Questions and Answers

There are many topics swirling around Cincinnati sports, and the best way to sort them out? Questions. The best way to sort out the questions? Answers. Yes, we've reached the point where it's questions and answers time. Unless you want to read a 43,000 word post about Mick Cronin's comments on why Yancy Gates didn't play at the end of the game Sunday.

Why didn't Yancy Gates play at the end of the game on Sunday?
If you listen to Mick, it's because he says that Marquette was exposing Gates and, to a lesser extent, Steve Toyloy. If you listen to Marquette head coach Buzz Williams, that was not the case. If you read Marquette blogs, like Cracked Sidewalks, they were happy that #34 took a seat on the pine. If you read any UC blog or message board, they are furious about this. As we should be. Every coach worth their salary goes offense for defense in those situations. It's no different than if Yancy was playing with 4 fouls. Yet, Mick was happy running pretty much a man down on offense. Ibrahima Thomas is good and getting better, but he only had 5 points at the end of regulation. He wasn't playing that well. Dion Dixon and Cashmere Wright went offense for defense down the stretch. It's baffling to me.

Is Deonta Vaughn the alpha dog of this team?
I'm going to surprise everyone, no. I don't think this team has an alpha dog. I think it could have been Lance Stephenson, but he lost whatever mojo he had after the first Connecticut game. Maybe he let the game winning points and praise get to his head. He's been pretty not good lately. I would like to see him get more minutes, but he's not doing much with the minutes he's had ever since he came back from injury. Besides the Notre Dame game, he played well then. Yancy Gates could be the alpha dog, but it doesn't seem like he wants to be. When he wants the ball and plays hard, he's nearly unstoppable. But, his play comes off as nonchalant at times. I'm not saying he's not trying, but it looks like he doesn't care much if he gets touches or runs back on d. Having said all that, it SHOULD be Deonta Vaughn's team, and the fact it's not has really hurt the Bearcats. We have needed a leader to step up since the let's say UAB game, but none has. I don't know what happened to Deonta. The past 3 years of Vaughn put this version to shame. I don't know if he wanted to get drafted so he started playing more point guard and distributing, or whether he and Lance Stephenson hate each other and can't play together. Deonta had his big alpha dog moment of the season Sunday, and I guarantee sophomore Deonta nails that 3.

What undersung player does UC need to be more consistent every game?
Rashad Bishop. In a way, Bishop signifies this team. He'll play great, not show up, play solid, play bad, and play ok. He played really well on Sunday against Marquette, he no showed Louisville, played solid against Providence, played badly against South Florida, and ok against UConn in Hartford. Rashad is the most improved Bearcat this season. In the games he hasn't shot well, he's rebounded well. I would like to see his assists take the uptick they did last year though. He seems more confident in his shot. He needs to work on the 3 ball still, and getting the 2% back up to the 60s where it was last year.

Are the guards coming off the bench finally back to playing like we know they can?
I really hope that Larry Davis, and Dion Dixon, who is my best friend, have started going out there and just played. Both played pretty significant minutes until Big East play started. Larry even started a few games. Both get their minutes yanked around, but I think Davis is rounding into form. After a horrible shooting slump, he's hit 8-17 from 3 the past 3 games he's played minutes in. Dixon has rebounded well in his time, but he needs to work on his jumper this summer. He shot 25% from 3 last year, and is at only 30% this year. He shot really well against Marquette, but I think that taking too many 3s is what gets him bench time. He can play d and be a pest, so we need him playing hard and well. I think that both are ready to step in again. Especially if Lance Stephenson has checked out.

What does the Big East tournament bracket look like right now?
Per our friends at Friar Blog.

Can we stop talking about basketball now?
Sure football fan.

Are any UC athletes on the twitter?
There are a few. On the Bearcats Blog twitter account, I have a list where you can see them all. It's quite fancy. My twitter is @ucbearcatsblog.

Any truth on Cincinnati playing at Tennessee in 2011?

Yes, that's absolutely true. It's just a one time deal with UC playing in Knoxville, but it's a good thing. I just found this out like 3 days ago, so I'm hoping you were all in the same boat as me. 

When is the Spring Game?

April 24. I've been promised that this is a different team than previously. I'm interested to see how the running back situation plays out. I really like Isaiah Pead, and I think Darrin Williams can be a stud. He's pretty fast, and I think he could be a gamebreaker. 

