Marquette 79 Cincinnati 76 OT

(Enquirer)

Normally in this space, I write a little recap of how the game ended, and who the stars were. Not today. This was the biggest game of the season for the Bearcats. It was also one of the most disappointing. It was also a microcosm of the season. The Bearcats did some things well, and did some things badly. The end of the first half, phenomenal. In the end, it was the things that they did badly that cost them. They fell in love with the 3. They missed a ton of free throws, 8-16. They had defensive breakdowns at key times late. They stood around on offense. No one stepped up to take charge. And finally, coaching was an issue. I am a Mick fan, I've said it before, but I can't justify not playing Yancy Gates at the end of regulation. I don't know why you don't go offense/defense with him. I don't know why after he dominated against a small Marquette front court, 14 points, 6-9 shooting, 2-2 free throws, he rode the bench the last 7 minutes. Lazar Hayward had 4 fouls, and probably wouldn't have challenged. UC has run plays for Gates in close games, but Yancy doesn't see the floor. He played only 22 minutes. I like Ibrahima Thomas, but he's not a low post threat. At the end of the game, Marquette wasn't worried about him scoring. With Gates in the game, you damn well know Marquette is going to sag the post, which could only help get a better shot. Yancy Gates was finally playing like the monster that we know he can be on offense, and yet he sits for whatever reason. And you know what? I'm not sure that I care what Mick has to say about it. I understand wanting to play 3 guards at the end, but why not 3 guards, Bishop and Gates? I don't get it. It wasn't Mick's fault that Rashad Bishop leaves his feet and gives Hayward an open look to tie. It's not Mick's fault, but it partially is, for Dion Dixon and Deonta Vaughn getting confused, when Marquette was inbounding the ball with 15 seconds left in overtime, and leaving Jimmy Butler wide open for a breakaway dunk. It's not Mick's fault that Deonta Vaughn missed an open 3 off the right wing to tie at the end of overtime. This was a loss we couldn't take, in a way we couldn't take it. Let's break it down.

Deonta Vaughn got a rare start on the bench today. As the ESPN Full Court announcers, and Anthony Buford, told us, it was a coaches decision. Cashmere Wright ended up in the lineup. The scoring started when Steve Toyloy threw a pass to Darius Johnson-Odom, who plays for Marquette, and JO, as I'm calling him now, took it for a lay up. Ibrahima Thomas made a pair of free throws, JO made a 3, and my best friend Dion Dixon drilled a 3 to leave us 5-5 at 15:36. Larry Davis and Lazar Hayward traded triples, but Dixon accounted for the next 3 on a free throw after an offensive rebound, and an assist to Rashad Bishop. Jimmy Butler made a traditional 3 point play as we went back and forth. A Yancy Gates turnaround j was met by a JO 3. Gates free throws were followed by a Davis 3, and down 18-14 with 12:15 left in the half, that's where Marquette made a run. With the Cats playing zone, Joseph Fulce nailed a 3 and a lay up off an airballed 3 point attempt where Gates was late getting back. Dixon had a shot blocked by Butler, and Maurice Acker raced down court and drew a foul, making both shots. Jimmy Butler nailed a 3 right in front of Toyloy, who hesitated in the zone. Butler followed that by drawing a foul on Toyloy, and making both shots. With UC forcing shots, Johnson-Odom hit a 3, followed by a runner to cap the Marquette 17-0 run. The lead was up to 31-18, and shades of last year were dancing in the air. But, the Bearcats turned it around. In the last 6:40, UC played their best basketball of the season. Larry Davis drilled a 3 off a Thomas steal of Hayward. Another turnover lead to a Dixon lay up. A Dixon steal of a thrown away pass by JO lead to a Deonta Vaughn jumper from the left wing. JO threw up an airball that turned into a Dixon triple causing a Marquette timeout. Jimmy Butler had his shot attempt blocked by Rashad Bishop that lead to the only UC miss, a Cash jumper. But, Yancy Gates gathered the rebound, scored, and pulled UC to down 1. After an Acker miss, Dixon hit Bishop for a lay up that gave UC the lead at the 2:46 timeout. Marquette broke the 14-0 run with 2 free throws by Hayward, but UC retook the lead with a Bishop 3. After a couple Marquette misses, and Deonta missing a pair of free throws, Cash came flying down the lane and hit Gates with a beautiful behind the back pass for a wide open dunk bringing the house down. David Cubillan threw a pass right to Dixon, who fed Cash for a lay up, putting the lead at 39-33. The last shot of the half by Fulce was blocked by Gates, and UC went into intermission with that lead on a 21-2 run. I'm not lying when I say that was the best they looked. Great defense, great hustle, great teamwork, great shot selection. It was interesting that there was no Lance Stephenson the first half. Lance played about 6 minutes I would guess. The lineup was mainly Vaughn, Bishop, Davis, Dixon, with Thomas, and Gates switching and Cash getting run at point. 

