March 11, 2010 –
by Brendon
NEW YORK — There are many ways to skin a cat, an unnecessarily gory person once noted. Similarly, there’s more than one way to score points in a basketball game. The Bearcats showed that an offense can be effective without making many shots, because they utterly destroyed Louisville on the glass, re-gaining more than half of their misses to stun the Cardinals, 69-66, on Wednesday night.
“So the last two nights, we have had 69 shot attempts and 72 tonight,” said Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin, whose team attempted 17 more field goals and eight more free throws than Louisville. “We can rebound the ball when we get shots off.”
In the first half alone, UC had 18 offensive rebounds. Shot after shot deflected off the hands of Louisville players and either out of bounds or into the waiting arms of Bearcats. In the first 20 minutes, though, it didn’t appear that Cincy’s backboard dominance would matter a bit, since it shot an abysmal 31.3 eFG and committed seven turnovers. Meanwhile, Louisville hit 6-of-9 3-pointers to take a 41-32 lead into intermission.
In the second half, though, Louisville went cold, and the Cards eventually succumbed to Cincinnati’s irrepressible offensive rebounding.
| Team |
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| Cincinnati |
66 |
1.05 |
0.375 |
0.183 |
0.538 |
0.208 |
| Louisville |
66 |
1.01 |
0.527 |
0.183 |
0.257 |
0.145 |
After taking a 46-34 lead on a long jumper from Edgar Sosa with 18:38 left in the second half, UofL scored just seven points in the next 12 game minutes, a total of 19 possessions. Read More »
January 14, 2010 –
by Brendon
St. John’s needed and got a win on Wednesday night against the Bearcats and Lance Stephenson. The star freshman from Lincoln High in Brooklyn may be “Born Ready,” but he readily handed over six turnovers including one in the final 10 seconds that led to Dwight Hardy’s game-winning free throws in St. John’s 52-50 win. But, enough about Stephenson.
|
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| Cincinnati |
62 |
0.81 |
0.426 |
0.339 |
0.438 |
0.213 |
| St. John’s |
62 |
0.84 |
0.402 |
0.177 |
0.270 |
0.216 |
Ten days after handing over a game against Providence, St. John’s took one back against Cincinnati. The Bearcats turned the ball over on a third of their possessions, a total of 21. The Johnnies converted those 21 giveaways into 25 points, 13 more than UC’s points off turnovers. When I look at the box score and see that St. John’s forced 21 turnovers but had just seven steals, it strikes me that many of the turnovers were unforced. Nonetheless, Cincy committed turnovers and St. John’s capitalized. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Big East, Cashmere Wright, Cincinnati, Connecticut, D.J. Kennedy, Deonta Vaughn, DePaul, Dion Dixon, Dwight Hardy, Ibrahima Thomas, Lance Stephenson, Louisville, Maryland, Norm Roberts, Oklahoma State, Paris Horne, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, Steve Toyloy, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Yancy Gates
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November 25, 2009 –
by Brendon
For the fourth time in five years, a Big East team will play in the final of one of the best early-season tournaments, the Maui Invitational. While the tournament isn’t officially seeded, the Cincinnati came in as the presumptive No. 5 seed and has since defeated nationally-ranked Vanderbilt and Maryland in impressive fashion.
In the final for the Maui Invitational, the Bearcats will take on Gonzaga, who squeaked by Colorado and then took down Wisconsin in the semis. Disparities in free-throw shooting and rebounding could determine the outcome. Here’s a preview of what could be the Big East’s third major tournament victory of the young season.
Cincinnati is off to a 4-0 start because of its interior. The Bearcats have dominated both glasses, especially the offensive one, in the early going. Yancy Gates (15.2 percent offensive-rebounding rate), Steve Toyloy (12.9) and, surprisingly, 6-foot-3 Dion Dixon (10.1) have been terrific in getting the Bearcats second chances, and it’s a good thing, because UC is shooting at just a 48.7 percent eFG. They’ve needed the extra possessions that offensive rebounding brings. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Mid-Majors, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged A.J. Ogilvy, Adam Morrison, Big East, Cashmere Wright, Cincinnati, Colorado, Demetri Goodson, Deonta Vaughn, Dion Dixon, Elias Harris, G.J. Vilarino, Gonzaga, Jeffrey Taylor, Lance Stephenson, Larry Davis, Mark Few, Maryland, Matt Bouldin, Maui Invitational, Mick Cronin, Rashad Bishop, Robert Sacre, Steve Gray, Steve Toyloy, Vanderbilt, West Coast Conference, Wisconsin, Yancy Gates
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November 17, 2009 –
by Brendon
We waited a long time for Lance Stephenson’s debut, and we’ll need to wait a bit longer to witness Stephenson’s first good performance. The prep standout shot just 2-for-10, grabbed four rebounds and didn’t contribute maybe tangible peripherals (steals, assists, blocks) in 22 minutes of Cincinnati’s 69-62 win over Prairie View A&M on Monday night.
Stephenson’s poor shooting helped contribute to a first-half deficit that stood at 38-30. Cincinnati had just a 37.1 percent eFG in the first half thanks primarily to 15 misses on 3-point shots in the opening 20 minutes. Mick Cronin’s team clamped down on defense in the second half, holding Prairie View to just 24 points thanks to Cincy’s superior size and talent. Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy combined for 19 rebounds, including eight of teammates’ misses. Cincinnati has to be happy to have the victory, but it wasn’t a fortuitous start for Stephenson or for his coach, both of whom enter crucial seasons in their careers. Read More »
Posted in Big East
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Tagged Big East, Cincinnati, Deonta Vaughn, DePaul, Georgetown, James White, Lance Stephenson, Mick Cronin, Mike Williams, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Prairie View A&M, Seton Hall, Steve Toyloy, Syracuse, UAB, UNLV, USF, West Virginia, Yancy Gates
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