Monday, February 28, 2000
UC looks tough, but still fragile
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Every game now is a shakedown cruise for March. When you're ranked second with only two losses, you're not looking to earn brownie points for the tournament. Barring a collapse, you're barely worried about seeding. You're looking for hairline fractures.
Here is the potential crack in the University of Cincinnati's wall, 13 days before Selection Sunday:
Everyone knows the Bearcats can throw a punch. Can they take one?
We're not talking about a half-believing, we-hope-we-can-hit-them hook, the kind Tulane and South Florida threw at them. Those teams were never more than a Kenyon Martin muscle-flex from running.
Louisville just lame
And we're certainly not talking about Louisville's lame jabs. The once-mighty Cardinals are so cowed and wowed by UC, you half expect them to ask Martin for an autograph. UC pounded the Cards Sunday. After the first 12 minutes, the Cardinals should have had their bus warming.
Louisville is 0-for-7 against UC since Feb.22, 1996. It only took the Bearcats half the first half Sunday to convince the Cardinals nothing would change but the swiftness of the beating. UC only scored six points in the first six minutes, which was hardly fatal; Louisville only had four.
Then Martin followed his own miss, was fouled and made the free throw. Jermaine Tate had a slam, followed immediately by a DerMarr Johnson dunk. UC led 19-9. Same old 'Ville. The Cardinals checked the air around their heads for explosions.
It's funny: Every year, Louisville plays one of the better schedules in the country. This year, it's ranked eighth. The Cards have beaten North Carolina, Alabama and Syracuse. So why is it that every time they play the Bearcats, they're seeing ghosts?
Maybe it's the “S” on Martin's chest.
Whatever, the Bearcats could use a challenge from a talented team — unafraid of the UC image or the UC reality — that's dropping haymakers for 40 minutes.
That's what Temple did. The Owls were not impressed with the Bearcats' biceps. Temple has tough kids and a tough coach. When push came to shove, Temple did what few teams even ponder: The Owls shoved.
Xavier shoved. It's no coincidence that UC's other loss came to the Musketeers. The Muskies may have played out of their sneakers that night, but part of their success came because they weren't intimidated when the Bearcats flexed.
Xavier's players know UC's players. They're around them all summer. What's to be scared about?
UC needs another test
A challenge would be nice, to see if the Bearcats can be as good at taking shots as giving them. This is what Bob Huggins means when he says, as he did after the Temple loss, that his team is not yet mentally hard.
In Conference USA, the Bearcats are a beast among boys. Outside the conference, they've beaten nice little teams like Gonzaga and Oklahoma. They whipped North Carolina, a win that looked a lot better in December than it does now.
If you're a Bearcat fan now, the worry is that another Temple won't appear until the Sweet 16. The Bearcats could use a game before then.
They didn't get it from Louisville. The Cardinals never got closer than nine in the second half. Martin took care of that, with a slam-and-one, a block and a short jumper that made it 68-53 with barely a minute left.
Before that, it was DerMarr Johnson quelling a Cardinal comeback notion. Johnson swished an NBA three as the shot clock threatened to expire. That gave UC a 39-20 edge and set the tone for the second half. Which was, not surprisingly, similar to the first.
The Bearcats could use a game. The hope was Louisville might have provided it. It didn't work out that way.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.
Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.
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