Villanova 77 Cincinnati 73

(Enquirer/Jeff Swinger)

The Cincinnati Bearcats showed heart Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to overcome Villanova and loss #13. Cincinnati is now 16-13, 7-10. Villanova pretty much wrapped up the second spot in the Big East tournament I believe, as they are now 24-5, 13-4. The game was pretty weird to watch, because the first half was relatively normal, and the second was plagued by horrible officiating. Not just on UC, but on both ends. Both teams were at 6 fouls before the first media timeout. The second half took 77 minutes. That kind of disjointed effort by the whistle blowers matched the disjointed effort on the court. Before we dive too deep into the game action, I want to say thanks to the fans that showed up and gave a great ovation to the seniors, especially Deonta Vaughn, and got loud when we needed it. There was a 'Thank You Vaughn' chant near the end, and I, and Mick, and Deonta appreciate it. Maybe we'll see Deonta in one last home game in whatever post season tournament UC is playing in a couple weeks. 

Deonta Vaughn started Senior Night the best way that he knew how, starting the scoring action off with a 3 to a nice ovation. Antonio Pena responded with 4 straight points on a basket and free throws. Lance Stephenson put UC back in the lead on a tip off his own shot, but Corey Stokes got hot. After Mouphtaou Yarou made one free throw, and Steve Toyloy scored on a pump fake, Stokes nailed a pair of 3s to give Villanova the advantage. Pena scored on a putback, and 6:25 in, it was 13-7. Mick Cronin changed the line up around some, and we had a Biggie McClain sighting. I don't know why either. Reggie Reddding iced a step back j to push the Nova run to 10-0, before Deonta scored on a spin move runner off the glass. Vaughn followed with a 3 of his own, and forced a steal that Rashad Bishop couldn't convert from in close. But, Nova would miss and Cashmere Wright would 'cash' in on a jumper on the women's 3 point line to bring the crowd to it's feet and Jay Wright to call a timeout. The 7 point run made it 15-14. Out of the timeout, Stokes hit another 3. On the way up the floor, Cronin was hit with a technical. He objected to a couple of non called push offs and I think a non call travel before the 3. Stokes made 1 of 2 at the line for a 5 point lead. Yancy Gates got involved by getting to the line, and made 2. The teams were settling for jumpers, and there were stretches where there was no scoring. At the 10 minute mark up 3, the Wildcats went on another run. Yarou hit a jumpshot, Pena tipped a telegraphed pass by Vaughn intended for Gates to Scottie Reynolds, who would hit the big man for a lay up, and Corey Fisher would ice a 3. That would be the last Nova field goal for a while, and UC would take advantage. A put back by Ibrahima Thomas, and a step up jumper by Bishop cut the lead to 26-20 at the 6:52 timeout. Pena would make 1 of 2 free throws, before Bishop hit a runner off a rebound. Reynolds would turn the ball over, leading to a Larry Davis to Gates lay up and a foul, which Gates converted to make it 27-25. The teams clanked jumpers, exchanged offensive fouls, and turned the ball over for the next few minutes until Dominic Cheek was fouled by Thomas and made one. After a wild 3 attempt by Vaughn, Taylor King threw a pass right to Ibby, who fed Vaughn racing up the court. The senior would score with a foul. He drilled the free throw and tied the score. Corey Fisher hit a 3 for Nova's first field goal in 7:38. The half ended when Deonta Vaughn got a friendly bounce from the rim (foreshadowing alert) to send us in the locker room tied at 31. 

Villanova shot 10-24, 5-11 from three, and 6-10 at the stripe. They gathered 16 rebounds, 6 offensive. The Wildcats scoring was done by Stokes 10-3, Pena 9-6, Fisher 6, Yarou 3, and Redding 2. Scottie Reynolds had 2 assists. For Cincinnati, they shot 12-31, 3-13 from deep, and 4-4 at the stripe. The Bearcats pulled home 14 rebounds, 6 offensive. They were powered by Deonta Vaughn's 14, but also Gates had 5, Bishop 4, Stephenson 2-4, Thomas 2-3, Toyloy 2, and Wright 2. UC had 5 assists on 12 shots, continuing the trend of solid first half passing.

