By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Senior point guard Taron Barker said he was never upset about sharing his position with freshman Chadd Moore and welcomes Moore's contributions as the University of Cincinnati Bearcats strive for their eighth straight Conference USA championship.

UC plays Tulane at 2 p.m. today at Shoemaker Center. The Bearcats (10-3, 3-0 C-USA) have beaten the Green Wave (7-8, 0-2) seven straight times and haven't lost to a C-USA National Division foe in 29 regular-season games since the league adopted its two-division format in 1997-98.

Barker is expected to start at point guard today as he has in 12 of UC's 13 games this season. But Moore is expected to log significant playing time, too.

And that's OK with Barker.

"I need to have him come in and be consistent," Barker said, "because there's no way I can go out and play as hard as Coach (Huggins) wants me to play and be consistent for that long a period of time."

Barker played 34 minutes Wednesday night at Saint Louis and scored 12 points, with five rebounds, five assists and one turnover.

That performance came on the heels of the TCU game a week ago, in which Moore played most of the second half while Barker was benched.

Barker declined to talk with reporters after the game and again Monday at practice. He said Friday that he was indeed upset but not because of a lack of playing time.

"I was upset because they took me out for taking a shot," Barker said.

Barker said he and Moore compete hard in practice every day and that they complement each other with their different styles of play.

"It's a team thing," Barker said, "so I'm not concerned about playing 30 to 35 minutes per game. To get where we need to be, I can't do it alone."

Barker is considered one of UC's better defenders and is a major reason why the Bearcats lead the nation in fewest turnovers with 9.8 per game. He has committed only 21 in 12 games, during which he has averaged 32 minutes.

That emphasis on taking care of the ball has helped UC to a five-game winning streak and a perfect league record even though it shoots just 41.8 percent, doesn't have a true center and doesn't rebound particularly well.

"That's what we've talked about from Day 1," said Bearcats coach Bob Huggins. "It's about having more possessions than the other team. You can do that in a lot of ways. You can turn people over. You can outrebound people. You can't turn it over yourself. We don't turn people over much, but we don't turn it over much either."

Taking care of the ball is Barker's specialty, although he leads the league in 3-point field-goal percentage at 53.1.

Barker doesn't push the ball down the floor as quickly as Moore, nor is he as adept at beating defenders off the dribble, but he's very prudent with the ball under pressure.

"Every time in practice, when I turn it over, I hear from Coach," Barker said. "'We don't need that. We have to value the ball.' If I think I can make a pass and I'm not 100 percent sure my man is going to catch it, I won't pass it."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

Tulane at UC

Tipoff: 2 p.m., Shoemaker Center (13,176).

Records: UC 10-3 (3-0 Conference USA); Tulane 7-8 (0-2).

Radio: WLW-AM (700).

TV: Ch. 19.

Series: UC leads 18-13.

TULANE

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Brandon Brown	Sr.	6-8	14.4
Nick Sinville	Sr.	6-6	11.0
Brandon Spann	Sr.	6-1	12.2
Waitari Marsh	Sr.	6-3	14.6
Wayne Tinsley	Jr.	6-5	4.9

Coach: Shawn Finney (30-44, third season; same overall).

UC

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Leonard Stokes	Sr.	6-6	15.8
Jason Maxiell	So.	6-7	12.3
Eugene Land	Sr.	6-7	1.6
Field Williams	Jr.	6-3	12.4
Taron Barker	Sr.	6-1	7.3

Coach: Bob Huggins (342-103, 14th season; 510-175 overall).