TicketsCINCINNATI (15-3, 4-1) at WICHITA STATE (8-8, 1-3)
SERIES INFO: 32nd meeting; Cincinnati leads 19-12 overall;
Series is tied 8-8 in Wichita, Kan.;
Cincinnati leads 11-4 in Cincinnati
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 62-61 on Mar. 9, 2018
at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (283-143); 16th season overall (352-167)
Gregg Marshall is in his 12th season at Wichita State (294-106); 21st season overall (488-189)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 14): Cincinnati (RV/--); Wichita State (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS; Ian Eagle provides play-by-play with color analyst Jim Spanarkel
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Before the season started, the biggest concern for University of Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin was how well his team would play defense with so many inexperienced players now expected to fill new, more demanding roles.
After the Bearcats lost their season opener to Ohio State, Cronin realized that his concern was justified. And now, more than halfway through the season, defense remains an issue.
"Defense isn't just playing hard," Cronin said. "It's playing smart. It's being experienced enough to be able to see things. Young guys sometimes don't have the defensive discipline. And also, guys without experience don't have the defensive toughness to finish the play or the discipline to not foul. We're not quite as smart as we were last year defensively."
Still the Bearcats have managed to go 15-3 overall, 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference. They'll play at Wichita State on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. The Shockers, who lost their top four scorers from a team that was 25-8 last season, are 8-8 this season, 1-3 in the league.
UC has allowed its last four opponents to score 73, 65, 72 and 74 points. Granted, two of those games went to overtime, but the Bearcats allowed 65 or more points in conference play on five times all of last season.
Perhaps most troubling is the fact that their last four opponents have shot a combined 44.4 percent from three-point range.
"Some of that is ebb and flow," Cronin said. "Teams get hot. Some of that is we put a premium on not giving up layups. Teams have to take late-clock shots behind the line against our defense and they're making them. Some of it is style. We've played some teams lately, like Tulsa and UConn, with four-guard offenses, four shooters. It's harder to defend the three-point line and the paint against those kind of teams."
Wichita State has won at least 25 games in every season since 2008-09, which was head coach Gregg Marshall's second year at the school. But the Shockers are struggling this year after losing their top four scorers from last year. They might have begun to turn things around Thursday night when they upset UCF, the pre-season favorite to win the league, handing the Golden Knights their first conference loss of the season.
But even before that win, Cronin had great respect for the Shockers, who are especially formidable at home where they've won 77 of their last 82 games.
"They've got a bunch of new guys playing around Samajae (Haynes-Jones) 13.1 points per game) and Markis McDuffie (19.6), their returning guys," Cronin said. "They're scrapping with everything they've got. When I watch them their competitive spirit is impressive. For a bunch of guys who were just thrown together last spring, they've become a team. They may have some games where they struggle to make shots, but they don't struggle to play with heart. They don't struggle to play hard."
The Shockers led Temple by 11 with 3:32 to play before losing in overtime, 85-81, and were tied with No. 21 Houston on the road with 10:39 to play before losing 79-70.
UC knocked off Wichita State last year 62-61 at Koch Arena to clinch the AAC title in one of the most intense games of the season, so they're sure to get the full treatment from the vocal Shocker fans.
"They live and die with their team," said UC senior guard Cane Broome, who scored 13 points in that game.
Broome is still trying to hit his stride in what many thought would be a big scoring year for him. He's had his moments. He scored 17 against Tulane and 16 at Tulsa, including the jump shot that sent the game into overtime. He's averaging 8.3 points for the season.
"It's been solid," Broome said of his season to this point. "I could have done a lot better personally. It's just the ups and downs of the game. You've just got to keep going and try to figure it out."
Broome's biggest problem has been his perimeter shooting. He's shooting only 18.6 percent (eight-for-43) from three-point range.
"I don't want to force the issue with my shot because I know how it is right now," Broome said. "But I'm not going to stop shooting. That's a shot I've always taken and a shot that I've made. It just hasn't been going in as much as I want it to."
UC is one of six AAC teams with only one loss. The Bearcats haven't played any of the other five yet, so they know the toughest part of their schedule lies ahead in a league that's much more balanced than it's been in recent years. The American is currently ranked the sixth best conference in the country by RealTimeRPI behind the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Big East, the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"We have a tremendous basketball conference," Cronin said. "There's great coaching in our league, top to bottom. What you see is teams making more of a commitment that came from Conference USA. You add Wichita State and some of those other teams are trying to catch up and they're starting to support their basketball programs at the level that those of us who came from the Big East did. You're starting to see it manifest itself in their programs. Whether it's budget, scheduling, facilities, it's only gotten better every year."