Mike DeCourcy wrote something interesting in his column after the game. He said teams don't need to change line ups to start the second half and play the starters again. UC went on their run with Thomas, Davis, Gates, Vaughn and Stephenson, but started the half back with Toyloy. Toyloy couldn't hang with the Nova front line in the first half and didn't play much after the 15-7 lead, and half 2 started the same way. Yarou was wide open underneath for a lay up from Redding, who forced a steal from Gates, and found Reynolds for 3. It was the first basket by the senior. Fisher drove to the basket, got fouled, made both for a 7 point lead. Vaughn scored the first UC point of the half on a free throw, but it was on the miss that shit got real. On the rebound, Antonio Pena got reached in on, so he threw an elbow back at Yancy Gates. Gates got in his face before Larry Davis pulled them apart. Both got technicals, and Pena a personal. Pena scored the next point on a free throw, and on the next Nova possession, Yarou was fouled. As he walked to the line, he got a little shove by Gates, who was taken out of the game. Yarou made 1, but after a UC miss, Reynolds knocked down a 3. 43-32 would be the under 16 timeout score. UC settled for 3s nearly this whole time. Both teams went zone, but Nova's zone was sagging in on Gates letting the UC wing players fire up bricks as they are wont to do. Steve Toyloy of all people fired up a 15 footer that was nowhere near close. At the 14 minute mark, UC got their first basket of the half as Vaughn hit a cutting Bishop. Bishop followed with a 3 after Stephenson grabbed a rebound, raced up the court and dropped the ball off to him. On UC's next possession, Toyloy had the ball on the block, he turned, his defender flopped, allowing Toyloy to pass to Lance for 2 and a 7-0 UC run. Nova would run the lead right back though. Maalik Wayns broke the UC zone by finding Yarou. Deonta Vaughn dribbled the ball up court, and while dribbling off the right shoulder, simply lost the ball. Wayns picked it up, and foul Taylor King, who dunked with a foul on Vaughn. King missed the free throw, but Nova had a 45-37 advantage at the under 12. Yancy Gates would draw a foul before the timeout, and after he made both free throws. Stokes (over a double team) and Gates exchanged buckets, and after a Bishop put back, Nova would extend the 4 point lead. Scottie Reynolds fueled an 8-0 run with 3 free throws after Bishop hit his arm while he was shooting a 3, he fed Yarou for 2, and dropped another 3 for a 57-45 lead at 8:23 and a Cronin timeout. UC continued to brick 3s, with Larry Davis being one of the worst offenders. Larry was 0-5, and none of them looked close. He's lost a lot of confidence in his j this year. If the first doesn't fall, none of them do. Out the break, Rashad Bishop took the ball to the rim, GASP, for a traditional 3 point play. But Yarou found Stokes for a dunk, Stephenson bricked a pair of free throws, Redding hit a 3, and Stokes hit a pair from the charity stripe. With under 7 minutes to go, Nova lead 64-48. With their backs, and season, against the wall, UC fought back hard. Stephenson converted a traditional 3 point play. Reynolds made a pair of free throws for Nova here, 66-51. Jaquon Parker, who hadn't played since the USF game 2 weeks ago, scored 5 in a row on a spin move for a lay up, and an open 3. Rashad Bishop got a piece of a Taylor King 3 attempt, on the other end Vaughn nailed one. With 4:26 on the clock, Nova lead by 7. Nova would travel, and Stephenson took advantage by drawing a foul. He missed both, but Yancy Gates pulled down a huge rebound and scored. Lance stole the ball from Redding, made both, cutting the deficit to 3. Reynolds missed an open 3 for Nova. On the UC possession, Stephenson missed a chance to tie, but Bishop flew down the lane for a put back to make it 66-65. A 17-2 run with the season on the line. Redding was fouled, and made both. Parker missed a 3 to tie, but Redding got a 3 to bounce off the rim, off the backboard and down after it looked like Reynolds traveled with 1:31 left. It was Nova's first basket in 5:30 and a huge one. Gates cut the lead to 4 on free throws, and UC got a steal when Stokes slipped on the inbound and the ball was passed right to Stephenson. He passed to Vaughn open on the right wing, but it was shades of Marquette as Deonta missed. There was a jumpball on the rebound, and UC had the arrow. But, Bishop missed a 3, and Vaughn had a foot out of bounds while trying to tie up the long rebound. With 40.3 to go, Reynolds hit 2 free throws. Vaughn missed a runner, but Redding only made 1 ft for Nova. Stephenson got fouled, but missed both. Taylor King made both for an 8 point lead. UC's last second rally saw Stephenson score a traditional 3 point play, Nova travel, and Bishop hit a 3. But with 3.2 left, Reynolds hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 4, and the final score.

