Saturday, December 04, 1999
UC begins rocky road with Gonzaga
Big December a good gauge for No. 1 Bearcats
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVELAND — If you wish to personally share the No. 1 experience with the Cincinnati Bearcats, it will help to have a comfortable car and plenty of money for gas. Their highly rated show is playing mostly on the road this month.
For the first time in the 11 seasons coach Bob Huggins has coached the Bearcats, they will play the role of visiting team four times in December. They also play their next two games on neutral courts, starting tonight at the Gund Arena against No. 25 Gonzaga (4-0).
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UC vs. GONZAGA
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• When: 6 tonight
• Where: Gund Arena (20,562), Cleveland
• Records: UC 4-0; Gonzaga 4-0
• TV: Channel 19.
• Radio: WLW-AM (700)
BY THE NUMBERS
17-8: The Bearcats' record under Huggins vs. teams ranked below them in the polls.
4.4-to-1: Combined assist/turnover ratio for UC point guards Steve Logan and Kenny Satterfield
7-4: Gonzaga's record against high-major opponents since the start of last season
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In recent seasons, this has been a month for UC to stay at home and beat up on teams such as Northeast Louisiana and Howard, with Minnesota thrown in for variety every couple of years. Traveling for six of eight games before New Year's will present a significant challenge to UC's ranking and perhaps suggest what this team ultimately may accomplish.
In the past three seasons, when they lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats were 31-14 away from the Shoemaker Center during the regular season, a .689 winning percentage. In their three best NCAA years (1992, 1993 and 1996), they were 32-9, or .780.
“Al McGuire said to me that you know your program has arrived when you don't go on the road with fear,” Huggins said. “We don't have any fear. We just go play.
“We used to, back in the old days — guys were all worried about it. Not these guys.”
The opponents UC (4-0) will play away from the Shoe this month averaged 23 victories last season. Gonzaga, North Carolina and Oklahoma competed in the NCAA Tournament, and Xavier reached the NIT semifinals. Those observers fretting the competition UC played in the Big Island Invitational was not difficult enough ought to be satisfied by this stretch.
“Now that we're in the flow, playing games, we can really jell together,” sophomore point guard Steve Logan said. “Sometimes, different guys are going to be down and everybody has got to pick up the slack. That's what Coach is stressing right now.”
It's apparent UC should be better prepared for what it faces in December by having built slowly through the first four games.
Freshmen DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield played with greater assurance on a neutral floor against Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference in the Big Island title game than they did against overmatched Youngstown State at the Shoe in the season opener.
Johnson shot 16-of-30 from the floor in the tournament and blocked three shots. Satterfield hit double figures in assists in the first two Big Island games, after getting three against Youngstown State.
“I see a lot of progress out there,” Logan said. “Some guys know their roles now. Like DerMarr, he's playing really well. His first college game was a little struggle for him, but now that he's got confidence, he's ready to go. Kenny's doing an absolutely tremendous job pushing the ball, getting assists. We're going to be tough to deal with, but we've got to stay focused.”
A year ago, seeing the Gonzaga name on their schedule might have caused the Bearcats to relax and expect a blowout. But the perception of Gonzaga has changed.
After the Bulldogs reached the NCAA's Elite Eight last March — defeating Minnesota, Stanford and Florida to get there — they are being taken seriously. They were invited to the Great Eight next week in Chicago, where they'll play Temple. By the end of the month, they'll have played UCLA and California.
“It feels great. As competitive as this team is, it's something we welcome,” said star guard Matt Santangelo, who joined UC's Kenyon Martin and Pete Mickeal on the gold medal-winning U.S. World University Games team. “We don't want to sneak up on teams anymore.
“We don't want last year to look like a fluke.”
Gonzaga is not precisely the same team, though it's close. Quick point guard Quentin Hall is gone, which moves Santangelo back to his natural position.
Neither Santangelo nor small forward Richie Frahm — who combined for 157 3-pointers last season — has shot the ball well yet.
“Even though it's familiar names, they're having to take on new roles,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who took over for Dan Monson after he left to become coach at Minnesota.
“We've never played anything like Cincinnati before. I've been here 11 years, and we've never played a No.1, nor have we played a team that comes at you like they do.
“It's going to be quite a formidable task. I don't see a lot of weaknesses in their squad. And I'm not convinced this is a neutral court.”
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