Sunday, December 12, 1999
Land's eligibility to be evaluated
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UC sophomore forward Eugene Land completed final exams this week and will have his progress evaluated by coach Bob Huggins before returning.
Huggins said he wants to look at Land's grades before making a decision. There was no rush to get him onto the roster, the way there has been in previous years for players becoming eligible at the semester break.
Land was dismissed from the team in August following his arrest on a shoplifting charge. He was required by Huggins to attend a study hall each day while the Bearcats were training or practicing in order to earn his return to the team.
Walk-on guard Dave Dissinger had a final exam Saturday or he might have been able to join the Bearcats for their game against Mississippi Valley State. When his grades are complete, he is expected to dress for UC.
Vitale's view
ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale said he's looking forward to broadcasting his first Crosstown Shootout when the Bearcats visit the Cincinnati Gardens to face Xavier Saturday.
Before ESPN first aired the game nationally last season, Vitale said he had never seen a game in what has become one of college basketball's top rivalries.
Out of focus
UC senior forward Pete Mickeal said he considers himself a big-game player. “I love playing in the big games. It's the little ones that we need to work on.”
Does it matter how well the Bearcats play against low-major competition? Well, maybe it does.
Last season's NCAA finalists — champion Connecticut and runner-up Duke — played a combined nine games against teams from outside the power conferences. They averaged a victory margin of 38.2 points and only once failed to win by less than 30, when UConn beat Richmond by 20 points.
And there was no decline apparent as those games as easy wins accumulated. In Duke's opener against Fairfield, the Blue Devils shot .481 from the field and grabbed 19 more rebounds. In their final game against a low-major team, the Devils shot .475 and outrebounded UNC-Greensboro by 27. UConn was just as steady from its first game against low-major Quinnipiac (.463, plus-28 in rebounds) to its last against Fairfield (.469, plus-26).
“(Mississippi Valley State) played harder than us in the second half, and that shouldn't happen,” Mickeal said.
Numbers game
A total of 497 games had passed since an opponent scored fewer points in the first half against UC than the 13 Mississippi Valley State managed Saturday night.
• MVSU had more turnovers (14) than points in the first half against the Bearcats.
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