Villanova finished 21-44 47.7%, 10-21 47.6% from deep, and 25-35 at the stripe. They pulled home 28 rebounds, 6 offensive. Reynolds had 17, all in the second half, and 5 assists, Stokes 14-4, Redding 11, Pena 10-7, Yarou 10-2, Fisher 10, King 4-5, Cheek 1. Wayns had 3 assists, crucial in spreading the lead. Cincinnati was 26-66 39.4%, 7-30 23.3%, 14-21 66% at the line. They gathered 31 rebounds, 14 offensive. Rashad Bishop had 19, 15 in half two, Vaughn 18-3 assists, Gates 13-5, Stephenson 12-7, Parker 5, Thomas 2-3, Wright 2-3, and Toyloy 2. 

All congratulations to Villanova. They played hard, and executed when they had to. Reynolds was great in the second half, and Redding was key. Rashad Bishop really brought it in the second half for UC when we needed it. Vaughn had a great first half. Stephenson played overall solid. The things that hurt tonight were the same things that hurt all season. Big opponent run, check. Offensive ineptitude, check. Jacking up 3s, check. Missing big free throws, check. Getting torched on d at the wrong times, check. In many ways, this has been a lost season. Cincinnati has had chance, after chance, after chance to close out games and they haven't. The effort seems to vacillate between 'we really want to play hard' and 'we could be playing right now.' It's so frustrating to watch some of these things day in and day out. It was a hell of a comeback, but it ended the same way they all do. Missed open 3, check. Defensive breakdown, check. Missed chances, check. Missed tournament, check?

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: Marquette Golden Eagles edition

The Bearcats are on their last homestand of the season, and host the Marquette Golden Eagles Sunday at 2. The game is on FSN Ohio and ESPN full court and probably 360. UC is coming off a bad loss against South Florida, and Marquette is coming off a tough loss against Pittsburgh. UC is 15-10, 6-7, and the Eagles are 16-9, 7-6. This is the only time the former Conference USA rivals meet in the regular season, and it could not come at a more pivotal time for both. Both teams are fighting for their NCAA tournament lives, and also fighting to get a bye in the Big East tournament. Cincinnati really needs this game to get some momentum as they roll down the stretch. Marquette is trying to make their case after they got off to a slow start to the conference season. We know how big this one is, so let's jump into the breakdown. For your Marquette needs, visit our good friends Cracked Sidewalks. They do a great job.

Know Your Opponent: South Florida Bulls edition

Tonight on ESPNU at 7, the 15-9, 6-6 UC Bearcats hit the road again, this time to Tampa, Florida to play the host 15-9, 5-7 South Florida Bulls. This is the final of the mirror games for Cincinnati, and another sweep would be perfect. The Cats took care of the Bulls 78-70 January 20. Lance Stephenson was injured, causing Jaquan Parker to start and have a career day, going for 15-4-5 in 35 minutes. Parker has played 45 minutes since, and scored 10 points, and probably won't get any minutes tonight. That's a shame. Deonta Vaughn went off for 20. UC shot 56% for the game. The Cats held dynamo guard Dominique Jones to 21 points, and it took him 19 shots to get there. But, as you should have seen in the Q&A with AstroBull, USF isn't the same team. They have won 4 of 6, including wins over Georgetown and Pittsburgh, and get big man Augustus Gilchrist back. For the sake of not spelling that out every time, I'm calling him Gus. Cavalier, I know. The Bearcats are coming off their best road half since maybe the Xavier game. The Bulls have won their last 3 at home, but are just 8-3 for the season. How will this shake out? Let's look inside the numbers. But first, check out Voodoo 5 for all your USF needs, and an interview with me that USF Athletics said on twitter was "interesting," and "context for tonight." Also, check out my interview with him that CNati said "was a good interview that gave a nice state of the Bulls." You're welcome America. Numbers, predictions now.

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. 

