Larry Davis: Bearcats' game at Memphis 'a critical one'
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 4:05 p.m. EST January 13, 2015
UC forward Shaquille Thomas battles for a rebound against Memphis forward Austin Nichols last March. (Photo: Enquirer file)
Larry Davis knows better than to place one basketball game above others in importance, but the University of Cincinnati interim head coach said Thursday's game at Memphis is bigger than most.
"This is a critical one, especially after the game at UConn which we felt like we could have won, should have won," Davis said Tuesday. "We've got to go get this one."
UC comes off of a 62-56 loss at reigning NCAA champion UConn last Saturday, a game the Bearcats led 34-30 at halftime.
UC (11-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) next visits Memphis (9-6, 2-2 AAC) Thursday at 7 p.m., with ESPN televising.
While the league race is just beginning, UC wants to stay near the top. At 2-1, UC entered Tuesday tied with four others in the AAC loss column behind league leader Tulsa (3-0). Tulsa itself faced a big game Tuesday night against UConn (entered Tuesday 2-1 AAC).
Memphis was picked No. 3 and UC was voted No. 4 by AAC coaches in the preseason league poll. UC last season won both meetings between the teams, as the longtime rivals renewed their series in the fledgling AAC.
UC leads Memphis 38-31 in their all-time series, but Memphis leads 20-13 in its hometown.
UC junior forward Octavius Ellis, a Memphis native, said the Bearcats know they face a tough road test. Memphis fans enjoy giving UC a hard time, dating back to the Bob Huggins coaching era.
"Every game is important," Ellis said. "This is just a regular road game, but we've still got to come out with better intensity than we did the last time at UConn."
UC opened AAC play Jan. 3 with a 56-50 victory over SMU, which was picked No. 2 in the league by coaches. Next came a 69-48 win over East Carolina, and then the loss at UConn last Saturday.
After playing Memphis, UC comes home for another tough one against Temple (3-1 AAC) on Saturday.
"(Memphis) is a huge game for us, because if we can go and get a road win and then come back and have Temple coming into home, you've got a chance to have a great weekend," Davis said.
TOURNEY WATCH: NCAA tournament bracketologists like what UC is doing. The Bearcats are No. 30 in the CBSSports.com daily RPI ratings of Jerry Palm, with Palm projecting UC as a No. 8 NCAA tournament seed (South) and facing No. 9 seed LSU.
UC is No. 35 in the ESPN.com daily RPI of Joe Lunardi. Lunardi's latest NCAA tourney projection had UC a No. 9 seed in the Midwest, facing No. 8 Ohio State.
CRONIN WATCH: UC head coach Mick Cronin stopped by the Bearcats' auxiliary gym as players warmed up for practice Tuesday, and Cronin bantered briefly with reporters.
Cronin is not coaching practices or games for the rest of the season for medical reasons. Persistent headaches plagued Cronin before he stepped aside Dec. 20, and he was diagnosed with a non-life threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection.
Cronin still works with the Bearcats behind the scenes, including game planning and recruiting. UC is 4-2 since Davis replaced Cronin.
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Quote:AAC standings
(Entering Tuesday)
TEAM CONF OVERALL
Tulsa 3-0 10-5
SMU 3-1 12-4
Tulane 3-1 12-4
Temple 3-1 12-5
CINCINNATI 2-1 11-4
UConn 2-1 9-5
Memphis 2-2 9-6
UCF 1-3 8-7
USF 1-3 7-10
East Carolina 0-3 7-9
Houston 0-4 7-8
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Quote:Up Next
UC vs. Memphis
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: FedEx Forum (Memphis)
TV/Radio: ESPN, 700WLW
Records: UC 11-4 (2-1 AAC), Memphis 9-6 (2-2 AAC)
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../21698693/