Where do draft analysts think Mardy Gilyard is going in the draft?

From everything I've seen, Mardy is being projected as a second round pick. People are worried about his weight, 185. Mardy has all the skills and drive, and I think if he has a good combine, starts Saturday, he could be a late first rounder. Maybe that's overly optimistic, but I believe in Mardy Gilyard.

What about Tony Pike?

Tony has been ranked as the 4th or 5th best QB in the draft. He has also been told to bulk up by the analysts. Whatever the dude's name on the NFL Network said he has Pike in the 4th round. Mike Mayock's his name. He is normally pretty right, and he's not Todd McShay, so you can believe him. 

Who is the coolest Bearcat football player?

That's a tough one. On one hand, I lean towards Travis Kelce because he once retweeted me. On the other, Reuben Johnson's nickname is Daddy. Plus, Reuben Johnson follows me on twitter, and that makes him the coolest Bearcat of this time, and currently, of all time. 

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? 

Golden Eagles outlast Bearcats in overtime

The Bearcats 11th loss of the season was one of the hardest ones to take, as Marquette dropped them 79-76 in overtime. The Bearcats are now 15-11, 6-8 in the Big East. Marquette improves to 17-9, 8-6. The Golden Eagles tied the game with about 30 seconds left in regulation on a Lazar Hayward (13-11) three. Hayward made a nice ball fake to get Rashad Bishop in the air, and drilled an open look. UC's last chance in regulation was a Rashad Bishop missed 3. The Bearcats had a chance to tie at the end of overtime, but Deonta Vaughn missed an open 3 off the right wing. UC was lead offensively by Bishop's 17-5. The bench was great, Yancy Gates had 14, Larry Davis 13, Dion Dixon, my best friend, had 12. Marquette's Jimmy Butler had 20-7, and Darius Johnson-Odom had 20 as well.

In a season of disappointing losses, this one is right near the top of the list. More tomorrow.

Know Your Opponent: Connecticut Huskies edition

Tomorrow at high noon, the 14-9, 5-6, Cincinnati Bearcats take to the scenic streets of Storrs, Connecticut to take on the 14-10, 4-7, Connecticut Huskies. Both teams are coming off losses to Syracuse, UConn's in less dominating fashion Wednesday. This is the second meetings of the UC's this season. The Bearcats pulled off a 71-69 victory thanks to a beneficial call in the closing seconds leading to Lance Stephenson sticking in a pair of free throws for the W. Lance Stephenson exploded on UConn to the tune of 21 points. Deonta Vaughn went for 17-5-5, Ibrahima Thomas had 6-9-3 blocks, and Larry Davis had 9. The Huskies were powered by 24 from Jerome Dyson, along with 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 20 from Stanley Robinson. UC blew a 12 point lead in the second half of that game, and Kemba Walker hit a 3 to tie the score with 9.4 seconds left.

 Just like the first meeting, Jim Calhoun is coaching the Huskies. Calhoun took a medical leave for 7 games, in which UConn went 3-4. I asked the highly esteemed UCHuskies.com what impact they thought Calhoun had coming back for Saturday, and the rest of the season.

Two things I think the Huskies have working for them Saturday, and the rest of the way, are, Calhoun's return and the emotional lift it will provide...and the "us against the world" mentality the team will have, following what I consider to be some "questionable" officiating in Syracuse. Calhoun is the motivator, Blaney is the good cop. Calhoun's return is probably a game later than ideal, but is still well timed. 7 Big East games remaining, the Huskies must go 5-2 to get back to .500 in the league. It's all hands on deck from here on out. No excuses.


 Along with UCHuskies.com, TheUConnblog.com is a great place for UConn news and views. This is a pivotal game for both teams, as you could see on both of their sites, because neither can afford to take on more losses. Let's take a look at how the teams match up this time.

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: Syracuse Orange edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats return home after the disappointing loss to Notre Dame Thursday to a visit from one of the best teams in the country, Syracuse. The Orange are 22-1 and are coming off a dismantling of Providence. Syracuse stud Wesley Johnson took a tough fall against the Friars, but looks like he's going to go today. Johnson is one of the front runners for national player of the year, and Big East player of the year. The Bearcats really need to put one in the bag after going in the tank against the Irish. Cincinnati has been a much better team at the big fraction, but they haven't played a team this talented this season. Yesterday, we asked Brian from Orange::44 some questions, and he did the same with me on his site, but let's take a deeper look inside the numbers between the Big East foes. If you want more views on the Orange, there are lots of good sites, but I recommend Brian's site, and the great Nunes' Magician. They are good people, good writers, and have good sites. 