Cincinnati 92 Providence 88

(Enquirer)

Cashmere Wright's career high 24 propelled the Bearcats to their second highest point total of the season, and win 14 (14-7 5-4), as the Cats outgunned the Providence Friars (12-9 4-5) 92-88. Cash's 24 were the 6th time a Bearcat scored 20 this season. It was also a UC season high, and UC high in any game against Providence. The Friars are known for not playing the best defense, and the Bearcats sure took advantage of that Saturday night, shooting 32-58 for a whooping 57%. The Bearcats also kept up the good 3 point shooting by going 8-18. Free throwing shooting was terrible, and it almost let the Friars back in the game. The Cats were 20-41. Awful. Rashad Bishop had 16-6 for Cincinnati, Lance Stephenson (9 rebounds) and Deonta Vaughn 12, and Darnell Wilks surprised with 10. Wright also had 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. For PC, Sharaud Curry matched a career high with 27. Jamine Peterson had 19, Marshon Brooks 12, and Vincent Council put up 10-5-6 assists. The Bearcats kept serve at home, which is important as they head back on the road where they have struggled. Let's take a look at how the game played out.

Action started with the teams putting shots on each other's faces. Providence made 3 triples to start the game, before Cashmere Wright scored UC's first 7. Peterson would make another 3, and PC lead 16-12 4 minutes in. Providence would nail their first 6 from deep in a lights out start. Rashad Bishop scored 8 of his points early in keeping the Cats close. Lance Stephenson did not start, and didn't enter until the 14 minute mark. He must be having problems with the ankle. Providence would build a 6 point lead as we hit the under 12 timeout, 24-18. Darnell Wilks entered the game and had a scoring explosion. Well as far as Darnell Wilks goes. Wilks scored off a hook, a left hand lay up, and a monster dunk back (pictured here). Wilks had 4 points the last 5 games, and scored 6 in 1:21. Stephenson added some points around a Peterson jumper, and the Cats had tied the game. Something unseen this season occurred after Marshon Brooks made a Friars 3. Lance Stephenson hit a 3 pointer for Cincinnati. This is the first time IN HIS CAREER Lance has made 3s in back to back games. No joke. The teams would trade the lead for the rest of the half with fast paced action. Wright would hit Bishop to give UC it's first lead, and it's second after Cash hit a 3 of his own. PC answered with a Duke Mondy 3. Curry, Vaughn, Peterson, Stephenson and Bilal Dixon, Vaughn again, and Wright all scored as the half came to a close at 44 all. Providence shot 50% in everything the half. 17-34 8-16 2-4. Peterson lead the way with 14-3-2 blocks, Curry had 9, and Coucil had 4 boards, 3 assists. UC shot 17-33 5-11 5-8, lead by Wright's 13-3 assists-3 steals. Bishop had 10, Lance 7, and Wilks 6. One player who did nothing was Yancy Gates. There were lots of people who though Yancy would have a big day against PC, but he was invisible for the most part.

Cincinnati started the second half by jumping out to a 5 point lead. Ibrahima Thomas scored 2 of his 4, and Rashad Bishop hit from 3. Peterson hit a 3, and Vaughn followed with his only 3 for UC. The Friars scratched even with Peterson's last basket for the game, and 2 free throws by Curry. The Friars took a 3 point lead at 60-57 after a Council 3 and a steal and breakaway dunk on Darnell Wilks' head by Marshon Brooks. That would seem to fire the Bearcats up. Yancy Gates scored his first field goal on a putback dunk, and followed with a steal as Providence was bringing the ball up the court. PC would foul, and the score would be 60-59 at 11:57. After the break, Cash got to the rim, scored, and got fouled. He would miss the free throw, but Lance Stephenson would get the rebound and get fouled. He would miss both though. On the next trip for UC, Cash would miss a rare field goal attempt, but Bishop cleaned it up for a 3 point UC lead. Cash picked a Providence pocket and raced down the court for a dunk. Stephenson followed that with a lay up, and UC was on a 10-0 run. Peterson would miss 2 free throws, PC was 9-18 at the stripe all night, and Cash would hit a dagger 3 for a 10 point UC lead. The lead stayed 10 down to the 3:58 mark, with UC ahead 75-65. Providence would press, and UC took advantage. The Cats broke pressure for a Gates dunk off a nice pass from Wright, a Gates alley oop from near half court by Lance, and 2 Stephenson free throws for a 81-67 lead. The Cats would let the lead slip due to poor free throw shooting. Deonta Vaughn hadn't missed a free throw in Big East play, and the percentages caught up to him. Vaughn was 5-10 on the day. Cash was great from the field, but only 3-7 at the stripe. My best friend Dion Dixon entered the game with 2 minutes left and UC up 12, and continued the funk he was in during the Louisville game. Dixon committed a turnover, after Vaughn made 2 free throws, would miss 2 fts, and Curry hit a PC 3. Dixon would then throw away the inbound pass up 8, but PC couldn't capitalize. Vaughn hit 1 free throw. The Friars missed a shot on their next possession, and fouled Wright, who made both. Was an 88-77 lead with 39.7 left safe? No. Curry made a lay up, Jaquon Parker (who only played 9 minutes, had 6 points 3 rebounds) made both free throws. On the other end, PC got a traditional 3 point play by Brooks. Vaughn made 1 of 2, and Curry drilled a 3. Cash missed both foul shots, and Curry made another 3 to cut the lead to 3 with 6.6 left. Parker would add to the drama by missing his first free throw. But Parker iced the game with his second, and provided us with the final. 

