SMU snaps Bearcats' streak
Feb. 8, 2014 9:59 PM


Cincinnati Bearcats forward Titus Rubles (2) chases down a loose ball in front of Southern Methodist Mustangs guard Sterling Brown (3). / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Written by
Bill Koch

DALLAS — The University of Cincinnati’s 15-game winning streak ended with a decisive thud Saturday night.

The Bearcats appeared overwhelmed at times by SMU, which was the aggressor from the outset, forcing turnovers and attacking the rim on the way to a convincing 76-55 victory over UC before a sellout crowd of 7,278 at Moody Coliseum, many of whom stormed the court after the game.

No. 7 UC struggled all night to shift its offense into gear, consistently having trouble getting the ball inside against SMU’s formidable defense. On the other end, the Mustangs pounded the ball inside seemingly at will against a UC team that leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring defense.

Sean Kilpatrick led UC (22-3 overall, 11-1 AAC) with 22 points and tied Keith Gregor for the school record for consecutive games played with 131.

SMU (19-5, 8-3) remained unbeaten at home this season through 13 games and might have impressed the AP voters enough to land in the Top 25 this week. Nick Russell led SMU with 15 points.

The Mustangs rank second in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 36.8 percent shooting and they were at their best in the first half against UC, which made only eight of 21 shots.

SMU shot 56 percent in the first half while taking 38-24 lead, producing the highest first-half point total against the Bearcats this season.

Compounding matters for UC was the fact that senior forward Justin Jackson went to the bench with his second foul with 6:14 remaining in the first half. Before the half was over, Jermaine Lawrence was also on the bench with three fouls.

UC scored first, but its 2-0 lead would be its only advantage of the game. Leading 16-12, the Mustangs took control by scoring six straight points to take a 22-12 lead. The Bearcats never got closer than seven points the rest of the half. Keith Frazier’s 3-point shot at the horn gave SMU its largest lead of the half. UC coach Mick Cronin was called for a technical foul with 12:03 left in the first half.

SMU outscored UC 16-6 in the paint in the first half and scored 14 points off eight UC first-half turnovers. Kilpatrick scored 13 of his points in the first half. No other UC player managed more than two.

Looking for a quick start to the second half in the hope of igniting a comeback, the Bearcats instead fell behind even further and trailed by 18 less three minutes into the half.

UC did get within 13 but after a breakaway dunk by Markus Kennedy pushed the SMU back to 15, Cronin angrily called timeout with 13:51 remaining while the SMU crowd changed “Lar-ry, Lar-ry” in tribute to SMU coach Larry Brown.

The Bearcats finally began to show some life midway through the second half and trimmed the SMU deficit to seven points with 10:08 to play, this time prompting a timeout from Brown. Nick Russell answered with a layup for SMU. Following a pair of free throws by Sterling Brown, Ben Moore came up with a steal and a dunk to push the SMU lead back to 13 at 54-41 with 8:59 to play.

Moments later, Nic Moore buried a three and Nick Russell dunked off a UC turnover and the Mustangs, on an 11-0, run were back up by 18 with 8:14 left, having successfully thwarted UC’s comeback attempt.

UC will have a week to get back on track. The Bearcats don’t play again until Saturday when they host Houston at Fifth Third Arena.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140...RONTPAGE|p

SMU romps past No. 7 Cincinnati, 76-55, for first on-campus win over top 10 team since 1967

DALLAS — Nick Russell had 15 points to go with several big steals, and coach Larry Brown’s SMU Mustangs stayed undefeated at home with a 76-55 victory Saturday night over No. 7 Cincinnati, ending the Bearcats’ 15-game winning streak.

SMU (19-5, 8-3 American Athletic Conference) has already beaten three Top 25 opponents in seven games since moving into the renovated Moody Coliseum on campus five weeks ago.

Before that, the Mustangs hadn’t defeated a ranked opponent anywhere since December 2003. They hadn’t had multiple wins against Top 25 teams in the same season since 1984-85, the last time SMU appeared in the poll.

When this one was over, fired-up fans rushed the floor.

Russell had two steals in less than a minute that led to breakaway baskets, with a 3-pointer from Nic Moore in between, to cap an 11-0 run by the Mustangs after Cincinnati (22-3, 11-1) cut the gap to 48-41 midway through the second half.

