BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - He looks now like a refugee from chemistry class, which is a step up from when Iowa State coach Tim Floyd first figured Jacy Holloway for a ball boy or a Cub Scout.

Holloway is 6-feet, 160 pounds, not exceptionally quick, a mediocre shooter. He is not quite the picture of the major-college point guard. If he were on the playground looking to play some ball, he wouldn't be picked last. He'd be chased home.

''When people underestimate me,'' Holloway said, ''that just makes what I do seem a lot better than what it actually is.''

When Iowa State (21-8) meets the Cincinnati Bearcats (26-7) in today's 4:40 p.m. NCAA Tournament second-round game at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Holloway will look the part of a player who could and should be exploited by UC.

Its backcourt players weigh, on average, 46 pounds more than Holloway, and there are enough of them to take their turns playing rough with him.

''There have been a few games that teams will try to do that, try putting some physical guys on me, running me through screens,'' Holloway said. ''In high school, a few teams tried to do it and it kind of backfired on them.

''I'm pretty used to it. I kind of expect that they'll try to go ahead and get physical. It doesn't bother me, and sometimes it opens up passing lanes, gives me a chance to screen.''

Always thinking. This is how Holloway has survived four seasons with only seven double-figure scoring games, with a career high of 14 points.

Since he arrived at Iowa State in 1994 to find Holloway posing as the Cyclones' point guard, Floyd has tried three times to ''recruit over'' Holloway - to bring in a player with greater physical talent to take away the position.

Holloway's still there, the ball in his hands. This will be his 99th career start for the Cyclones. He has the best assist/turnover ratio in the school's history, 2.8-to-1. Keith LeGree, who finished at UC last year and is considered the model of the efficient point guard by many in the Bearcats' program, had a ratio of 1.6-to-1.

''If people really studied him,'' Floyd once said, ''he'd have a chance to be an all-conference guard.''

Texas Tech coach James Dickey has, more than he'd have preferred. Iowa State twice got by the Red Raiders, both games decided by a single basket, with Holloway taking only a single shot in the two games combined but finishing with 13 assists and four points. Dickey said Holloway understands his role as well as any player in the nation.

It is conceivable, though, the wear of playing big-time basketball is showing on Holloway. He has not made a basket in three games and is 0-of-10 from the floor, 0-of-7 from three-point range.

He played 40 minutes in the Cyclones' 69-57 first-round victory over Illinois State and compiled nine assists against one turnover. But if he's not capable of making open three-pointers as he had during the regular season - he entered the Big 12 tournament at .400 and is down to .366 - Iowa State loses an important element of its attack.

''He's solid and sound,'' said UC coach Bob Huggins. ''He does what Tim wants him to do. It's refreshing to see someone who does what he's told to do out there. He understands the game and conceptualizes it like a coach. You don't see too many players who can think like a coach.''

IDENTITY CHECK FOR UC
MARCH MADNESS

Previous NCAA Tournament stories

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