All in all, it was a nice win. The defense seems to be going to hell, which is a very bad sign with offensive minded Notre Dame on Thursday. It was nice to win, despite nothing from Gates and Toyloy. Gates had 7-7, and Toyloy had 3 turnovers to 1 point, 1 rebound. The free throw shooting was horrendous. Bishop was 1-4, Wright 3-7, Vaughn 5-10, Stephenson 3-6, and Dixon 0-2. The offensive rebounding was gone as well, only 8. The Bearcats couldn't afford to lose this game, and winning it was nice. Let's hope Mick has the boys ready to make a run, because the going is getting tough from now on. 

Cincinnati 78 South Florida 70

(Cincinnati Enquirer)

The Bearcats were powered by Deonta Vaughn's 20 points, and an unlikely source to beat South Florida Wednesday night. With Lance Stephenson on the shelf due to an ankle injury he suffered in practice Tuesday, Jaquon Parker entered the starting line up and put in 15 points to go with 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Rashad Bishop had a nice game as well with 15 points. UC improved to 13-6, 4-3, and South Florida fell to 11-7, 1-5. The Bulls were powered by Dominique Jones who scored 21. But, it took him 19 shots to get there. He did have 6 boards and 4 assists. USF also got good performances by Chris Howard (16-10) and Jarrid Famous (14-7-2 blocks). The Bearcats had a great offensive game shooting 56% from the field. They shot 36% from 3, but a woeful 13-23 at the free throw line. USF shot 44%, 17% deep, and 13-17 at the stripe. Let's take a look at how the Bearcats got the win.

As soon as the ESPN2 coverage kicked off, we found out Lance wasn't playing and that the starting line up was Bishop, Yancy Gates, Vaughn, Parker and Steve Toyloy. Parker got right into the grove by making the Bearcats first shot, a 3. Yancy Gates powered a 10-4 Cats start with 6 points, but picked up 2 silly fouls and sat on the bench from the 15 minute mark on. South Florida would use that momentum to go on 10-3 run capped by a Dominique Jones lay up for the lead. Jones had 6 of the first USF 14. The teams traded makes before UC went on a run that featured a put back by Ibrahima Thomas, his only 2, an alley oop lay up from Vaughn to my best friend Dion Dixon, and a Vaughn lay up and 2 free throws to take a 23-16 lead halfway through the half. That was a really long sentence. USF wouldn't lay down here either storming back into the lead 24-23 thanks to 4 of Mike Mercer's 10. UC, believe it or not, settled into taking 3s at this juncture with Parker, Dixon, and Darnell Wilks, who played awful, missing. Rashad Bishop would break a 26-26 tie with a 3 and UC would hold the lead the rest of the game. Spoiler alert. UC was able to pop the lead to 8 on a Parker lay up, Bishop lay up and a Vaughn 3. Jarrid Famous had 8 points in the half, and broke up that Cats run with a lay up of his own. Steve Toyloy would get those points back on a dunk off a batted around offensive rebound. The half ended with Deonta Vaughn wisely getting fouled while attempting a 3 and netting all 3 freebies for a 41-32 UC lead at the half. Both teams shot 50%, USF 13-26 UC 15-30. USF was 0-6 from 3 and 6-7 at the stripe, while UC was 4-11 and 7-9. Scoring wise, Jones had 10, Famous 8 and Mercer 6 for the Bulls. For the Bearcats, Vaughn had 13, Bishop and Gates 6, and Parker and Toyloy 5. UC turned the ball over just twice that half. The difference was the 3 point shooting, gasp!, and the Bearcats ability to offensive rebound.