Cincinnati hadn’t lost since dropping consecutive games against New Mexico and Xavier in the first half of December. The Bearcats beat SMU 65-57 at home in the AAC opener on New Year’s Day.

Ben Moore also had 15 points for SMU, while Nic Moore scored 14 and Cannen Cunningham 11.

AAC scoring leader Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati with 22 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 3 for 12 on 3-pointers.

The Bearcats scored six points in a row to make it 48-41, the closest they had been since there were 3 minutes left in the first half, when Titus Rubles hit two free throws after being fouled on a breakaway drive after stealing a pass. They didn’t get any closer after Russell made a layup after Markus Kennedy broke through two defenders and passed him the ball.

SMU was back up 59-41 with 8:13 left when Russell had a steal and broke free for a thunderous, one-handed dunk. Nic Moore hit a 3-pointer right before that, after Ben Moore’s breakaway layup that came after another steal by Russell.

The sellout crowd in the 7,000-seat building broke into chants of “Larry! Larry! Larry!” several times — from before tipoff until late in the game. While students at one end serenaded Cincinnati players with “Over-rated,” students sitting at the end near Brown and the SMU bench yelled out “Under-rated!”

Maybe that won’t be the case any more for the Mustangs after another convincing victory over a ranked team.

One of the last chants summed it up best: “Moody Madness!”

The Mustangs won all five of their home games played off campus before re-opening Moody Coliseum with a 74-65 win Jan. 4 over then-No. 17 UConn. On the Saturday before Cincinnati came to town, SMU beat then-No. 22 Memphis 87-72.

According to SMU's media relations department, SMU's last "on-campus" win over a top 10 team occurred on Dec. 29, 1967, when SMU beat No. 3 Indiana, 91-84.

SMU's last win over a Top 10 team was an 82-76 victory over No. 7 Florida on Dec. 3, 1987 at Reunion Arena.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college...e-1967.ece

SMU takes down another, stopping No. 7 Cincinnati

DALLAS -- Nick Russell had 15 points to go with several big steals, and coach Larry Brown's SMU Mustangs stayed undefeated at home with a 76-55 victory Saturday night over No. 7 Cincinnati, ending the Bearcats' 15-game winning streak.

SMU (19-5, 8-3 American Athletic Conference) has already beaten three Top 25 opponents in seven games since moving into the renovated Moody Coliseum on campus five weeks ago.

Before that, the Mustangs hadn't defeated a ranked opponent anywhere since December 2003. They hadn't had multiple wins against Top 25 teams in the same season since 1984-85, the last time SMU appeared in the poll.

When this one was over, fired-up fans rushed the floor.

Russell had two steals in less than a minute that led to breakaway baskets, with a 3-pointer from Nic Moore in between, to cap an 11-0 run by the Mustangs after Cincinnati (22-3, 11-1) cut the gap to 48-41 midway through the second half.

Cincinnati hadn't lost since dropping consecutive games against New Mexico and Xavier in the first half of December. The Bearcats beat SMU 65-57 at home in the AAC opener on New Year's Day.

Ben Moore also had 15 points for SMU, while Nic Moore scored 14 and Cannen Cunningham 11.

AAC scoring leader Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati with 22 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 3 for 12 on 3-pointers.

The Bearcats scored six points in a row to make it 48-41, the closest they had been since there were 3 minutes left in the first half, when Titus Rubles hit two free throws after being fouled on a breakaway drive after stealing a pass. They didn't get any closer after Russell made a layup after Markus Kennedy broke through two defenders and passed him the ball.

SMU was back up 59-41 with 8:13 left when Russell had a steal and broke free for a thunderous, one-handed dunk. Nic Moore hit a 3-pointer right before that, after Ben Moore's breakaway layup that came after another steal by Russell.

The sellout crowd in the 7,000-seat building broke into chants of "Larry! Larry! Larry!" several times -- from before tipoff until late in the game. While students at one end serenaded Cincinnati players with "Over-rated," students sitting at the end near Brown and the SMU bench yelled out "Under-rated!"

Maybe that won't be the case any more for the Mustangs after another convincing victory over a ranked team.

One of the last chants summed it up best: "Moody Madness!"

The Mustangs won all five of their home games played off campus before re-opening Moody Coliseum with a 74-65 win Jan. 4 over then-No. 17 UConn. On the Saturday before Cincinnati came to town, SMU beat then-No. 22 Memphis 87-72.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400496993