Marquette was 10-24, 6-13 deep, 7-7 free throws, 11 rebounds, 3 offensive. They were lead by Johnson-Odom's 13, Jimmy Butler's 8-2 steals, Lazar Hayward's 5, Joseph Fulce's 5-3, and Maurice Acker's 2-3. UC shot 14-26, 6-9, 5-8, with 15 boards 5 offensive. UC had 12 assists on their 14 shots. Outstanding. The Cats were lead by Dion Dixon's 9-3-3 assists, Larry Davis' 9, Yancy Gates' 8-2, Rashad Bishop's 7-2, and Ibrahima Thomas, Cashmere Wright, and Deonta Vaughn all had 2-2, with Vaughn tossing in 3 assists. From deep, Davis was 3-5, Dixon 2-2 and Bishop 1-1. Who saw that coming? 

Marquette came out the locker room on a mission. Gates started the half with a jumper, but Johnson-Odom answered with a traditional three point play. A Dixon 3 was answered by a JO 2. A Gates 2 answered by a Cubillan 3. Gates would block an Acker shot, but Jimmy Butler got the loose ball and scored. JO got to the rim, and at the under 16 break, it was 46-45 UC. The teams traded buckets until the 11 minute mark, with Bishop and Vaughn scoring a jumper and a lay up respectively, Butler with another Eagle traditional 3 point play, Steve Toyloy getting a dunk off a spin move assist by Vaughn, 2 Butler free throws, Lance Stephenson's only jumper and points, and finally a Fulce lay up. 54-52 was the score with 11:06 on the clock, and the UC lead wouldn't last long. Davis drilled a long 2, Fulce got a tip in off a Hayward miss. Charges by Cash and Butler, and a missed 3 by Dixon set the stage for a Maurice Acker 3 for the Marquette lead, 57-56, with 9:35 left. The offenses went stagnant for a couple minutes until Gates got a tip in off a Dixon miss, off a Davis steal from Butler. Fulce, who came into the game averaging 3 points, hit a jumper, and after Davis hot shotted a pass through Bishop's hands, got a bucket from a Butler offensive rebound. That was the last of Fulce's crucial 13. Cincinnati called a timeout at that point, with 7 minutes to go down 3, 61-58. Yancy Gates and Lance Stephenson didn't play another minute. In fact, only Wright, Davis, Dixon, Bishop, Vaughn and Thomas played from here out. Neither team scored for a minute and a half, when Davis hit Bishop with a great pass for a lay up to start a UC run. Vaughn went hard to the rim for 2, and Thomas sprinted back after a Hayward miss to get a lay up on a good outlet from Vaughn. UC lead 64-61 with 3:53 left. The defenses stiffened for the next 2 minutes. David Cubillan stepped up to nail a 3 with 1:39 on the clock to tie the score. The Cats answered back with a bad 3 by Cash, but a right place, right time rebound and put back by Davis. Cubillan would miss a subsequent shot. With the ball out of bounds, UC for some reason had Ibrahima Thomas in the game, and in the back court. Of course Ibby was left open because he's a shitty foul shooter. He made 1 of 2 with 43 seconds left. Marquette ran a screen and pop to get the ball to Hayward. Hayward hadn't scored in the half, but got Bishop to jump on a pump fake, and drilled a 3 with 27.5 left. Inexcusable play by Rashad. I wrote at length about not having Gates in the game up top, and UC could have used him, because the shot they got off was a Bishop 3. Of course it was no good because it was a Bishop 3. 

UC won the overtime tip, but in a precursor, had an over and back violation. Hayward and Thomas exchanged buckets, and Butler and Thomas exchanged 1 of 2s at the charity stripe. The turning point came with 2 minutes left. Lazar Hayward dropped a 3. Deonta would badly miss a rushed 3, but Butler would get blocked by Thomas. Cash made a great move past Cubillan, or Acker, but blew an open lay up. Like he missed by 2 feet. Bishop got the rebound, but made, guess what 1 of 2. Marquette took a timeout with 45 seconds left, 11 on the shot clock. The play got Jimmy Butler a lay up attempt, but Bishop fouled him. Butler made both with 38 seconds left, exactly what we needed from Ibby in regulation. UC wasted 17 seconds by standing around and dribbling before Vaughn hit Bishop for a lay up. UC trapped Hayward on the sideline in front of the UC coaches, and was forced to call time with 17 seconds. UC looked in a disarray on the Marquette stack play. As the announcer, clearly a Marquette guy, said "Butler is going long," Butler went long. Dixon, maybe Vaughn if they were supposed to switch, got caught on a pick, leaving Butler wide open and Hayward hit him for a dunk. UC got a Bishop 3 with 7.7 left though. This where that wasted, let's say 12 seconds, killed. Acker was fouled and calmly drilled both. UC ran a clever play where they inbounded to Thomas at half court, who flipped to Cash. Cash dribbled to the left wing and when he got pressured, he passed over to Deonta on the right wing. Deonta caught, had an open look, and missed. Ballgame. #5 has got to make that. Another poor shooting day, 3-8, 0-3, 0-2, on an otherwise strong day for Vaughn. And boy was it costly.

