UC looking for fast start in Big East
Posted by bkoch 12/27/10, 1:26 pm

UC hasn’t experienced a lot of success during its five years in the Big East, but the Bearcats are used to getting off to a good start. They were 2-0 in 2005-06 before losing at UConn, 3-1 in 2007-08 before losing at Notre Dame, 7-5 in 2008-09 before fading down the stretch, and 2-0 last year before losing to Pitt.

They hope to get off to another fast start this year with the conference opener vs. DePaul tomorrow night and then a New Year’s Eve game vs. Seton Hall.

DePaul, in its first year under former Dayton and Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, has won only two Big East games in the last two years and is currently saddled with a 13-game Big East losing streak. The Blue Demons are 6-6 and have won their last three games vs. Milwaukee, Loyola (Chicago) and Florida Atlantic.

Seton Hall is playing without leading scorer Jeremy Hazell, a pre-season first-team all-Big East selection, was shot under his right arm on Christmas night when someone tried to rob him. He has been out since Nov. 19 with a broken wrist, and could miss the rest of the season. The Pirates are 6-6.

“The honest truth is that we’re just not very good right now,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard told the Associated Press after the Pirates lost to Richmond, 69-61, on Sunday.

Beginning on Jan. 9 when they play at Villanova, UC faces a rough stretch of four road games out of five. Following the Villanova game, they play USF at home on Jan. 12, then play at Syracuse on Jan. 16, at Notre Dame on Jan. 19 and at St. John’s on Jan. 22.

http://news.cincinnati.com/ucblog

From what I have seen of Seton Hall, they still play like it's open gymn. Get down the floor as fast as possible, through up a shot, and run back the other way, while gambling a lot on defense. Without a guy that can consistently make shots like Hazell, they are a pretty bad team.