Tickets
CINCINNATI (6-1) at UNLV (4-2)
SERIES INFO: Cincinnati leads 5-0 overall; Cincinnati leads 3-0 in Las Vegas and 2-0 in Cincinnati
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 67-65 on Nov. 29, 2008 at Thomas & Mack Center in the Global Sports Classic
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 5
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (274-141); 16th season overall (343-165)
Marvin Menzies is in his third season at UNLV (35-36); 12th season overall (233-147)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (NOV. 26): Cincinnati (--/--); UNLV (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Ben Holden provides play-by-play with color analyst Steve Lappas
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – There comes a time when every college basketball team has to leave the comforts of home in the early part of the season and get out on the road to prepare for the upcoming conference season.
UC actually hit the road for the first time last weekend to play two neutral site games in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., where they defeated George Mason and Mississippi to win the tournament title.
But Saturday the Bearcats will play their first true road game of the season when they take on the UNLV Runnin' Rebels at 6 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
UC (6-1) has won its last six games. UNLV (4-2) had a four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with a 72-64 home loss to Valparaiso, part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge.
The Runnin' Rebels have out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 7.7 per game. They've shot 46.9 percent from the field, while holding their opponents to 39.8 percent.
The Bearcats were 9-2 on the road last year, their two losses coming at Xavier and at Houston.
"It's hard to win on the road," said UC coach Mick Cronin, who interviewed for the head coaching job at UNLV in 2016. "And with this group this is our first (true) road game. We've got to handle the road trip in a business manner and understand that everybody is tough at home. People don't go away at home. Even if you get up early, teams don't go away at home."
The scheduling of this game, Cronin said, was initiated by UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, who worked as senior associate athletic director at UC in 2013 and 2014 under AD Whit Babcock. The Runnin' Rebels are in their third season under head coach Marvin Menzies, who coached as an assistant under Rick Pitino from 2005 to 2007.
"It was a chance for us to play a road game against a friend of mine, Marvin Menzies," Cronin said. "He and I are from the same coaching tree with Rick Pitino. It's so hard for us to get home games. We're at Ohio State and Xavier next year, so we needed a home game next year. That's why I said, I'll come out this year so you guys can come back. I'm trying to make sure we always have some name opponents coming in December."
UNLV is coming off a 20-13 season in 2017-18, but lost Brandon McCoy, who left for the NBA after one season with the Runnin' Rebels during which he averaged16.9 points and 10.3 rebounds. UNLV has been led this season by Shakur Juiston, a 6-foot-7, 220-pond forward and a second-team all-Mountain West player from last year who averages 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds. Six-eleven forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds) is shooting 71 percent from the field.
The Bearcats are 5-0 all-time against UNLV. Their most recent meeting resulted in a 67-65 UC victory in Las Vegas on Nov. 29, 2008.
As the Bearcats continue to build toward the start of AAC play on Jan. 2 against Tulane, Cronin has been impressed by the play of 6-foot-2 freshman point guard Logan Johnson, from Mountain View, Calif.
Johnson is the younger brother of Tyler Johnson, who plays for the NBA Miami Heat. He's averaged only 3.6 points and 1.6 assists in 13.7 minutes per game, More importantly, his defense and ball handling have been outstanding and he has demonstrated a level of athleticism that allows him to fill several different roles.
"Logan is such a great defender and a very good rebounder for a guy who plays point," Cronin said. "You can play him at the two and it gives you an extra ball handler and a guy that rebounds above the rim.
"He's a superior athlete, just like his brother. His brother defended his way into the NBA and Logan knows that. It's a great advantage when I don't have to sell Logan Johnson on the importance of defense. He's seen his family's whole world change because of Tyler's defense. He's got unbelievable quickness and athleticism. He's going to be a great player the more comfortable he gets on the offensive end."
Junior forward Trevon Scott, who redshirted as a freshman, knows how difficult the adjustment to the college level can be for a first-year player, but he's seen no hesitation from Johnson, who from the beginning has acted as if he belongs.
"He's not coming in thinking he's a freshman, out there playing timid," Scott said. "He's out there doing the same things the seniors and juniors and the players before him were doing,"
The UNLV game is the first of five games for the Bearcats against quality opponents. UC will return home to face Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, followed by the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 8; a Dec. 15 road game at Mississippi State; and a home game against UCLA on Dec. 19.