All credit to the Marquette Golden Eagles. If it appears I have slighted them in any way, I didn't mean to. They played strong, and focused, and never faltered. I have said it the past few weeks, this is a tournament team. The Eagles shot 26-57 45.6%, 11-27 40.7%, 16-17 94%. They gathered 33 boards, 9 offensive. They outrebounded UC 21-16 the second half and OT. Leading the Golden Eagles were Jimmy Butler 20-7-3, Darius Johnson-Odom 20, Lazar Hayward 13-11, Joseph Fulce 13-5, Maurice Acker 7-4-6 assists, and David Cubillan 6, both daggers. 

UC finished 30-63 47.6%, 8-20 40%, 8-16 50%, with 31 rebounds, 12 offensive. UC had 20 assists. Rashad Bishop lead the way with 17-5, Yancy Gates had 14-2 blocks in 22 minutes, Larry Davis had 13-3 assists, Dion Dixon 12-3-3 assists-2 steals, Ibrahima Thomas 8-6, Deonta Vaughn 6-7-6 assists, Cashmere Wright 2-3-4 assists, and Steve Toyloy and Lance Stephenson both had 2, and both played 11 minutes. Great efforts by the bench, as Gates, Vaughn, Davis and Dixon came of it. Davis and Dixon had great 1st halves, but had nothing the second half. Especially my best friend. They played hard, all of them. 

At the end of the day, I don't know what to think about this team. I don't imagine the last 3 turning out well, and like the commenter JFK said, I have no idea how they are going to come out Wednesday night against DePaul. And at this point, who does? 

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.

Know Your Opponent: Providence Friars edition

The Bearcats look to bounce back after a tough loss at Louisville, and nearly a week off, as they host the Providence Friars Saturday night at 8 on ESPNU. The Friars are coming off a huge win over Connecticut Wednesday. The Friars and Bearcats are both 4-4 in the Big East. This is a pivotal game as a result. The first round bye is huge in the Big East tournament, and there is some other tournament in March. How do the 13-7 Bearcats and 12-8 Friars stack up? What a great question. See the answer after the jump.
Last thing. If you want to read about Providence until your eyes bleed, check out our good friends FriarBlog and  Friars Basketball. I'm pretty sure there's nothing to do in Rhode Island besides talk about Providence and watch Family Guy.

Know Your Opponent: South Florida Bulls edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats look to sweep their 2 game homestand tonight on ESPN2 against the South Florida Bulls. The Bulls beat the Bearcats last year in Tampa, powered by Dominique Jones' 30 points. Jones is fresh off scoring 20 against Rutgers in the Bulls first Big East win this season. The Bearcats are looking get over .500 once again. This is an important game for the Bearcats. Not because it's a must win, but because it's a can't lose. The Bearcats are starting to get on the NCAA radar if you check out various bracket projections, and a loss against one of the bottom teams in the Big East really hurts your resume. How do the Bearcats match up with the Bulls? Before we take a look at the numbers, be sure to check out Astro's Bulls Blog. It's very good, and has all the USF news and views you could ever want.

UC 3 Point Shooting; How Bad Is It?

After the tough loss on the road at Seton Hall, and calling out bad 3 point shooting in this very space yesterday, I decided to delve deeper into the matter. We all know Cincinnati has been terrible at shooting the trey, but how terrible are they? Looking at the stats, fucking awful. They are a 29.45% 3 point shooting team. Give that 3 seconds to register. That's 314 nationally and dead last in the Big East. I'll type that again in bold and make the text bigger. 29.45%.Now if that's not cause for concern, I don't know what is. Oh yeah, the fact that UC is 79th in the country in taking 3s, and 5th in the Big East. During conference play, UC has made 31% of their shots from deep. Still horrible, but 10th in the Big East. And they've taken 64 3s, which is 8th in the Big East. It's outrageous how bad this team is at shooting from long range. 


Let's compare that to their 2 point shooting. Overall, Cincinnati shoots 44.8%. In conference play so far, it's been 46.2%. Taking out the 3s, the overall shooting balloons to 52%, and is the same in Big East play. That's nearly 8% and 6% better. So, who have been the culprits to murder the Cincinnati Bearcats 3 point %? Let's find out. Note: Alex Eppensteiner and Yancy Gates have both taken 1 3 point attempt and missed.

