BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - They will walk onto the court today searching as much for identity as victory and validation. They have been together 152 days, and if they want to make it a few more, they will need to discover precisely who they are.
They are the Cincinnati Bearcats, of course, but there has developed no genuine sense of what that means in this basketball season. The players talked Friday about wanting to play ''their game'' when they face sixth-seeded Iowa State (21-8) at 4:40 p.m. today in a second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
So what is ''their game''?
''We like to run,'' said guard Damon Flint. ''By pressing, we play good defense, get teams out of sync, get everybody jacked for the game. We like to get out and run and get shots. That's our style.''
''We don't jump very well, and we're not very quick,'' said coach Bob Huggins. ''And I've got people who don't understand why we don't press. You try to make changes and deal with your personnel. What we do well is score in the halfcourt. This is not what you'd call a transition team.''
Indeed, the Bearcats (26-7) are the sort of team that can play a variety of styles, but losses to Louisville, South Carolina and Marquette indicate they also cannot play a style or two. The one thing each of those defeats had in common was UC's decision to set up in a half-court defense, primarily man-to-man, a choice punished by a composite 34-of-77 three-point onslaught.
This must appear inviting to Cyclones senior guard Dedric Willoughby, who has scored 89 of his 142 baskets this season from three-point range. His teammates screen mercilessly to free him.
''We definitely have to come out and pressure them into some turnovers,'' said sophomore swingman Melvin Levett.
''No. We're just going to pack it in the lane,'' Huggins said, apparently joking, perhaps not. ''It depends on the flow of the game. We may press. We may not.''
Although coach Tim Floyd makes extensive use of seven players and only point guard Jacy Holloway is an effective ballhandler, the Cyclones rarely have encountered pressing defenses.
One reason is Iowa State does not frighten opponents with a variety of offensive weapons. Willoughby is an obvious priority, but 6-foot-11 center Kelvin Cato has no shooting range beyond the dunk and No. 2 scorer Kenny Pratt is a forward listed at 6-5 but standing closer to 6-2.
''A lot of teams feel if they can get us in the half-court offense, they can guard our plays,'' Pratt said. Defending the entire court could lead to easy shots that raise the confidence of such players as forward Shawn Bankhead (2-of-14 in his past three games) and Pratt (5-of-16 in the past two).
UC pressed extensively in an easy, 19-point road victory over Southern California. In early February, Huggins appeared to have struck the ideal balance when he employed a man-to-man press designed to deny the inbound pass. It was the sort of defense difficult to beat for fast-break layups but enough to take the edge off the opposition, consume time and emphasize UC's depth.
''I don't subscribe to the theory that you can wear someone down with a 2ï-minute timeout every four minutes. In as bad as of shape as you're in,'' Huggins said to a reporter, ''you can jog around for four minutes and rest up in 2 1/2.''
IOWA STATE GETS ASSISTS FROM HOLLOWAY
MARCH MADNESS
Previous NCAA Tournament stories
MARCH 14 1997
UC 80, BUTLER 69
IOWA STATE IS TALL ORDER
20 MINUTES ENOUGH FOR UC THIS TIME Daugherty column
MARCH 13 1997
UC'S FORTUNES HINGE ON FORTSON
NCAA LETTER LED TO WILLIAMS INQUIRY
WILLIAMS PUNISHED BEFORE TRIAL Daugherty column
HUGGINS TO OSU? A COMMON QUERY
MARCH 12 1997
GUARD PROBLEMS PLAGUE BEARCATS
HUGGINS QUOTES GILLEN ON OSU JOB
MARCH 11, 1997
FORTSON ALL-AMERICAN
WILLIAMS PREPARES TO START
MARSHALL HAS THE MUSCLE TO CHECK FORTSON
MARCH 10, 1997
UC, XU ON COLLISION COURSE IN SWEET 16
LET FORTSON PLAY, REFS - IT'S HIS TIME Daugherty column
OPPONENT DOESN'T MATTER TO BEARCATS
BUTLER ROSTER HAS LOCAL FLAVOR
