By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It wasn't so much a prediction as a statement of confidence. "We ain't losing two in a row," said University of Cincinnati forward Eric Hicks.

The Bearcats rarely do. During the past nine years, UC's average margin of victory coming off a loss is 15.7 points.

2004 CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT

SPORTS • Tonight, one trend has to end • XU disputes Huggins' claims • Bobbitt is Mr. Impact • Crosstown Matchups: A position-by-position look • Coaches' oaths • Storylines to keep your eyes on • Xavier's Chalmers: We still have bragging rights NEWS • Crosstown staples: cookies, chili, rivalry EDITORIAL PAGE • Shootout more than 'just one game'

But then Xavier rarely loses at home. The Musketeers are 48-5 since the Cintas Center opened in 2000 and have lost at home only once to a non-Atlantic 10 team. That team was UC in 2001.

And so the stage is set for the 71st renewal of the Crosstown Shootout between UC and XU at 7 p.m. today at the Cintas Center in front of an ESPN2 national audience.

A little extra spice has been added to the rivalry courtesy of UC coach Bob Huggins' complaints about the behavior of XU fans.

XU (10-9) has lost three in a row for the first time since the end of the 2000-01 season. The Musketeers haven't lost four straight since the 1999-00 season. UC, which dropped to 10th in this week's Associated Press rankings following its Saturday loss to Charlotte, is 15-2 and has gone 2-2 since beginning the season with 13 straight victories.

So what we have in this Shootout are two hungry teams that are unaccustomed to losing and determined to put an end to it.

"That's about as simple as it can be put," said XU coach Thad Matta. "Somebody needs a win badly."

Hicks pointed to XU's record and declared that it "would be big for them to knock us off," restating the long-held UC mantra that this game means more to the Musketeers than it does to the Bearcats.

But XU guard Lionel Chalmers doesn't buy it.

"They talk a lot," Chalmers said. "This means just as much to them as it does to us. With our record this year, we definitely need the win more than they might. Don't believe the hype, man. They're going to be ready just like we're going to be ready. They've been talking and worrying about it all year. And it'll be a good game."

UC is expected to use its full-court pressure defense to try to rattle the Musketeers. The Bearcats force opponents into 21 turnovers per game. But XU, with a three-guard offense and adept ballhandlers, has committed only 12 turnovers per game, and seems equipped to handle pressure.

"You would think from looking at it that they would be able to," Huggins said. "They're playing at home and they've got four starters back and they play three guards. They've got a lot of guys who can pass the ball."

If XU, which has won three of the last four against UC, does withstand the pressure, the Bearcats could be in for a long night.

"Teams that don't handle pressure very well, we're really good against," Huggins said. "Teams that handle our pressure make us play half-court defense. We're not a very good half-court defensive team."

UC appears to have an advantage up front with Jason Maxiell, James White and Kareem Johnson, and Hicks coming off the bench to provide a boost on the offensive glass.

They also appear to have an edge in depth, with Huggins able to use 10 players without a significant dropoff.

"No other team in the nation has depth like we do," Maxiell said. "We should be able to dominate and rebound inside. We have four post men, two off the bench, and two starting, that play hard."

But UC's depth could be hurt tonight if forward Armein Kirkland can't go. Kirkland has re-injured the left knee he sprained against Tulane on Jan. 7 and Huggins said Monday he doesn't know how much he'll be able to get from his versatile forward.

"The way the knee's reacting I don't know how much he's going to contribute the rest of the year," Huggins said.

The Bearcats are wary of the shooting skills of both Romain Sato, who leads the Musketeers with 16.1 points per game, and Chalmers at 14.5 per game. But XU must find an answer for the long-range shooting of UC sixth man Tony Bobbitt, who, along with Field Williams and Nick Williams, gives the Bearcats a perimeter shooting threat of their own.

"We've just got to make sure we stay disciplined and stay down and guard them," Bobbitt said of Chalmers and Sato. "I just know if you don't get out and guard Chalmers and Sato they can hit shots."

Nothing figures to be easy in this game. It rarely is.

"They're going to be up and ready for us to walk in there," Bobbitt said.

Said XU's Anthony Myles: "It's like the NCAA Championship. This whole rivalry thing is big. They talk trash all year. We talked a little trash back. It's been going back and forth all year. Now we finally meet up and it's like I guess we've got something to prove to one another."

O'Brien, Elmore in the booth

Dave O'Brien and Len Elmore will broadcast tonight's game for ESPN2. Two announcers who previously broadcast Shootouts, Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas, call UC the favorite tonight, but said it's hard to call because of the intensity of the rivalry. "It's one of those games where you need to have three SWAT team guys referee it," Bilas said. Vitale equated this rivalry to Duke-North Carolina, saying, "It's always very special. Cincinnati on paper obviously looks stronger. But the game being at Xavier, that brings it a little more close to even."

Bilas said mental toughness often decides this game, and that the key would be how XU handles UC's pressure defense. "Cincinnati's whole game is dependent on punching you in the mouth and seeing how you take it," Bilas said. "They're so good defensively, but if you can handle that - not feed (UC's) offense with turnovers - you can have some success."

1999 game on ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic is showing the Dec. 18, 1999, Crosstown Shootout at 5 p.m. today. That was Kenyon Martin's senior year when the Musketeers upset the top-ranked Bearcats 66-64 in the final Shootout at the Gardens.

Series: UC leads 45-25

UC

Starters	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
James White	So.	6-7	9.8
Jason Maxiell	Jr.	6-7	14.5
Kareem Johnson	Sr.	6-7	5.5
Field Williams	Sr.	6-3	12.1
Nick Williams	Jr.	6-4	8.1
Top reserves	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Tony Bobbitt	Sr.	6-4	13.9
Eric Hicks	So.	6-6	6.6
Armein Kirkland	So.	6-8	6.2
Robert Whaley	Jr.	6-10	6.5

Coach: Bob Huggins (364-114, 15th year; 532-186 overall).

XAVIER

Starters	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Justin Doellman	Fr.	6-9	6.4
Anthony Myles	Sr.	6-9	9.2
Lionel Chalmers	Sr.	6-0	14.5
Romain Sato	Sr.	6-5	16.1
Dedrick Finn	So.	6-1	9.2
Top reserves	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Justin Cage	Fr.	6-6	4.5
Keith Jackson	Jr.	6-6	3.3
Brandon Cole	Fr.	6-8	2.5
Will Caudle	So.	6-9	4.0

Coach: Thad Matta (62-21, 3rd year; 86-29 overall).