University of Cincinnati assistant coach Dan Peters is in his second year of putting together the Bearcats' schedule.

        His No.1 charge: Get as many home games as possible. UC has to pay the bills, you know. This season, the Bearcats play seven nonconference games at Shoemaker Center, giving them 15 home dates plus two exhibition games.

        “It's just a question of getting people to come here and play,” Peters said. “People don't want to come here, and if we've got veterans, they really don't want to come.”

        UC is in the midst of a six-game homestand, which continues against Coppin State on Saturday. Cincinnati already has beaten Wright State, UNLV, Dayton and Duquesne. Toledo comes to town Monday night. The Bearcats won't play more than two games in a row at home after that.

        This is final exam week, during which UC rarely plays. The entire three-week homestand has worked out nicely for the Bearcats, who are trying to develop some of their younger players.

        “Even if you've got five starters back and you're going to be really good, you need some games where you can get your new guys in and get their feet wet a little bit,” Peters said.

        “You've got to try to give everybody an opportunity to see what they can do and make them feel they're a special part of the team. Let's face it: A team is no stronger than its weakest link.”

        UC's strength of schedule was rated 11th-best in the country Tuesday by collegerpi.com. Of course, it's very early.

        After a seven-point loss at Oklahoma State in their opener, the Bearcats have won four in a row by double digits, and several reserve players have gotten a chance to play and build confidence.

        “We're kind of playing the guys that, after practice finished before we started playing games, we thought were going to play anyways,” coach Bob Huggins said.

        That means Jason Maxiell is the top sub on the front line, followed by Rodney Crawford. And Taron Barker and Field Williams are the top backcourt reserves. All are relatively inexperienced.

        Huggins said he used to worry more about the way his team's schedule was arranged. His attitude now is: Just set it up and we'll play them. That's why he didn't hesitate when ESPN called about opening at Oklahoma State.

        “If we lose a couple games, we're going to be all right,” he said.

        He would, however, have preferred to play the game later when the Bearcats had improved.

        Huggins said scheduling is not as simple as calling a coach at a Top 25 school and arranging a series. Those kind of matchups typically are set up by television networks. There are considerations about time slots available and conference TV packages that may not allow a game to get picked up even though a matchup might be appealing.

        This season, ABC set up the Wake Forest game (a return from the one at Shoemaker Center last season). ESPN arranged Oklahoma State (which will be returned at UC next season).

        UC will play in the Rock-N-Roll Shootout in Cleveland again (against Akron), because Huggins likes the exposure in Northeast Ohio. Duquesne called looking for a big-time opponent. Peters secured Coppin State simply by going through the college directory, calling and having coach “Fang” Mitchell agree to come to Shoemaker.

        “It's fallen nicely,” Peters said. “I like the way our team's developing. We've just got to keep going.”

        TICKETS:

        UC will place unclaimed student tickets for the Bearcats' next three home games on sale to the general public beginning at 9a.m. today.

        These seats, located in the lower-arena sections of the Shoemaker Center, are $20, $12 for youth 12 and under. Tickets may be purchased by phone (513-556-2287) using a major credit card or in person at the UC Athletic Ticket Office at the Shoemaker Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

        Cincinnati hosts Coppin State on Saturday, Toledo on Monday and Richmond on Dec. 17.

UC's Guidugli earns C-USA freshman honor Home fires stay stoked

QB change for '02 unlikely
Bengals notebook
NFL notebook
Teams in trouble, Selig says
DAUGHERTY: Baseball Money
Reds not as bad off as some
Fans get tickets to ensure autographs at Redsfest
Prep football, fans deserve cheers
Prep award narrowed to 5 finalists
Oak Hills uses size vs. Fairfield
Ohio girls basketball roundup
Kentucky girls basketball roundup
Ohio boys wrestling preview: Division I
Ohio boys wrestling preview: Divisions II and III
Kentucky wrestling season preview
Boys swimming season preview
Girls swimming season preview
Kentucky football award gets new name
The Tristate's torchbearers
Torchbearer: Mark Tsuang
Torchbearer: Nick Westermeyer
Torchbearer: Sarann Mock
Torchbearer: Terri Goshorn
Torchbearer: Thom Phillips
Torchbearer: Tommy Weber
Court comeback: 'It's my second chance'
NKU's comeback falls short
Cottrell closes in on mark
College basketball roundup
College football notebook
NBA roundup
NHL roundup
Coming up this week