Notre Dame 83 Cincinnati 65

(South Bend Tribune)

The 2 men pictured above, Luke Harangody and Tim Abromaitis, helped power the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-7, 5-5) past our highly disinterested Cincinnati Bearcats (14-8, 5-5) last night. Unlike the first match up, Gody wasn't contained, and went off for 37 points on 15-25, 7-8 from the free throw line and 14 rebounds. Luke had a double double by halftime as the Irish, who were outrebounded 50-31 in Cincinnati, beat UC on the glass by 9, and pulled down 11 offensive rebounds to the 2 they got at 5/3 Arena. Tim Abromaitis went off for 22, showing that UC has no one that can stick him this season. Ben Hansbrough had 12-8 rebounds-9 assists, and Tory Jackson had 8 assists as the Irish had 25 assists on 29 field goals. UC had no answer for the Irish on defense, or offense. Larry Davis lead the team in scoring with 12. Larry Davis is a good kid, but he can't be your leading scorer. Deonta Vaughn had 11 on 2-8 shooting, all from 3. He has become very 1 dimensional this season, content to sit on the perimeter. Cashmere Wright followed his great day against Providence by going 1-9 for 4. Lance Stephenson didn't start, and only played 21 minutes for whatever reason, and had 8-6. I guess Mick didn't want the team's best player getting in the way of the suck. Let's dive into this frustrating loss.

Tim Abromaitis started the game with a 3 that was answered by Ibrahima Thomas. I swear that Ibby takes 80% of his shots before the first media break. He took 4 shots and 4 free throws, and they were all done by the under 12 I would bet. The teams would do a little battle until Notre Dame pulled away for good. Yes, for good. The Irish got dunks on 3 straight possessions while UC went ice cold and turned the ball over. A Harangody j made the score 15-6, and it would be 15-8 to the under 12. UC made a mini run with free throws by Vaughn and Yancy Gates scoring, but when the Irish could get field goals, they converted at the line. Gates would score again, but the Irish would get another dunk and lead 19-14 at 7:28. ND was 6-20, and UC 5-18. UC would get stuck shooting jump shots, and it cost them. Gody made 2 free throws and a lay up to help ND pull away. Larry Davis made his first 3 to pull UC back, but Abromaitis made another 3 to push the lead to 11. Harangody got a put back to give himself the previously mentioned first half double double to keep the lead 11. UC made their last gasp with a Davis 3, and a basket and foul by Gates at 4:30. Ben Hansbrough hit an open 3 to push the lead back. The teams traded free throws until Gody went on a 6-0 run, capped by a lay up off a nice Hansbrough pass for a 40-27 lead at the half. I didn't say as much about Tim Abromaitis because he scored mainly at the free throw line, but he had 16 in the half. Gody had 16-10. Tory Jackson had 7 assists, and Hansbrough 5. ND shot 14-33, 3-10 from 3, 9-11 ft, and had 13 assists to 5 turnovers. UC was 9-28, 3-11, 6-9 ft, and had 5 assists to 8 tos half of which were by Yancy Gates. Gates led UC with 10-4, Davis had 6, Rashad Bishop had 4-4, and Ibrahima Thomas had 4. Vaughn had 3 of his assists. Lance Stephenson didn't start, and didn't play more than 10 minutes in the half. Mick Cronin said after the game that he wanted Bishop in the line up to guard Abromaitis, and Bishop didn't exactly do that at all. 