1. Ibrahima Thomas 1-9 11%. Now you might be saying, but Ibrahima Thomas shouldn't count. But you are wrong because he is going to take and miss more. In his freshman year at Oklahoma State, Thomas was 11-34 for 32%. Before he transfered, he was 2-7. That shows he is going to chuck when he has the chance. But Ibby, you are a power forward, don't shoot the 3.
2. Lance Stephenson 6-38 15.8%. Born Ready was not born with a ready made outside shot. He's still shooting 46% on the year despite this flaw in his game. I don't know about you, but every time Lance has fired up a 3 since the Xavier game, I have cringed. Know why? BECAUSE HE HAS MADE 1 THREE SINCE! Lance is 1-14 in that stretch. Horrible, horrible, horrible. 
3. Dion Dixon 11-43 25.6%. It's shocking to no one that my best friend, if it wasn't creepy to say that he would be my best friend if we ever met and became friends, is really the second worst 3 point shooter on the team. He shot 30.5% last year, and this decrease is disappointing. Dion has really hit a slump from outside. Since December 1, Dixon is 6-26. Actually, let's count December 1. He's 8-28. Not very good. Follow through my man. And yes, I might start calling Dion Dixon my best friend every time I mention his name. 
4. Larry Davis 10-38 26.3%. This one comes as a great surprise. Larry hit 30% his freshmen year, and 35.2% last year. A 9% decline is very bad. Minutes have been cut, but Larry's shot has not fallen. He started the year off 6-15, which isn't completely terrible. From Xavier on he is 4-23. Ouch babe. I expect Larry to turn it around, because he has a nice looking shot. But damn is he slumping now. 
5. Cashmere Wright 9-30 30%. Cash at least has an even percentage. He doesn't really take a whole lot of 3s. Not just because his minutes were cut. He's actually 3-7 the last 7 games. That followed a 1-8 run, but let's stay positive. Cashmere has gotten the message it seems, and I think his percentage will go up because he stopped taking silly 3s. 
6. Rashad Bishop 12-38 31.6%. Believe it or not, Rashad isn't completely horrible at 3s this year. He's not good, but he's not mind numbingly awful. His first 2 years at UC he shot 29.2% and a horrible 26.3% last year. I don't mind when Rashad shoots open 3s in rhythm. The problem is, he doesn't always. He's riding a cold streak 1-10, and 4 of those misses were against Seton Hall. When Rashad doesn't rush, and doesn't think he's a superstar, he can make 3s. I don't want him shooting a lot, but he has worked hard and gotten his percentage up 5.3 and that's nice.
7. Jaquon Parker 7-20 35%. Parker doesn't play much now, but he has hit 6-11 after starting 1-9. I doubt Parker will get the chance to shoot many more, but he is a good 3 point shooter. I think he has some potential.
8. Deonta Vaughn 34-94 36.2%. After a down year where he shot 33% from deep, Deonta has gotten the percentage up near where he had it his sophomore year. I don't know if he can get it all the way back up to 39%, but the way he's shooting right now, it's possible. Deonta started the season off shooting terribly, his only good game deep was against Texas Southern. But since the Winthrop game, he is 18-32 56%. He's been on fire. He hit 6 treys against Seton Hall which is his 4th best day by 3s made. He hit 9 a couple times and 8 once. Vaughn has gotten himself into a great rhythm, and I hope, as you do, it continues.
9. Darnell Wilks 6-14 42.9%. Darnell was 10-21 from deep last year to the surprise of many. He has a nice shot and only shoots when he's open. The Xavier game was the only game I thought he shot too much from downtown. Darnell has the wide open green light from me every time. 

That's it, that's the list. Cincinnati has 1 player over 32%, and it's the player you would expect. I hope that there is a way that Mick Cronin can get in the team's head that shooting 3s is not a necessity. Especially if your last name is Stephenson, Dixon, Bishop or Thomas. I would like to see the Cats penetrate more and try to get to the line, but the guys stand around too much. Let's hope the 3 point shooting is curbed for the most part, and the Cats get back to winning. Lastly, here's a recap of who has the Bearcats Blog green light.

All the time

• Deonta Vaughn

When open

• Cashmere Wright
• Larry Davis
• Darnell Wilks
• Rashad Bishop

Don't shoot as much

• Dion Dixon

Drive to the rim instead

• Lance Stephenson

Cincinnati 87 Cal State Bakersfield 58

(enquirer)

The Cincinnati Bearcats got off to the best start in Mick Cronin's UC career and Deonta Vaughn tied for 7th on UC's all time scoring list as the Bearcats hammered the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners 87-58. Cal State Bakersfield is making the transition from Division II, and this was part of the lumps taking process. The Bearcats got on them often and early, and to their credit, the Roadrunners played hard. Especially in the second half, as they outscored UC 42-37.  For the Roadrunners Trent Blakley had 17, and Sawnton Latunde had 14 and 9 rebounds. Kudos to them for playing hard, even though they didn't have the talent to compete tonight.