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: 32nd meeting; Cincinnati leads 19-12 overall;
Series is tied 8-8 in Wichita, Kan.;
Cincinnati leads 11-4 in Cincinnati
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 62-61 on Mar. 9, 2018
at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (283-143); 16th season overall (352-167)
Gregg Marshall is in his 12th season at Wichita State (294-106); 21st season overall (488-189)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 14): Cincinnati (RV/--); Wichita State (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS; Ian Eagle provides play-by-play with color analyst Jim Spanarkel
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Before the season started, the biggest concern for University of Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin was how well his team would play defense with so many inexperienced players now expected to fill new, more demanding roles.
After the Bearcats lost their season opener to Ohio State, Cronin realized that his concern was justified. And now, more than halfway through the season, defense remains an issue.
"Defense isn't just playing hard," Cronin said. "It's playing smart. It's being experienced enough to be able to see things. Young guys sometimes don't have the defensive discipline. And also, guys without experience don't have the defensive toughness to finish the play or the discipline to not foul. We're not quite as smart as we were last year defensively."
Still the Bearcats have managed to go 15-3 overall, 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference. They'll play at Wichita State on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. The Shockers, who lost their top four scorers from a team that was 25-8 last season, are 8-8 this season, 1-3 in the league.
UC has allowed its last four opponents to score 73, 65, 72 and 74 points. Granted, two of those games went to overtime, but the Bearcats allowed 65 or more points in conference play on five times all of last season.
Perhaps most troubling is the fact that their last four opponents have shot a combined 44.4 percent from three-point range.
"Some of that is ebb and flow," Cronin said. "Teams get hot. Some of that is we put a premium on not giving up layups. Teams have to take late-clock shots behind the line against our defense and they're making them. Some of it is style. We've played some teams lately, like Tulsa and UConn, with four-guard offenses, four shooters. It's harder to defend the three-point line and the paint against those kind of teams."
Wichita State has won at least 25 games in every season since 2008-09, which was head coach Gregg Marshall's second year at the school. But the Shockers are struggling this year after losing their top four scorers from last year. They might have begun to turn things around Thursday night when they upset UCF, the pre-season favorite to win the league, handing the Golden Knights their first conference loss of the season.
But even before that win, Cronin had great respect for the Shockers, who are especially formidable at home where they've won 77 of their last 82 games.
"They've got a bunch of new guys playing around Samajae (Haynes-Jones) 13.1 points per game) and Markis McDuffie (19.6), their returning guys," Cronin said. "They're scrapping with everything they've got. When I watch them their competitive spirit is impressive. For a bunch of guys who were just thrown together last spring, they've become a team. They may have some games where they struggle to make shots, but they don't struggle to play with heart. They don't struggle to play hard."
The Shockers led Temple by 11 with 3:32 to play before losing in overtime, 85-81, and were tied with No. 21 Houston on the road with 10:39 to play before losing 79-70.
UC knocked off Wichita State last year 62-61 at Koch Arena to clinch the AAC title in one of the most intense games of the season, so they're sure to get the full treatment from the vocal Shocker fans.
"They live and die with their team," said UC senior guard Cane Broome, who scored 13 points in that game.
Broome is still trying to hit his stride in what many thought would be a big scoring year for him. He's had his moments. He scored 17 against Tulane and 16 at Tulsa, including the jump shot that sent the game into overtime. He's averaging 8.3 points for the season.
"It's been solid," Broome said of his season to this point. "I could have done a lot better personally. It's just the ups and downs of the game. You've just got to keep going and try to figure it out."
Broome's biggest problem has been his perimeter shooting. He's shooting only 18.6 percent (eight-for-43) from three-point range.
"I don't want to force the issue with my shot because I know how it is right now," Broome said. "But I'm not going to stop shooting. That's a shot I've always taken and a shot that I've made. It just hasn't been going in as much as I want it to."
UC is one of six AAC teams with only one loss. The Bearcats haven't played any of the other five yet, so they know the toughest part of their schedule lies ahead in a league that's much more balanced than it's been in recent years. The American is currently ranked the sixth best conference in the country by RealTimeRPI behind the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Big East, the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"We have a tremendous basketball conference," Cronin said. "There's great coaching in our league, top to bottom. What you see is teams making more of a commitment that came from Conference USA. You add Wichita State and some of those other teams are trying to catch up and they're starting to support their basketball programs at the level that those of us who came from the Big East did. You're starting to see it manifest itself in their programs. Whether it's budget, scheduling, facilities, it's only gotten better every year."
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.