TicketsXAVIER (6-3) at CINCINNATI (8-1)
SKYLINE CHILI CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT
SERIES INFO: 86th meeting; Cincinnati leads 50-35;
Cincinnati leads 11-6 on its campus and 35-19 on neutral sites;
Xavier leads 10-4 on its campus
LAST MEETING: Xavier won 89-76 on Dec. 2, 2017
at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati
STREAK: Xavier - Won 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (276-141); 16th season overall (345-165)
Travis Steele is in his first season at Xavier (6-3); first season overall (6-3)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 3): Cincinnati (--/RV); Xavier (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Jason Benetti provides play-by-play with color analyst Dan Dakich
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Just in case there are still some college basketball fans in town who don't understand the current nature of the Crosstown Shootout between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier, UC coach Mick Cronin used his meeting with the local media Thursday to explain it.
"I don't think people realize that the ship sailed years ago, the David and Goliath, this one-time, huge game," Cronin said. "We both have very established, high-major programs and when you play high major basketball, it's extremely hard to win."
It's certainly has been hard for the Bearcats to win in this rivalry in recent years. The Musketeers have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two schools beginning with the 2007-08 season.
"We need to get a win," said Cronin, who's 4-8 against the Musketeers.
UC (8-1) will get the chance to stop that trend at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Arena in the 86th version of a rivalry that dates to March 7, 1928. The Bearcats, who still hold a commanding 50-35 lead in the series, have won eight in a row since dropping their season opener to Ohio State. Xavier (6-3) has won four in a row.
This will be the first Shootout played at Fifth Third since the recently completed renovation of the building that opened in 1989. UC has won eight of the 13 games against Xavier at Shoemaker Center/Fifth Third Arena. It also will be the first time since the 2009-10 season that Xavier has faced UC without Chris Mack as its head coach. Mack left Xavier at the end of last season to become the head coach at Louisville.
Mack was replaced by XU associate head coach Travis Steele, who has only one returning starter from last year. Steele has supplemented his roster with three graduate transfers.
"In fairness to Travis, he's trying to piece it together," Cronin said. "They're not a young team, but they haven't played together. The problem is when you've got a bunch of guys that didn't play a lot last year and new guys, it's hard to build those habits with those guys because they've played under somebody else's system for the last four years."
Cronin is facing a similar situation at UC, although without the grad transfers, after losing Gary Clark, Kyle Washington and Jacob Evans from last year's team. The Bearcats have two returning starters as they try to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year.
One of the new starters for the Bearcats is junior forward Trevon Scott, who has responded to his new role by averaging 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds with two double-doubles. He's excited at the prospect of having more of an impact on this game.
"My first few years I didn't play too much in those games," Scott said. "But now with me playing way more minutes, I'll have a bigger chance to help UC be successful, so I'm way more anxious now that I'm playing more."
Scott was a freshman who was being redshirted when he witnessed his first Crosstown Shootout in 2015-16. The Bearcats lost that game, 65-55, at Xavier's Cintas Center.
"My impression was that while I'm here this series is gonna be crazy," Scott said. "It's gonna be rowdy every time, no matter what each team's record is. This rivalry is going to forever be crazy. A lot of players don't get the opportunity to be a part of something like this. For me to be a part of this type of rivalry is exciting. It's a great opportunity. It's something you can talk about forever."
Senior guard Cane Broome scored 16 points last year in the Bearcats' 89-76 loss to the Musketeers at Cintas. Xavier jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half and led by 23 in the second before the Bearcats mounted a late comeback that fell far short.
"They got up on us and never looked back," Broome said. "We can't let that happen."
At least UC won't have to contend with Trevon Blueitt, who scored 28 against the Bearcats last year and 40 the year before. But Cronin said the Musketeers still have plenty of talent.
On the perimeter, Paul Scruggs leads Xavier with 12.8 points while point guard Quentin Goodin averages 12.3 points and 4.3 assists. Goodin did not play in the Musketeers' win over Ohio on Wednesday night due to illness. On the front line, Naji Marshall leads Xavier with 13.6 points and 7.0 rebounds while Tyrique Jones averages 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 62.1 percent from the field.
Junior guard Jarron Cumberland leads UC with 14.9 points per game. Cumberland scored 15 last year against Xavier, but this time will likely be the focus of the Musketeers' defense. He scored 12 points against Northern Kentucky in UC's win Tuesday night. That followed a three-point game against UNLV.
"The other night on his drives he was looking to score instead of looking to get fouled against a team that was playing him very tightly," Cronin said. "He's got to come out with the mindset that I'm not going to let this guy push me and deny me. The coach is running things for me. I have got to make sure I'm sure I'm using these screens. He can't let guys just physically overwhelm him off of screens."
The outcome of this game could hinge on which team does a better job of rebounding. Two years ago, in UC's 89-78 win at Fifth Third, the Bearcats out-rebounded Xavier, 42-33, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 30 second-chance points for UC.
That moved Mack to say after the game that Xavier "got punked" on the glass. The Musketeers turned the tables last year with a 44-27 rebounding edge.
"Regardless of what was going on in social media or in the stands or where the game was played," Cronin said, "physical domination determined the last two winners in this 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.