The game started off with the Roadrunners, I love saying Roadrunners, taking an early 4-3 lead. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't stall and the rest of the game had to be played. In his 104th start, Deonta Vaughn scored the Cats first 3, and added in a lay up. The Bearcats made quick substitutions, as starters Rashad Bishop, Yancy Gates and Ibrahima Thomas left, and Steve Toyloy, Biggie McClain and Dion Dixon entered.  Dion Dixon scored 5 quick, and Biggie had 6 as the Bearcats pulled away from an 10-6 lead. Dixon and McClain would score 13 of the Cats first 23 as a 13-0 run made the score 23-6. Donavan Bragg would have a break away dunk that would be Bakerfield's only highlight of the first half. UC got a little sloppy, and turned the ball over 6 times. With the score 23-11, UC would run again. Cashmere Wright and Rashad Bishop helped put the score to 30-11. CSB turned the ball over 7 times in a row and looked lost. Steve Toyloy and Ibrahima Thomas would get a couple of And 1's and jumpers and the lead was 44-14. Thomas got his And 1 after a jump pass by Lance Stephenson, who scored early, but ended up with 4. Deonta Vaughn would score his 9th and last point, and tie Lewis Banks for 7th all time in UC scoring. Vaughn is 22 away from Ron Bonham. Jaquan Parker got his first action of the new year, and first since Winthrop, and would make a first half 3. Biggie McClain lead the Cats with 8 points and 6 rebounds for the half, and UC lead 50-16. CSB shot 23%. The Bearcats shot 51%, had 19 second chance points and 12 offensive rebounds.

The second half was played by the bench. Biggie McClain would aggravate his foot injury and only play 3 minutes of the half, finishing with 8-8. UC would start off slow giving up a 16-6 run. Lance Stephenson made a jumper, and had the assist of the game with a spinning drive in the lane and a flip to Yancy Gates. Stephenson had 3 assists to go with his 4 points and 6 rebounds. Gates had 2-2 and a steal. The half would see Jaquan Parker knock down a couple of 3s. He might have the best stroke on the team. He would have 9. Larry Davis added 5. Darnell Wilks had 8 for the game, 6 of them on dunks as seen in the picture. I swear, 80% of his baskets are dunks. Ibrahima Thomas scored a basket or 2, and tied his UC high with 11. Dion Dixon would knock down a couple of 3 pointers. Dixon would also hot dog a breakaway dunk, doing a double pump reverse out of the Dominque Wilkins handbook, and miss much to the dismay of the crowd. The question on everyone's mind near the end was would Alex Eppensteiner score? The answer was no. Eppy missed a 3 badly, and missed a couple of free throws.

Overall, there is not much to complain about. Mick said after the game the Cats need to work on their D. With Seton Hall coming up, that's correct. The offense gets clunkly at times. Larry Davis still has the annoying habit of rushing 3s. Turnovers were a little problem. But, it was all good. The bench players got a lot of minutes and that should help. Especially in the case of Cashmere Wright. Mick said Cash needed to be a leader on the floor, and tonight was good practice. Everyone scored but Eppy. Dixon had 13, Thomas as 11, Vaughn and Parker 9, Wilks and McClain had 8, Toyloy 7, Wright 6, Bishop and Davis 5, Lance 4 and Yancy 2. Rebounding was spread out too. McClain 8, Stephenson, Toyloy and Wilks had 6. Wright and Dixon had 4 assists, with Lance chipping in 3. Overall a good game. We get back to the Big East grind Saturday night.

Bearcats get Biggie with it against Cal State Bakersfield

As expected, the Cincinnati Bearcats laid an 87-58 beating on the Roadrunners from Cal State Bakersfield. If you recall, I nearly predicted the final in the predictions post earlier. The Bearcats were lead by Dion Dixon's 13 and Biggie McClain had himself a game with 8 and 8. This was a take care of business and stay healthy game, and the Cats did just that. Full recap tomorrow.

Know Your Opponent: California State Bakersfield Roadrunners edition

The Bearcats look to bounce back from the tough loss against Pitt while playing their 3rd game in 5 days against Cal State Bakersfield. CSB has one of the most awesome nicknames in sports, the Roadrunners. Sadly for them, they have been more like Wile E. Coyote than the Roadrunner this season with a 2-11 record. They are one of the worst teams in the nation, certainly in the bottom third. The Cats should have no problem putting them away. It would be great to see the starters play well early and get some rest for the next game in the Big East grind against Seton Hall Saturday. Let's take a look inside the numbers to see what we can expect from the Bearcats and the Roadrunners tonight. Meep meep.

Cincinnati 65 Rutgers 58

(Enquirer)

The Cincinnati Bearcats locked down win 10 and improved to 2-0 following a mostly offensively challenged game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The teams struggled early and often getting shots to fall, and actually getting shots. The Bearcat who didn't have that problem was Deonta Vaughn. He followed his 17 point outing against UConn with 17 tonight to lead all scorers. It's great to see Deonta getting it going as the conference season has started. The Bearcats aren't going to do much of anything if 5 isn't leading the efforts. I love Lance Stephenson as much as you if not more, but he can't be Superman every night. Like tonight. Born Ready didn't have a great game his first game back in the New York area. He had a solid game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. He also made the requisite highlight play. With the ball under the basket, he up faked 2 Rutgers defenders, as they came down, he went up and flung the ball at least 2 feet over the rim and it fell perfectly into the net. Great play that not many can do. For the game Scarlet Knights, Jonathan Mitchell lead the way with 14 and 7 rebounds. Mike Rosario had 12 points, all 3 pointers. Dane Miller had a solid 10-6 off the bench as well.

