TicketsNEVER FORGET TRIBUTE CLASSIC
No. 17/17 CINCINNATI vs. No. 5/5 FLORIDA
SERIES INFO: First meeting in series history
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (244-136); 15th season overall (313-160)
Mike White is in his third season at Florida (53-27); seventh season overall (154-67)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 4): Cincinnati (17/17); Florida (5/5)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Jon Sciambi provides play-by-play with color analyst Fran Fraschilla
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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati Bearcats will try to rebound from their disappointing loss to crosstown rival Xavier last week when they face No. 5 Florida on Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The Gators, who started their season with five straight wins, have lost three in a row to No. 1 Duke, Florida State and to Loyola of Chicago on Wednesday night. Florida went 2-for-19 from 3-point range in the Loyola game.
Both teams badly need a victory. Tipoff is 6 p.m.
"With any opponent, you've got to look at them at their best and be prepared for their best shot," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "So that being said, we expect Florida to shoot a lot better than 2-for-19 from the 3-point line."
The loss to Xavier dropped the Bearcats (7-1) from 11th in the Associated Press Top 25 to 17th.
"We've got our own problems," Cronin said. "The last time we played we played awful. If you would tell me my team would ever play that bad defensively as we played in our last game I wouldn't believe it, to be honest with you. Right now, we approach Florida like they're going to be at their best, but we've got our own issues that we need to solve, especially on the defensive end of the floor."
Florida, which ranks 12th nationally with 90.3 points per game, is led by guard Jalen Hudson who averages 20.9 points with a team-high 21 3-pointers. He scored 35 points in the Gators' double-overtime win over Gonzaga.
Guard Egor Koulechov (16.7 points and 6.9 rebounds), is their leading rebounder. And guard Chris Chiozza leads the Southeastern Conference with 6.1 assists per game. The Gators (5-3) were picked to finish second in the SEC behind Kentucky in a preseason media poll.
UC senior forward Gary Clark said losing is always humbling, but losing to Xavier was even more humbling because of the local rivalry. The key, Clark said, will be to see how he and his teammates respond to the loss Saturday against Florida.
"We've got to get our young guys to fix those things that we lacked against Xavier and that we lacked before but got away with it because of the teams we were playing," Clark said. "We play another good team Friday. We're trying to get everyone to buy into what we need to do to get a W.
"They're wounded. A team that loses three in a row that played so well early, you can't count them out. You've got to expect to get their best punch. No team wants to lose four games. We don't want to take our second loss and I'm sure they don't want to take their fourth."
UC has lost its last four games against teams ranked in the Top 5 of the AP poll. Its last win over a Top 5 opponent came against No. 2 Syracuse, which UC upset, 71-68, in the semifinals of the 2012 Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The Bearcats' last game against a Top 5 opponent was in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, which they lost to No. 3 UCLA, 79-67, in Sacramento.
They hope to end their losing streak to Top 5 opponents this weekend with a renewed emphasis on defense.
"What we've been talking about all week is that our identity has got to be about playing extremely hard and being committed to getting defensive stops and that your offense comes from your defense," Cronin said. "Getting out-rebounded is a product of terrible defense. When all you're doing is getting it out of the net you're not going to get defensive rebounds. All you're doing is taking the ball out.
"It all feeds into each other, but it starts with our defensive effort, no question. When you play really good teams you might not be able to take away everything, but you've got to take away something. You can't give up nine layups and seven 3s in a half, which is what we accomplished in our last game."
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.