

1-6 Cal State Bakersfield

Starters: Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Thomas, Gates

Points: 87  Bench: 56  High: Dixon 13

Rebounds: 41 Bench: 23 High: McClain 8

Assists: 18 Bench: 13 High: Wright, Dixon 4

Opponent Points: 11

Opponent Rebounds: 11

Opponent Assists: 1

1-9 Seton Hall

Starters: Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Gates, Toyloy

Points: 76 Bench: 19 High: Ibrahima Thomas 10

Rebounds: 32 Bench: 12 High: Thomas 5

Assists: 15 Bench: 6 High: Wright 5

Opponent Points: 24

Opponent Rebounds: 6

Opponent Assists: 9

1-13 St John's

Starters: Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Thomas, Gates

Points: 50 Bench: 16  High: Toyloy 8

Rebounds: 38 Bench: 10 High: Toyloy 7

Assists: 10  Bench: 2 High: Davis, Toyloy, 1

Opponent Points: 39

Opponent Rebounds: 14

Opponent Assists: 7

1-16 Notre Dame

Starters: Vaughn, Davis, Stephenson, Gates, Toyloy

Points: 60 Bench: 25 High: Bishop 10

Rebounds: 48 Bench: 24 High: Wilks 8

Assists: 7 Bench: 4 High: Dixon 2

Opponent Points: 8

Opponent Rebounds: 5

Opponent Assists: 0

1-20 South Florida

Starters: Parker, Vaughn, Bishop, Gates, Toyloy

Points: 78 Bench: 11 High: Dixon 6

Rebounds: 29 Bench: 7 High: McClain, Thomas 2

Assists: 15 Bench: 1 High: Davis 1

Opponent Points: 4

Opponent Rebounds: 3

Opponent Assists: 3

1-24 Louisville

Starters: Parker, Vaughn, Stephenson, Thomas, Gates

Points: 60 Bench: 16 High: Wright 12

Rebounds: 31 Bench: 7 High: Bishop, Wright 2

Assists: 15 Bench: 3 High: Wright, Bishop, Dixon 1

Opponent Points: 12

Opponent Rebounds: 4

Opponent Assists: 4

1-30 Providence

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Bishop, Thomas, Gates

Points: 92 Bench: 29 High: Lance Stephenson 12

Rebounds: 35 Bench: 17 High: Stephenson 9

Assists: 17 Bench: 4 High: Stephenson 2

Opponent Points: 20

Opponent Rebounds: 8

Opponent Assists: 1

2-4 Notre Dame

Starters: Wright, Vaughn, Bishop, Thomas, Gates

Points: 65 Bench: 27 High: Davis 12

Rebounds: 31 Bench: 12 High: Stephenson 6

Assists: 14 Bench: 3 High: Toyloy, Parker, Stephenson 1

Opponent Points: 7

Opponent Rebounds: 3

Opponent Assists: 1

2-7 Syracuse 

Starters: Vaughn, Stephenson, Bishop, Thomas, Gates

Points: 54 Bench: 11 High: Wright 7

Rebounds: 28 Bench: 3 High: Toyloy 3

Assists: 10 Bench: 2 High: Wright, Toyloy 1

Opponent Points: 28

Opponent Rebounds: 7

Opponent Assists: 7

The Bearcats bench hasn't delivered lately. Dion Dixon, my best friend, has disappeared in Big East play. Some of the numbers are a little skewed because Lance Stephenson and Cash Wright have been playing starter minutes off the bench. The ever changing starting line up helps complicate the bench matters. There is something to be said about guys getting steady minutes every game. As we head down the home stretch, we need the bench guys to start performing at a higher level. But, for every Cash who steps up, it seems like a Deonta Vaughn steps down. We definitely need better play out of the following men who don't start: Steve Toyloy, Larry Davis, and Dion Dixon. We can't go stagnant when they check in. Larry has played better, but we need more.