The first half of this one was rather dull. Neither team shot well. At one point, Rutgers was 6-26. Despite that, they only trailed by around 5 or 6 seemingly the whole half. That was until the Scarlet Knights caught fire from 3. Mike Rosario missed 8 of his 9, but hit 2 triples in a row, and Rutgers took the lead. Rutgers would add a couple more baskets, and take a 5 point lead into the locker room. The offensive bugaboos that have haunted the Bearcats all year shined in this half. The team turns the ball over too much, and the offensive sets aren't that great. The team tends to stand around and hoist up jump shots. It's frustrating to watch because the talent is there. The discipline is always there on defense, and it really lacks on offense. The Cats are bizarro Notre Dame.

The second half was a dog fight for the most part. The Bearcats would grind their way back into the game, pulling to a tie at 41. The team locked down Rosario, who didn't have a basket in the 2nd half. The team also hit the offensive glass and got multiple second chance opportunities, 21 points from 11 offensive rebounds. The Bearcats held the good offensive rebounding Rutgers squad to 7 for the game. The Cats posted a 12 rebound advantage for the game, and it seemed like many of them came in the second half. The action would stay nip tuck until a huge foul turned things. Rashad Bishop was fouled shooting a 3 with the score tied at 51 and made all 3 shots for a third of his total. The Bearcats would not relinquish the advantage. Rutgers big man Hamady Ndiaye got into foul trouble, and the Cats pounded the ball inside to Yancy Gates, 10-8, and Darnell Wilks who played a lot down the stretch and had 6. At least 2 of those were dunks, including one to make it a 5 point game. The lead would stay around 5 coming down the wire, and it was Deonta Vaughn who iced from the free throw line for the victory. They all can't be pretty, but as long as they are wins, they are good in my book.

I hit most of the negatives earlier, so I'll highlight some positives. The free throw shooting has boosted the past few games, and did again today with a 14-18 effort. Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy just aren't getting to the line, and that has a huge impact because they are the worst free throw shooters we have. I love Dion Dixon. No one seems to play harder than him, and he offensive rebounds like a mo fo. 66% of his boards were offensive tonight. I like what I see from Ibrahima Thomas rebounding and on defense, but his offense has a ways to go. He needs to add some muscle. The Bearcats held Rutgers to 37% shooting and 38%, 7-19, behind the arch. The Cats shooting was once again horrible. 41% overall, a terrible 3-16 18.8% from 3. Either the team needs to stop shooting 3s, or they need to practice more. Lance Stephenson especially. His 3 point shooting is horrible. He needs to work on that for the NBA. I would say it's worth staying another year to do that, but the money talks. 6-30 though. Six of thirty!

I would like to thank everyone who has come to the site this weekend. The live blog seemed to be a success, and it's something that I'll try again for a big game. I'll look to add more features for you all to enjoy, and don't be afraid to post comments or send emails. Thanks for checking things out. Look for a Pittsburgh preview on Monday afternoon around 2 or so.

Know Your Opponent: Connecticut Huskies edition

The Bearcats and Huskies kick off their Big East seasons with a match up at 7 in 5/3 Arena. The Huskies beat the Bearcats last year 81-72. The Bearcats played tough last year, but couldn't quite get over the hump thanks to AJ Price. No more Thabeet, Adrien, or Price, but the Huskies still trot out Kemba Walker, Stanley Robinson and co. The Huskies are the best team the Bearcats have lined up against this year, and this should be an interesting test to see where UC stands. We also get to see where UC stands in February, because the Cats and Huskies square off twice this season. Let's hit the numbers and prediction after the jump, shall we?

Top UC basketball players of the decade 12-10

I decided to break this list into groups of 3. Why? I don't know, 3 just seemed like a good number. The point is to honor all of the best Bearcats of the decade. And when that is in doubt, I'll go with my favorites. I was going with my favorites anyway, but saying I'm narrowing things down from the best makes this list seem a little legitimate. All stats are taken from statsheet.com. All pictures are from google search, and I'll give credit if I catch a source.

First, let's tackle the players who didn't quite make the list.

Jermaine Tate

DerMarr Johnson

Donald Litle

Jamaal Davis

Chadd Moore

Cedric McGowan

John Meeker, always a hit with the ladies

John Williamson

Dion Dixon. What can I say? I like him

12. Field Williams (enquirer)

Field Williams wasn't the best guard of the 00s. Not close. But the man had a wet jumpshot. Only once did he shoot less than 43% from 3. Field also had his name of the back of his jersey his senior season. Williams averaged 8 points a game his UC career, but put up 11.6 and 11.9 his junior and senior years. More importantly than all this, one year I worked Midnight Madness as an usher or something. I was positioned at the end of the table, right next to Field Williams. I talked to him and Taron Barker for about half an hour and they signed my hat. Unprofessional I know, but it's why Field makes this list.