The Irish built their lead from the get go with a Hansbrough 3. UC got a Vaughn 3, a Steve Toyloy put back and a steal on the inbound. With their chance to make a run, Vaughn threw up a terrible 3 that lead to a Gody jumper. UC scored 5 more off a Toyloy lay up and a Davis 3, but the lead was back to 11 with a Hansbrough put back. Hansbrough was everywhere when UC looked to do anything. UC should have played a guard to stick him, because Deonta Vaughn couldn't do it. Lance Stephenson didn't play until the 12 minute mark, and until the the teams exchanged baskets with the lead still in double digits. Abromaitis hit a 3 to make the lead 13. Stephenson would get to the line to score his first 2 of the game and cut the lead to 11. Thomas got to the stripe with 11 minutes left, and made 1 of 2 to make it a 10 point game. That's when the game ended for all intents and purposes. Harangody schooled Gates on an up and under for a basket and foul. Jaquan Parker, who did nothing, turned the ball over, which lead to a press break lay up by Gody for a 15 point lead. UC took terrible shots, with Wright and Vaughn being the offenders in this anti-run. The anti-highlight came off a missed Vaughn 3. ND, I think it was Hansbrough, pulled down the long rebound and flung a pass down court to a streaking Abromaitis who would dunk and get fouled by Cash Wright. UC had 2 players even attempt to run down the floor. Lance Stephenson didn't take a step after moving to the paint for the rebound. Abromaitis made the free throw to make it an 18 point game. As you can tell by the final, the score stayed that way. 

The pathetic effort hasn't been highlighted in this recap enough. If I made it seem that UC was in the game at all the second half besides the very beginning, I'm sorry. UC had another awful, awful, awful road effort. Notre Dame shot 54% the second half. UC shot 38% for the game, 7-28 for 3. Why this team of terrible outside shooters is able to settle on taking 3s, I don't know. It's incredibly frustrating to watch. The only 2 things of positive note were UC was 16-20 at the free throw line, and Larry Davis made 4 from long range. Larry has been bad from deep this year, and it was good to see him hitting shots. Besides that, it was another lousy road effort. The team is 8-43,323 on the road in Mick's UC career. With the back end of the Big East schedule coming up, this has to be the last time this pathetic of an effort can take place. This loss is on Mick, the players, and the rest of the coaches. This can't happen anymore. Syracuse is up next on Sunday. It's a gigantic opportunity for UC to was the taste of this disaster out of their mouths. 

Irish crush Cats

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were the only team on the court who wanted to win tonight, and they drummed the UC Bearcats 83-65. Notre Dame moves to 16-7, 5-5. Cincinnati falls to 14-8, 5-5 with Syracuse on the docket Sunday. The Irish had big games from seemingly everyone. Luke Harangody went off for 37-14. Tim Abromaitis and his acne went for 22. Ben Hansbrough 12-8 rebounds-9 assists. Tory Jackson chipped in 9 assists for Notre Dame. Cincinnati was lead by no one, but statistically speaking Larry Davis had 12, Deonta Vaughn 11-6 assists, and Yancy Gates had 10-6. This was another pathetic road performance in a year of pathetic road showings. This was UAB all over again. Disinterest, terrible shots, no defense. You gotta do something Mick. Besides lose on the road. Again.

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.

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 71 Connecticut 69

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

The Cincinnati Bearcats got their first win over a game Connecticut Huskies squad in controversial fashion Wednesday night. Lance Stephenson drew a foul call on Gavin Edwards with .7 seconds left in a tie game and went to the stripe and won it for the Bearcats. There was some dispute that the official made the call after the buzzer, or that Edwards didn't foul Stephenson, but John Cahill said he did, and that's all that matters. The Bearcats get their first win in conference play, and their 9th of the season. It drops UConn to 9-3. 

The big story of the night for the Bearcats was Lance Stephenson. #33 scored 21 points, 1 off his career high, pulled down 4 rebounds and had 3 assists. Stephenson was the offense down the stretch and made things happen to get the win. Lance had a number of moves that left one wondering how he could be stopped. He pulled off a crossover fadeaway jumper off glass, another crossover pull up, and a drive where he went right at one of the UConn big men, missed, but got his own rebound and put it back. He pulled down a rebound and went coast to coast, drawing a foul. Lance has matured since the UAB game. Deonta Vaughn broke out of his slump with 17 points, 5 boards and 5 assists. Vaughn did most of his damage in the first half leading the Cats to a double digit lead. Deonta also made some history. He passed Field Williams and moved into second behind Lazelle Durden for second all time in 3 pointers made. Congratulations Deonta. Yancy Gates didn't do much with only 6 points and 3 boards. He did have 2 blocks. Ibrahima Thomas pulled 9 rebounds, 3 offensive, had 2 blocks and chipped in 6 points. None bigger than his dunk to give Cincinnati a 3 point lead with 17 seconds left. Larry Davis was big down the stretch when the offense sputtered, and had 9, but scored 7 straight at one point. 