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.
SERIES INFO: Cincinnati leads 5-0 overall; Cincinnati leads 3-0 in Las Vegas and 2-0 in Cincinnati
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 67-65 on Nov. 29, 2008 at Thomas & Mack Center in the Global Sports Classic
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 5
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (274-141); 16th season overall (343-165)
Marvin Menzies is in his third season at UNLV (35-36); 12th season overall (233-147)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (NOV. 26): Cincinnati (--/--); UNLV (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Ben Holden provides play-by-play with color analyst Steve Lappas
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – There comes a time when every college basketball team has to leave the comforts of home in the early part of the season and get out on the road to prepare for the upcoming conference season.
UC actually hit the road for the first time last weekend to play two neutral site games in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., where they defeated George Mason and Mississippi to win the tournament title.
But Saturday the Bearcats will play their first true road game of the season when they take on the UNLV Runnin' Rebels at 6 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
UC (6-1) has won its last six games. UNLV (4-2) had a four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with a 72-64 home loss to Valparaiso, part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge.
The Runnin' Rebels have out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 7.7 per game. They've shot 46.9 percent from the field, while holding their opponents to 39.8 percent.
The Bearcats were 9-2 on the road last year, their two losses coming at Xavier and at Houston.
"It's hard to win on the road," said UC coach Mick Cronin, who interviewed for the head coaching job at UNLV in 2016. "And with this group this is our first (true) road game. We've got to handle the road trip in a business manner and understand that everybody is tough at home. People don't go away at home. Even if you get up early, teams don't go away at home."
The scheduling of this game, Cronin said, was initiated by UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, who worked as senior associate athletic director at UC in 2013 and 2014 under AD Whit Babcock. The Runnin' Rebels are in their third season under head coach Marvin Menzies, who coached as an assistant under Rick Pitino from 2005 to 2007.
"It was a chance for us to play a road game against a friend of mine, Marvin Menzies," Cronin said. "He and I are from the same coaching tree with Rick Pitino. It's so hard for us to get home games. We're at Ohio State and Xavier next year, so we needed a home game next year. That's why I said, I'll come out this year so you guys can come back. I'm trying to make sure we always have some name opponents coming in December."
UNLV is coming off a 20-13 season in 2017-18, but lost Brandon McCoy, who left for the NBA after one season with the Runnin' Rebels during which he averaged16.9 points and 10.3 rebounds. UNLV has been led this season by Shakur Juiston, a 6-foot-7, 220-pond forward and a second-team all-Mountain West player from last year who averages 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds. Six-eleven forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds) is shooting 71 percent from the field.
The Bearcats are 5-0 all-time against UNLV. Their most recent meeting resulted in a 67-65 UC victory in Las Vegas on Nov. 29, 2008.
As the Bearcats continue to build toward the start of AAC play on Jan. 2 against Tulane, Cronin has been impressed by the play of 6-foot-2 freshman point guard Logan Johnson, from Mountain View, Calif.
Johnson is the younger brother of Tyler Johnson, who plays for the NBA Miami Heat. He's averaged only 3.6 points and 1.6 assists in 13.7 minutes per game, More importantly, his defense and ball handling have been outstanding and he has demonstrated a level of athleticism that allows him to fill several different roles.
"Logan is such a great defender and a very good rebounder for a guy who plays point," Cronin said. "You can play him at the two and it gives you an extra ball handler and a guy that rebounds above the rim.
"He's a superior athlete, just like his brother. His brother defended his way into the NBA and Logan knows that. It's a great advantage when I don't have to sell Logan Johnson on the importance of defense. He's seen his family's whole world change because of Tyler's defense. He's got unbelievable quickness and athleticism. He's going to be a great player the more comfortable he gets on the offensive end."
Junior forward Trevon Scott, who redshirted as a freshman, knows how difficult the adjustment to the college level can be for a first-year player, but he's seen no hesitation from Johnson, who from the beginning has acted as if he belongs.
"He's not coming in thinking he's a freshman, out there playing timid," Scott said. "He's out there doing the same things the seniors and juniors and the players before him were doing,"
The UNLV game is the first of five games for the Bearcats against quality opponents. UC will return home to face Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, followed by the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 8; a Dec. 15 road game at Mississippi State; and a home game against UCLA on Dec. 19.
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.