TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – For at least a few minutes after the University of Cincinnati Bearcats cruised to an 83-51 victory Monday night over Alabama State, there was a pretense in the post-game press conference about talking about what had just transpired.
The 11th-ranked Bearcats didn't play all that well on a night when even UC coach Mick Cronin knew it wouldn't matter. Yes, they were focused on winning their seventh straight game with no losses, but with the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier looming five days hence, a game against a struggling team like Alabama State (0-7) didn't seem to matter very much.
"I told the guys I thought we played like a team that hadn't practiced much," Cronin said. "It wasn't for a lack of effort, though. We had 53 deflections. We just didn't have a lot of rhythm. It showed in our shooting. We had a lot of good shooters missing open shots."
The Bearcats were fresh off three wins in three days as they claimed the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic last Wednesday and Cronin figured they could use a breather before hitting a four-game stretch in their schedule that begins with Xavier and includes Florida, Mississippi State and UCLA.
With that kind of murderer's row coming up, it's hard to put too much stock in a victory over a winless team.
"All we did really was shoot Friday," Cronin said, "and we were off again Saturday, so we had a mini-vacation. I thought our guys needed a freshening from three games in a row and tried to use tonight basically as a practice trying to get guys equal minutes. Hopefully, we'll go hard three more times this week to get ready for Saturday. I've got to make sure I've got these guys ready to run on Saturday. I knew I didn't have them ready tonight, but that was OK. I figured we'd be able to get the job done."
For the record, the Bearcats shot 49.2 percent from the field in their win before 7,012 fans at BB&T Arena. Gary Clark led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots. He made all eight of his free throws. Jacob Evans scored 12 points and blocked four shots. UC forced 20 turnovers and had only seven of its own. The Bearcats led by 20 at halftime and by 35 with 4:27 to play.
And then it was time to turn the page to the Musketeers, who fell from No. 15 to No 21 Monday in the Associated Press media poll after losing to Arizona State, 102-86 on Saturday for their first loss of the season after five wins. The win catapulted the Sun Devils into the Top 25 at No. 20. Xavier was scheduled to play 16th-ranked Baylor (5-0) at home Tuesday.
"It's that game every year that everyone goes crazy about in the city," Clark said of the Shootout. "As players, the ones that are playing in it, we just go out and enjoy it. If you get caught up in it too much, you lose who you built up to be up until that point. You have to go in with great leadership and guys that are understanding the hype about the game. If you go in with your identity and you stay the same throughout the game you should be all right."
Xavier will enter the game with two advantages, according to Cronin. The most obvious one is the home court advantage at Cintas Center.
"They also played another Top 20 team, which is an advantage for them because we have not played another Top 20 team," Cronin said. "It forces you to look in the mirror and that's a good thing because it forces you to become a better team. That's happened to them and it hasn't happened to us yet. It's been a long time since we've won over there. We have had some close calls, but we haven't got the job done."
The Bearcats are 1-6 at Cintas since it opened in 2000. Their only win was a 75-55 victory on Dec. 14, 2001. Since then, they've lost six straight. One was in overtime. Another was in double overtime.
While Xavier has played Wisconsin and Arizona State, the closest the Bearcats have come to facing that level of competition was in the opening game in the Cayman Islands, when they held on to beat Buffalo, 73-67. The Bulls were picked to win the Mid-American Conference East Division and gave the Bearcats all they could handle. UC had hoped to play Iowa in that tournament but the Hawkeyes were knocked out in the first round.
"I've never seen a team play as hard as they did defensively," Cronin said of Buffalo. "So we were in one football-type game where it was tough to be able to execute. But it'll be much tougher on the road Saturday."
No one knows better how hard it will be than Clark, one of two seniors on the UC roster and the only UC player who has played three times against the Musketeers. He's 1-2 in those three games. He's happy to share his experience with the younger players, especially the freshmen who have yet to experience the rivalry.
"I usually try to say it's your biggest rivalry in your high school times about a hundred," Clark said, "with a bunch of people that really do not like you whatsoever. Just go in there and don't even look at anybody in the stands. Just focus on everything we practiced and built up to that point and stay connected because if one guy gets jitters or loses focus the ship will go south."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.