11. Immanuel McElroy 

Immanuel McElroy was a junior college transfer who only played 2 seasons for the Cats. He put up meager numbers, 8 points 4 boards 2 assists, but he did much more than that. He was the tenacious defender that signified all that was good about Cincinnati defense. He routinely guarded the best player, and was known as a lock down defender. I was nervous every time he shot though. I remember being surprised every time he made a 3 and pissed every time he shot one. McElroy is also cooler because he wore 23

10. Tony Bobbitt 

Tony Bobbitt was one of the most excitable Bearcats of all time. He was only a 2 year play, like McElroy. He was known as the Microwave, or something just as goofy. The long lasting image of Tony for UC fans was this shot, after he hit the huge 3 pointer to beat East Tennessee State in the NCAA tournament. Haters of Bobbitt remember that time when the dude on DePaul punched him in the balls. I choose to remember the good moment. Tony averaged 10.9 points his career. As a senior 6th man, he put up 13.4 a game with 1.5 steals and 3.4 rebounds.

Know Your Opponent: Winthrop Eagles edition (plus Lipscomb thoughts)

Before we get into the the game tonight, let's look back to Saturday real fast. After an slow start the first 6 minutes, the Bearcats got into an offensive rhythm and put it on the Bisons 80-52. The maligned UC offense shot 54%, and made 10 3s. They shot 36, which is still too many. This isn't a good enough shooting team to put up that many shots. Especially when UC is an above average 2 point shooting team. Lance Stephenson lead the way with 19 points and 5 assists. Dion Dixon put up 15 in his second straight double digit outing. Rashad Bishop was 5-5 for 13 points, and Larry Davis and Ibrahima Thomas, in his 1st start, both put in 10. Another bad shooting game for Deonta Vaughn. 2-9, 1-8 from 3, for 5 points. Vaughn had 7 assists, but man, he needs to shake his slump. He is only shooting 34% on the year, and 26% from deep. The Bearcats defense had 8 blocks. 3 from Biggie McClain. Nice to see him getting involved. Thomas and Toyloy had 2 each.

Now let's take a look towards tonight. The Winthrop Eagles come into town looking for a big win. The Eagles were routed by Clemson, and went down to Charlotte by 10 their last time out. The Eagles don't score much, and don't have a player averaging double digits. But, they have 10 players averaging 10 minutes a game. So they rotate a lot it appears. Numbers wise, Andy Buechert is the star going for 7 and 7 a game. This one should get ugly. I am looking for another 20+ point win and a strong defensive performance. Without further adieu, let's hit the numbers.

UAB 64 Cincinnati 47

(ap Butch Dill)

The Cincinnati Bearcats were dominated by the UAB Blazers all night Wednesday. From the minute the teams stepped on the floor, one team was interested, the other was not. Unfortunately, it was Mick Cronin's team that was uninterested. The team seemed to be deflated right off the bat when Lance Stephenson injured his ankle 2 minutes into the game. He would end up returning at about the 10 minute mark of the first half.

The bugaboos that hurt the team against Xavier showed up bright and early Wednesday. Right off the bat, the very impressive Elijah Millsap was hitting the offensive glass and outhustling Yancy Gates, Rashad Bishop and Steve Toyloy. Millsap crushed it on the glass with 15 rebounds, 6 offensive. The Blazers dominated the offensive glass by gathering 13. They had at least 8 in the first half according to the CBS College stats.

The second bugaboo that killed was the albatross around the neck of this version of the Cincinnati Bearcats: shooting. The Cats shot a woeful 31.7% on 19-60 shooting. 22 of those were 3s, and only 3 were made. This team loves shooting 3s, which is not a bad thing, but they can't make them. When they aren't getting offensive rebounds, they only had 10, it's a killer. It hurt against Xavier, and it really made this one ugly. They force so many shots from the outside. Bishop, Lance, Cashmere Wright, Deonta Vaughn, Dion Dixon, and Ibrahima Thomas were all guilty of this last night. Ibrahima Thomas has offered nothing his first 2 games as a Bearcat. It takes some getting used to, but his most memorable moment was getting in Xavier's players faces in the big pull apart. He should get a lot of opportunities against Lipscomb. The shooting woes are really evident when it comes to lay ups. In my notes, I counted at least 5. That's too many for any team that wants to be anything. The woes were so bad in the pathetic second half, I tracked the possessions. This is after the Cats cut the deficit, at one point 15 in the 1st half, to 8. This is from about the 11 minute mark to the end of the game. Cringe away. The possessions we score on, are in red.

