UC aims to put Marquette in slo-mo
Fast-breaking foe poses challenge for Bearcats


Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE
Darius Johnson-Odom leads the Golden Eagles with 18.2 points per game.

Written by
Bill Koch

MILWAUKEE - The first order of business for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats when they play No. 18 Marquette Saturday is to slow down the Golden Eagles.

Marquette (20-5 overall, 9-3 in the Big East) averages 75.9 points per game, which ranks second in the conference, and thrives on scoring in transition.

“They may be the fastest team we’ll play all year,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “You have to keep them from running past you for layups. They literally have possessions where they score with 32 on the shot clock. We have to be aware of that.”

The Bearcats, who take on Marquette at 3 p.m. at the Bradley Center (ESPNU), will try to keep the Golden Eagles’ running game in check by making enough shots so they can’t grab the rebound and sprint down the court and by taking care of the ball against a defense that forces 16.9 turnovers per game. UC turns the ball over an average of 10.8 times.

UC (17-7, 7-4) enters this game on a two-game winning streak, having recovered from three straight losses to Syracuse, West Virginia and Rutgers. Beating Marquette, which ranks No. 12 in the RPI, would be a huge addition to the Bearcats’ NCAA Tournament profile, with UC sporting a No. 93 RPI ranking.

“It’s one of the biggest games for us coming down the stretch,” said UC forward Yancy Gates. “Being on the road against this type of team, it would be big for us to get this win.”

Gates will have a lot to say about whether the Bearcats can pull off the upset. The senior from Withrow High School has faded into the background a bit since he returned from his six-game suspension on Jan. 4, even though he ranks fourth in the Big East in rebounding with 9.2 and is UC’s third-leading scorer at 12.7 points per game.

Lately, he has been focused on grabbing at least 10 rebounds per game to the point where he mildly protested when he was taken out of the game late in the blowout win at St. John’s on Wednesday because he needed one more rebound to reach his goal.

Gates, who has been the focal point of attention ever since he arrived at UC four years ago, is happy to be cruising under the radar for a change.

“I kind of like it that way,” he said. “I just go out there and do my job instead of having more pressure on me.”

That has been a major part of UC’s offensive approach since Gates returned.

“We’re trying to put him in a better position to get easy rebounds,” Cronin said. “Instead of generating our offense, we’ve tried to turn him into a finisher. His attitude has been great. He has embraced it.”

Marquette, which is 12-1 at home, has specialized in coming back from large deficits to win. The Golden Eagles trailed by 16 to Louisville, 18 to Villanova, 11 to Seton Hall and 12 to DePaul but recovered to win all four games.

They are playing without 6-foot-11 center Chris Otule, who’s out for the season with a torn ACL, and 6-foot-8 Davante Gardner, who injured his knee on Jan. 28 against Villanova. Marquette leans heavily on guard Darius Johnson-Odom and forward Jae Crowder, two of the top 10 scorers in the league.

“In the halfcourt that’s who they go to,” Cronin said. “They can score in many ways. ... As seniors, they’re a great one-two punch.”

UC sophomore forward Justin Jackson, who injured his knee against St. John’s, practiced Friday and is expected to play today.

The Bearcats begin the weekend tied for fifth place in the Big East, looking to nail down at least one of the first-round byes in the Big East tournament. But Cronin said his players can’t think that far ahead.

“Our mental state was as good this week as it’s been all year,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we carry that over.”

Quote:UC at Marquette

Tipoff: 3 p.m. Saturday, Bradley Center, Milwaukee

TV: ESPNU

Radio: WLW-AM (700)

Records: UC (17-7, 7-4 Big East), Marquette (20-5, 9-3)

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...ext|Sports

(02-11-2012 06:34 AM)ctipton Wrote:  UC aims to put Marquette in slo-mo

Pretty bad aim

haha we aimed to put Marquette in slo-mo....how'd that work out for us again?

90+ points. We really slowed them down.

Maybe we got lulled by a fast start into playing Marquette's style, or maybe Marquette was just going to get theirs no matter what Saturday.

I dont know if any of you read Mo Egger's blog but he had this bullet at the bottom of today's blog:

Quote:
-Marquette just made two layups and a three-pointer while you read this.

Pretty funny one-liner there...

Read more: http://www.espn1530.com/pages/mo.html#ixzz1mI66AAKQ