Sunday, January 16, 2000
These 16-1 Bearcats better than last year's
'Struggle' to win over OU evidence
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
This could be a slump, though it is hard to tell sometimes. Marquette falls by 19, Tulane by 13, Ohio by 14 in Friday's midnight game at the Shoemaker Center. If the Cincinnati Bearcats are slumping, where does that leave those teams?
“Everybody expects us to beat everybody by 30 points,” said UC forward Pete Mickeal, “but any championship team you see, they struggle at some point in the season. But while we're struggling, we're still winning, so that's the positive part about this.”
Following their 73-59 victory over Ohio U, in which Mickeal led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds, the Bearcats stand exactly where they did one year ago today, but they appear to stand a good deal taller.
They were 16-1 following a 72-59 victory over Oklahoma at the Shoe on Jan. 16, 1999, the same record the Bearcats own today.
This time, though, they are ranked No.1 in the polls. Last season's team labored to close victories over Dayton, Southern Mississippi and Iowa State, but these Bearcats only once have been involved in a game decided by fewer than seven points.
“It's a totally different team. No comparison,” Mickeal said. “We're better. We're tougher. We're everything. We've got better players, and we know how to play with each other better than last year.”
UC had a difficult time building a lead against Ohio. The Bearcats enjoyed a 13-5 surge midway through the first half that put them ahead 18-9, but at the break their lead was only five points and Mickeal and center Kenyon Martin had a combined 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
When the Bearcats returned from the break and found Ohio trying to stand up to them physically, they began to play with their familiar passion. Mickeal scored 14 points in the second half and did not miss a shot.
UC ran off nine consecutive points after allowing the Bobcats to cut the lead to four points early in the second half, then pitched a shutout that lasted nearly five minutes after a Steve Esterkamp 3-pointer got Ohio to a 55-49 deficit with 10:05 left.
Ohio (9-8) got double-figure scoring efforts from freshman wing Esterkamp, a LaSalle product who was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points, and freshman center Brandon Hunter of Withrow, who ended with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Bobcats never trailed by more than 16 points, which has been a typical halftime margin for UC this season.
“I don't think it's a part about not being focused,” Mickeal said. “I think we're all focused. It's just teams are really scouting us. The more games you play, the more teams see you play and the more they get ready for you.”
This figured to be a sequence of games in which the Bearcats would struggle to keep their interest. Following visits to Saint Louis, Xavier and Oklahoma and then high-profile home games against UNLV and UNC Charlotte, games against Marquette and Tulane — which won as many Conference USA games combined as UC did last season — did not figure to have the same appeal.
The difference between last season's Bearcats and this team may be most obvious in this stretch where they haven't met the standard they set for themselves.
“We're a lot deeper, and you don't know what to expect,” said center Jermaine Tate, who offered an ideal example of that against Ohio. He scored 14 points, his first double-figure effort of the season, on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
“If a guy's got a couple fouls or a guy's not hitting a couple shots, we've got guys coming off the bench this year. I think that's a big key.”
The Bearcats may be bored or tired, or they may be doing all they can and simply facing opponents who are better prepared. When the previous team went through its difficult periods, though, it was unable to manufacture points. These Bearcats have been held below 65 points only once; last year's missed that mark five times in the first 17 games.
“I don't know if we're as good defensively as we were this time last year, but last year if Mel Levett didn't make perimeter shots, we didn't have anybody to do it,” coach Bob Huggins said. “Now, the good thing has been, somebody has always made some.
“And Kenyon wasn't near as good as what he is. He didn't play well today, but he's the best player in the country.”
Although Huggins recollects last season's team as better at rebounding and defense, those Bearcats improved dramatically in those departments in February. Statistically, this group has been better at defending the 3-point goal, blocked more shots and even has been more productive on the boards.
Huggins says rebounding will be a focus in coming practices.
“I'm going to give it a heck of a go come Monday and Tuesday,” Huggins said.
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