SKYLINE CHILI CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT
SERIES INFO: 86th meeting; Cincinnati leads 50-35;
Cincinnati leads 11-6 on its campus and 35-19 on neutral sites;
Xavier leads 10-4 on its campus
LAST MEETING: Xavier won 89-76 on Dec. 2, 2017
at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati
STREAK: Xavier - Won 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (276-141); 16th season overall (345-165)
Travis Steele is in his first season at Xavier (6-3); first season overall (6-3)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (DEC. 3): Cincinnati (--/RV); Xavier (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Jason Benetti provides play-by-play with color analyst Dan Dakich
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Just in case there are still some college basketball fans in town who don't understand the current nature of the Crosstown Shootout between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier, UC coach Mick Cronin used his meeting with the local media Thursday to explain it.
"I don't think people realize that the ship sailed years ago, the David and Goliath, this one-time, huge game," Cronin said. "We both have very established, high-major programs and when you play high major basketball, it's extremely hard to win."
It's certainly has been hard for the Bearcats to win in this rivalry in recent years. The Musketeers have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two schools beginning with the 2007-08 season.
"We need to get a win," said Cronin, who's 4-8 against the Musketeers.
UC (8-1) will get the chance to stop that trend at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Arena in the 86th version of a rivalry that dates to March 7, 1928. The Bearcats, who still hold a commanding 50-35 lead in the series, have won eight in a row since dropping their season opener to Ohio State. Xavier (6-3) has won four in a row.
This will be the first Shootout played at Fifth Third since the recently completed renovation of the building that opened in 1989. UC has won eight of the 13 games against Xavier at Shoemaker Center/Fifth Third Arena. It also will be the first time since the 2009-10 season that Xavier has faced UC without Chris Mack as its head coach. Mack left Xavier at the end of last season to become the head coach at Louisville.
Mack was replaced by XU associate head coach Travis Steele, who has only one returning starter from last year. Steele has supplemented his roster with three graduate transfers.
"In fairness to Travis, he's trying to piece it together," Cronin said. "They're not a young team, but they haven't played together. The problem is when you've got a bunch of guys that didn't play a lot last year and new guys, it's hard to build those habits with those guys because they've played under somebody else's system for the last four years."
Cronin is facing a similar situation at UC, although without the grad transfers, after losing Gary Clark, Kyle Washington and Jacob Evans from last year's team. The Bearcats have two returning starters as they try to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year.
One of the new starters for the Bearcats is junior forward Trevon Scott, who has responded to his new role by averaging 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds with two double-doubles. He's excited at the prospect of having more of an impact on this game.
"My first few years I didn't play too much in those games," Scott said. "But now with me playing way more minutes, I'll have a bigger chance to help UC be successful, so I'm way more anxious now that I'm playing more."
Scott was a freshman who was being redshirted when he witnessed his first Crosstown Shootout in 2015-16. The Bearcats lost that game, 65-55, at Xavier's Cintas Center.
"My impression was that while I'm here this series is gonna be crazy," Scott said. "It's gonna be rowdy every time, no matter what each team's record is. This rivalry is going to forever be crazy. A lot of players don't get the opportunity to be a part of something like this. For me to be a part of this type of rivalry is exciting. It's a great opportunity. It's something you can talk about forever."
Senior guard Cane Broome scored 16 points last year in the Bearcats' 89-76 loss to the Musketeers at Cintas. Xavier jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half and led by 23 in the second before the Bearcats mounted a late comeback that fell far short.
"They got up on us and never looked back," Broome said. "We can't let that happen."
At least UC won't have to contend with Trevon Blueitt, who scored 28 against the Bearcats last year and 40 the year before. But Cronin said the Musketeers still have plenty of talent.
On the perimeter, Paul Scruggs leads Xavier with 12.8 points while point guard Quentin Goodin averages 12.3 points and 4.3 assists. Goodin did not play in the Musketeers' win over Ohio on Wednesday night due to illness. On the front line, Naji Marshall leads Xavier with 13.6 points and 7.0 rebounds while Tyrique Jones averages 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 62.1 percent from the field.
Junior guard Jarron Cumberland leads UC with 14.9 points per game. Cumberland scored 15 last year against Xavier, but this time will likely be the focus of the Musketeers' defense. He scored 12 points against Northern Kentucky in UC's win Tuesday night. That followed a three-point game against UNLV.
"The other night on his drives he was looking to score instead of looking to get fouled against a team that was playing him very tightly," Cronin said. "He's got to come out with the mindset that I'm not going to let this guy push me and deny me. The coach is running things for me. I have got to make sure I'm sure I'm using these screens. He can't let guys just physically overwhelm him off of screens."
The outcome of this game could hinge on which team does a better job of rebounding. Two years ago, in UC's 89-78 win at Fifth Third, the Bearcats out-rebounded Xavier, 42-33, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 30 second-chance points for UC.
That moved Mack to say after the game that Xavier "got punked" on the glass. The Musketeers turned the tables last year with a 44-27 rebounding edge.
"Regardless of what was going on in social media or in the stands or where the game was played," Cronin said, "physical domination determined the last two winners in this 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.