For Connecticut, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson poured in the points with 24 and 20 respectively. Dyson was everywhere when the Huskies needed him most, and Robinson made big shot after big shot. Gavin Edwards had a solid 8-7, doing most of his work at the free throw line. Kemba Walker struggled on 3-13 shooting and finished with 9. Alex Oriakhi was a monster on the boards with 9, 4 offensive. Jerome Dyson really stood out though. He had 7 rebounds, 3 offensive, 5 assists and 2 steals. 

As for the game itself, it was a game filled with lots of ebb and flow. The Bearcats would at once be dynamite offensively, and then go minutes without scoring. The Huskies would fall behind double digits, and rally. The game was as physical as one would expect Big East basketball to be. In the first half, both teams came out tight and scoring was sparse. 7 minutes in, UConn was 4-15 and UC 3-11. That would quickly change. Deonta Vaughn hit 2 3s in 29 seconds to break the UC lead to 8. Stephenson would go coast to coast for a lay up and get fouled to put the lead at 11. The Cats scored 16 points in 3 minutes. They would only score 6 more the final 8 minutes of the half. Jerome Dyson seemed to get right down the middle of the lane on every play and UConn cut into the 12 point lead. Stanley Robinson had a 3 point play on a lay up right down the middle and UConn only trailed by 1 at the half, 36-35. Dyson had 14, Robinson had 9 for UConn. For the Cats, Stephenson had 12 and Vaughn had 10. 

The second half started with Cincinnati busting right back out to a double digit lead. Steve Toyloy of all people nailed a jumper and a free throw to get things started. Deonta Vaughn hit a 3 and after 5 minutes, the Cats lead by 10. UConn cut it back to 5 after Stanley Robinson made the first of only 4 UConn 3s. Rashad Bishop only had 6, but he made a 3 to put UC back up 8, only to foul Robinson as he made a 3. The game stayed close until Larry Davis got involved. Larry hit a 3, got a lay up, and scored on a runner to put the Cats up 10. Lance Stephenson got his first bucket of the half to put UC up 12 with 9 minutes to go. UConn would make a run with Robinson's 3rd 3 pointer, and buckets by Dyson and Walker to get the lead to 5. With 4:27 left, Vaughn picked up his 4th foul on a push off. Vaughn would stay on the bench as the Cats had a couple of turnovers, capped Dyson stripping Bishop and slamming home a dunk to cut the lead to 4 with 2:27 left. Vaughn would only last a minute longer before fouling Gavin Edwards and UConn cut the lead to 3. Dion Dixon would run the point, as he did when Vaughn left the game. UC would struggle to get a good look, and the ball was deflected into the back court. The officials generously give UC 1 second to shoot, and Yancy Gates missed an open look when the Huskies doubled Stephenson. UConn would miss their shot, but Ibrahima Thomas couldn't pull down the rebound, nor could Dion Dixon, who had it taken away by Dyson. Dyson fed Robinson and the Huskies were down 1. UConn wouldn't be able to foul and the Cats broke the press leading to a Thomas dunk and the Cats were up 3 with 17 seconds left. Larry Davis started off on Kemba Walker as the point guard raced up the floor, but Davis went with Dyson and no one was around a wide open Walker who tied the score with 9.4 left. The Cats didn't call a timeout. Stephenson worked around Dyson and drew the foul mentioned up top. Despite being told to miss the second, Lance would make it and a Dyson half court shot would be off and the Bearcats would win. I take detailed game notes. 

The positives in this victory were Deonta Vaughn shaking his slump, Lance Stephenson finally getting a game winner to go after misses against Gonzaga and Xavier, Ibrahima Thomas on the glass, and the defense once again. UConn shot 37.5% and 30.8% from 3. The Cats also didn't get a shot blocked by the nation's leading shot blocking team. The first time UConn didn't block a shot since January 30, 2001. Damn. The Cats shot well with 41% and 46.7% from 3. They even made free throws 14-19 73.7%, highlighted by Lance going 7-7. 

The negatives weren't many. 16 turnovers are too many. The Cats also got in foul trouble. Dion Dixon and Yancy Gates got in it in the middle of the second half, and Vaughn at the end. The Cats also gave up 15 offensive rebounds on 40 UConn misses. 37% is too high, even against a great rebounding team. All in all, it was a great win for the Bearcats. What's your reaction Larry Davis?

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II