The foes swapped buckets to start the second half. Yancy Gates wasn't a fan of the action, so he picked up his 3rd foul with 17:30 left. Steve Toyloy would have a dunk where he went from one side of the basket to the other, and the Cats lead by 10 at the first media break. The Bulls would continue to chip away and fall back behind. A 3 on 1 break for a Jones dunk to make the score 49-43 was met with a Deonta Vaughn 3 on the other end to push the lead to 9. Yancy Gates would re-enter the game at the 14 minute mark, and still not be impressed and get his 4th foul and head back to the bench with 13:51 left. The Bulls cut the lead back to 5 when Chris Howard hit the first USF 3 with the shot clock running down. Jaquon Parker would not stand for it, and go on a 6-0 by himself. Parker hit a jumper, free throws and a lay up to give the Cats a 58-47 lead. Biggie McClain would extend the lead to 12 by taking, and making, his first free throw of the season. He ruined the perfection by missing the second. With 8 minutes left, the Bulls would make their last run. Dominique Jones hit his only 3, Bishop would make a UC jumper, and Jones would score a lay up. Cashmere Wright played 4 minutes and the only stat on the box score was a turnover as he threw a pass Anthony Crater picked off and took for a lay up with 5:49 to go. Mick Cronin would call time out, but the next trip down the court Rashad Bishop threw a pass right to Crater, and Crater took the ball to the rim for the last of his 4 points and made the score 61-56. The next sequence would seal the game. Dion Dixon banked in a j from the free throw line that was as ugly as it sounds. Rashad Bishop would score a lay up on a nice inbounds play to make the lead 7. The star of the night Jaquon Parker took his man down on the box and nailed a turnaround jumper for his final points and made the UC lead 9. The last major gasp for USF was airballed by Crater with 3:24 left. Vaughn made a lay up to get the lead to 11. Chris Howard came back with his last 3 to cut the lead to 8, but USF's press was broken, ending in a lay up by Gates. The last 2 minutes were spent with USF trying to score, and UC at the line, where they weren't very good. Rashad Bishop went 1 of 2, but got a dunk off the rebound of his miss. Yancy Gates would miss both. Larry Davis missed his first 2 free throws of the year. South Florida didn't score, so it didn't really matter much. But you would like to see the men iron it out from the line.

All in all, this is a good win for the Bearcats. Like I mentioned earlier, this wasn't so much a must win as a can't lose. If the Cats lost this one, along with losing to Seton Hall and St John's, they would have been in trouble in the Big East. Instead, they are a game over .500 and can get back to 2 games over as they travel down I-71 to face the Louisville Cardinals Sunday afternoon. One last time, I want to mention Jaquon Parker. He was that good tonight. If he can step into the point guard role that UC needs, it could be the break the Cats need to get the offense going. Steve Toyloy and Rashad Bishop played very well too. Toyloy had 9-8 in a game Gates spent much time on the bench. The rebounding needs to shape up, because Louisville hits the glass hard, especially on the offensive end. Let's enjoy this one until Sunday.

Bearcats give away win to St John's in horrible fashion

(enquirer)

In one of the worst losses I've witnessed as a Cincinnati Bearcats fan, the Bearcats choked away the game tonight against St John's. The Bearcats lead 50-47 with 24 seconds left before they self destructed. With 11 seconds on the shot clock, the Bearcats inbounded the ball to Yancy Gates, who was quickly double teamed. Gates passed to Rashad Bishop who had the ball poked away and Dion Dixon's shot was blocked. St John's ended up getting a breakaway in which Bishop fouled Justin Brownlee with 14.5 seconds left. Brownlee made 1 of 2. Rashad Bishop stupidly threw a full court pass towards a double teamed Deonta Vaughn, and of course it was stolen. Dwight Harvey, the star of the game, ended up being fouled with 8.3 seconds left. Harvey made both to tie the score. Mick Cronin called UC's last time out after the first free throw, which would be very important. Lance Stephenson, in a hurry to get the ball in and get it back, threw the inbounds pass right to Harvey, who was fouled. Harvey drilled both for the lead. Deonta Vaughn would miss a 3 as time ran out. The Bearcats drop to a disappointing 11-6, 2-3 in the Big East. St John's gets their first conference win, 1-3, and improves to 11-5. A horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, terrible fucking defeat tonight. You can not lose these types of games. The Bearcats shot a horrible 0-12 from 3 and 10-18 from the free throw line, and shot 42.8% overall. Just horrible. More tomorrow.