1. Dixon throws it away. UAB went up 10 here. 
2. Larry Davis forced 17 footer
3. Dixon had a blow by dunk here. 2 points. The Cats were 13-31 shooting at this point.
4. Davis missed lay up
5. Vaughn bricks a 3 after forcing a UAB turnover
6. Toyloy travel. Millsap would follow with a wide open 3 pointer
7. Darnell Wilks sets a moving screen. That was the 12th UC turnover
8. Wilks throws away a pass Vaughn can't handle and then fouls
9. Bishop turnover leads to lay up. The lead hit 15 here with 7:30 left. UC had just 35 points
10. Lance Stephenson charges. Another UC turnover. Lance was clearly bothered by the officials at this point. This was his 3rd foul. A few minutes later, he would get whistled for charging again, and get a technical foul and be disqualified with 4:30 left. Not a good night for Lance at all. It's really reached the point, as Lance Stephenson goes, the Cincinnati Bearcats go. 
11. Yancy Gates throws up an airball. The Cats were still down 15 at this point
12. The only highlights came at this point. The last gasp for hope of a victory. Lance Stephenson hit Rashad Bishop for a lay up. 4 points. 
13. Followed by Lance stealing the inbound for a lay up to cut the lead to 11. 6 points. 
14. This was all on one possession. Vaughn blocked. After the inbound Bishop misses, followed by Gates missing a put back.
15. Jarmarr Sanders, who had only 7, makes his only 3 in 6 attempts to make this a 19 point game.
16. The aforementioned Lance Stephenson charge comes here. Another turnover. 
17. Dixon, who was the only Bearcat in double digits with 13, bricks a 3
18. Davis bricks a 3, Dixon misses a 17 footer
19. Dixon blows a lay up. Dixon also took a team high 11 shots. He made 2 of the 3 Cincinnati 3s (Vaughn made the other). When he is second on the team in 3 point attempts, something is going wrong. And I love Dion Dixon
20. UAB gets a backdoor cut for a wide open dunk to make the score 62-39. 
21. Vaughn misses a 3. He was 1-7 from deep with only 7 points. 5 turnovers. He needs to step it up if this team is going to win. 
22. Cashmere Wright, who only played 15 minutes and didn't get in the second half until the 12 minute mark, and then at the end of the game, missed a 3
23. Points come here with the game well in hand. Steve Toyloy hits a lay up. 8 points
24. Wright missed lay up, Dixon missed a tip in, and Deonta Vaughn got the rebound and was fouled while shooting. He made them both. 10 points. 
25. Wright missed a 3, Toyloy got the offensive rebound and dunked it home. 12 points. 
26. After UAB threw away the inbound in the waning seconds, Steve Toyloy got a lay up to end the scoring. 14 points. 

That is awful. The Bearcats scored 28 in the second half, and 8 came in the closing 2 minutes. Pathetic.

All credit in this one goes to the victors. The UAB Blazers once again roll Cincinnati in Birmingham. I would suggest never playing them there ever again. Mike Davis' club has not lost a home non conference game since he has been coach. His team was well prepared tonight. I came away very, very, very impressed with Elijah Millsap. He was all over the court. The Millsap boys know how to rebound. Let us take this one and erase it from our memory banks, thanks, and move on to non conference teams we can destroy. The next game is Saturday against Lipscomb.

Give me a break

(AP: Butch Dill)

That was fucking pathetic.

Cincinnati 63 Miami 59

(AP/Tony Tribble)

Lance Stephenson put up a career high 17 as the Bearcats won an ugly game against Miami. After a putrid 24 points in the first half, UC put up 39 in the second half to be better than Miami. That was really the difference in this one. The Bearcats had better players. Most of them were sleepwalking through this one, but they were still better. The sparse crowd coupled with typical Miami slow ball made this one, at times, boring to watch. That and the brick fest of the first half. Lance Stephenson carried the Cats with 10 in the first half, and at times seemed to be the only player wanting to score. He couldn't be stopped driving to the basket, but like nearly everyone else, the jump shot was off. The second half was the Cashmere Wright show, as he put in 11. He had 1 point the first half. Miami was lead by Kenny Hayes and his 19.
Let's focus on the offense. This is a bad jumpshooting team. The problem is that they fall in love with the jump shot. The best shooter, Deonta Vaughn, took 2 shots in this game. Miami took #5 out of the game completely. Vaughn didn't score. Stephenson and Wright were the only Cats in double digits. The team was 2-12 from 3, which is awful. Wright took 4, and made 1. Larry Davis made the other. The absolute biggest bugaboo this team has is free throw shooting. 62% on the year, and 65% against Miami. Missing from the stripe kept Miami in the game. Dion Dixon and Yancy Gates were both 4-6, and Steve Toyloy was 2-6. The sloppiness needs to be cleaned up. Miami is not a team that will turn you over much, and they turned over the Cats 13 times. Toyloy didn't play well and had 3 turnovers. Wilks had 2 in 15 minutes of action. Let's shape up boys.
Rebounding and defense were the highlights of this victory. 11 offensive rebounds for UC, with 3 a piece for Dixon and Stephenson. On defense, Gates blocked 4 shots. The Redhawks managed to hit 9 3s, but it took them 27 attempts to do so. Hayes and Nick Winbush combined to go 6-15 from deep, which is solid since they take most of Miami's shots. 8 of Miami's 28 rebounds were offensive, and I would like to see that number go down as we enter Big East play.
All in all, it wasn't very fun, but a win is a win. Can't complain too much about 6-1. We all know another fight is coming up on Sunday night.