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

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?

Cincinnati 74 Winthrop 57

(AP/Tom Uhlman)

The Cincinnati Bearcats improved to 8-3 by besting the Winthrop Eagles by the score posted in the title. It was a tale of 2 halves for the Cats, as they dominated the first, and struggled in the second. Scoring is going to be a problem with this team all season. A second half drought, coupled by turnovers and the fact they thought they had the game put away, let the Eagles chip their way back into this one late. Deonta Vaughn, who didn't shoot in the first half, hit back to back 3s to put this one out of reach and the lead at 16. Vaughn finished with 11. The first half scoring was taken care of, in large part, by Yancy Gates. Yancy had 14 in the first half, and was invisible in the second, finishing with a team high 16. The third Cat in double digits was Ibrahima Thomas, who had 11. Thomas got his second start of the season and played hard. For Winthrop, Charles Corbin lead the way with 12 6 3 and 3 steals off the bench. He had 5 offensive rebounds. Matt Morgan and Mantoris Robinson both chipped in with 10. Mantoris is such an incredibly cool name. I wouldn't mind if he transfered to UC, or we would play them again.

The front line was the story early on. The Bearcats used a 12-0 run to turn the score from 12-11 to 24-11 and Winthrop didn't have an answer the first half. The Cats shot 50% and had 23 rebounds, many of them offensive. There was a spot where after Cashmere Wright missed a 3, got his own rebound, the second of the possession, and got the ball to I think Steve Toyloy for a lay up. Cashmere looked much better this game. He played with a lot of confidence and filled up the stat sheet by going for 5, 3, 3. And more importantly, zero turnovers. Cashmere made the only UC 3 of the first half as well. The team penetrated a whole bunch in this half. Lance Stephenson didn't do much by way of scoring, but fed Yancy Gates for easy lay ups a few times. The Cats had 12 first half assists. The halftime lead was 16.

The second half was a different story. This is was an example of what can not happen a week from now when Connecticut comes into town. The ball died with whoever had it. The rebounding ferociousness of the first half went away. The team looked complacent. This team is not good enough to be complacent. After Ibrahima Thomas had a quick scoring furry to get the lead to 19, the Cats took the foot off the breaks. At the 16 minute mark, the Cats lead 50-34. It would take 2:30 to score again, a Jaquon Parker 3 to put the lead, which was cut to 11, back to 14. Lance Stephenson, who had 8, made his first shot since the opening 2 for UC to make the lead 13 at the 10 minute mark. The Bearcats fell asleep again on offense. Turnovers haunted UC. The Cats turned it over 11 times in the half, many of them here. The Bearcats didn't score for 3:30 as Winthrop had the  lead to 9. The aforementioned Vaughn 3s came here to put this one on ice.

If the Bearcats had played a better offensive team, this one could have been a barn burner. But, the Bearcats played fantastic defense yet again, and held the Eagles to 37.5% shooting and 2/11 from 3. The Bearcats shot   51% for the game. The problems were from 3 they shot 6-19 for 31.6% and another horrible free throw shooting game going 16-27  59%. Lance Stephenson was off going 0-4 at the line. Steve Toyloy, who had 6 boards and played well, bricked both his attempts.

The rebounding was great. The Bearcats missed 25 shots, but got 14 offensive rebounds. Winthrop missed 35 shots, and got 11 of them back. It seemed everyone had a hand in on rebounding last night.  Rashad Bishop lead the team with 8, Yancy had 7, Toyloy 6, Vaughn and Stevenson 4, and Thomas, Parker and Wright all had 3. Offensively, Gates had 4, Bishop 3, and Thomas and Toyloy had 2. Nice job overall rebounding.

UConn is up next a week from today. I'll get some fresh, new content up here the next few days, so keep checking back. There probably won't be a post on Christmas, but still check anyway because it would be a nice present to me.

Know Your Opponent: Xavier Musketeers edition

It's Crosstown Shootout time. No words needed. But, here are some anyway. This is going to be a battle. Xavier really needs this game to avoid tanking to every good team they've played. The Bearcats need this one because it's fucking Xavier. You can throw the records out the window when the ball goes up tonight. My prediction and the stats, after the jump.