UC tops Xavier in Crosstown Shootout
Tom Groeschen , tgroeschen@enquirer.com Published 9:36 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2017 | Updated 7 minutes ago


The Cincinnati Bearcats overcame a spectacular shooting performance by Xavier University’s Trevon Bluiett and beat the Musketeers 86-78 Thursday night, ending a three-year UC losing streak in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.

Junior guard Bluiett scored a career high 40 points for XU, but UC rallied from a 9-point second half deficit.

UC won with balance, led by sophomore wing Jacob Evans with 21 points. Senior point guard Troy Caupain scored 16 points, freshman guard Jarron Cumberland came off the bench to score 15, junior forward Gary Clark had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and junior forward Kyle Washington scored 12 for UC.

Attendance was 13,477 at Fifth Third Arena, which has a capacity of 13,176. The pro-UC crowd came alive especially in the second half, after UC had fallen behind 47-38 just after halftime.

The No. 19 Bearcats (18-2) had lost three consecutive times to the No. 24 Musketeers (14-6). Never had UC lost four straight times to their archrivals, and the Bearcats pushed their all-time series edge to 50-34.

It was the 11th straight win this season for UC, which also pushed its home winning streak to 20 games.

Junior guard J.P. Macura backed Bluiett with 13 points for XU, which had no other double figure scorers.

UC had reached 60 points against XU only once in their last five meetings, but both the Bearcats and Musketeers thundered past 70 with room to spare Thursday.

XU had the better inside game last season, in a 65-55 win over UC at Cintas Center. That time, XU outscored UC 34-24 in the paint.

This time, UC owned the lane. UC outscored XU 34-12 in the paint, 30-4 on second-chance points, and held a 42-33 rebounding edge.

UC might have won by more, if it had been able to make foul shots. UC went just 18-for-37 at the foul line, but overcame that by hitting 50 percent overall from the field (30-60).

XU shot just 39.3 percent overall, including 26.7 percent in the second half.

UC outscored XU 50-34 in the second half.

UC coach Mick Cronin is now 4-7 against XU.

RPI WATCH: For both teams, the chance for a major NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) victory was enticing. UC entered Wednesday ranked No. 16 in the RPI, while XU was No. 15.

For UC, the win was especially big for when NCAA Tournament seeding time arrives. The Bearcats’ American Athletic Conference is ranked No. 8 in CBSSports.com analyst Jerry Palm’s conference RPI ratings, and UC plays only one more team ranked above No. 70 in the current NCAA RPI (No. 34 SMU).

RARITY: This was only the third meeting in Shootout history where both teams entered the game ranked in the AP poll. The other times were Jan. 19, 1994 when No. 22 XU beat No. 19 UC 82-76 in overtime, and last season when No. 12 XU beat the No. 23 Bearcats 65-55.

LONG TIME: UC has not lost since Dec. 10, a 75-65 defeat at then-No. 16 Butler.

EARLY GOING: Bluiett put on a spectacular show early, with 26 points in the first half alone. That sent XU to a 44-36 halftime lead, the Musketeers’ largest advantage to that point.

Bluiett in the half went 8-for-8 from the floor, 6-for-6 from three-point range and 4-for-4 at the foul line. To cap things off, he made a desperation 3-pointer to end the half, just beating the buzzer with about a 27-foot shot.

UC jumped to an early 4-0 lead as an inspired Clark scored all four points, but Kaiser Gates then hit a 3-pointer to start XU on its merry trey way.

XU nailed 10 of 15 three-point attempts in the first half, led by Bluiett’s 6-for-6 perfecto. XU was setting screens for its shooters and UC many times went under them, failing to contest many XU threes.

UC, for its part, went 3-for-9 from distance in the first half. What hurt the Bearcats more was foul shooting, with UC hitting only 7-for-16 in the first half.

Clark led UC in the first half with 11 points.

BEAT WENT ON: Bluiett continued his mind-blowing shooting by making his first two shots of the second half, both from 3-point range. That gave Bluiett 32 points and 10-for-10 overall shooting, before he finally missed on his next attempt.

XU led by as much as nine points at 47-38. The Musketeers were up 52-45 when UC went on a 6-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Jarron Cumberland. That cut the XU lead to 52-51 and had the crowd roaring, with 12:28 left.

TURNAROUND: UC regained the lead at 55-54 on a layup by Cumberland with 10:55 left. That had the crowd roaring.

The Bearcats hiked their lead to 72-63 on two free throws by Cumberland with 6:09 left. The Muskies drew with 76-75 with 3:31 left, but UC outscored the visitors 10-3 from that point.

CELEBRITY NIGHT: Former UC and NBA superstar Oscar Robertson made his first appearance of the season at a Bearcats home game, sitting in his reserved courtside seat.

Cincinnati Reds players Billy Hamilton and Devin Mesoraco, Bengals punter Kevin Huber and Pittsburgh Pirates player Josh Harrison were introduced to the crowd during a break in the second half, as all went out to halfcourt. Huber and Harrison went to UC, with Huber from McNicholas High School and Harrison from Princeton High School.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../97108160/

Let this sink in for a minute. UC scored 31 more points in the game this year than they did last year. Wow

Quote:the Bearcats pushed their all-time series edge to 50-34.

It was the 11th straight win this season for UC, which also pushed its home winning streak to 20 games.

Huge!

Why hasn't Oscar Robertson attended any other games this year? I thought he was frequently in attendence.

No. 19 Cincinnati rallies for 86-78 win over No. 24 Xavier

Associated Press

CINCINNATI -- Jacob Evans III scored 21 points and led No. 19 Cincinnati's second-half surge to an 86-78 victory over No. 24 Xavier on the Bearcats' home court Thursday night, ending the Musketeers' streak of three straight wins in their annual crosstown rivalry game.

The Bearcats (18-2) got their 11th straight win by overcoming Trevon Bluiett's incredible shooting performance -- 12 of 15 for a career-high 40 points.

Cincinnati dominated up front as Xavier (14-6) got little out of its front line. The Bearcats controlled the boards 42-18 and had 30 second-chance points.

Evans scored the first three points in a 15-2 run that put Cincinnati ahead to stay. Gary Clark added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Bluiett made all of his eight shots in the first half for 26 points and his first 10 overall before missing a rushed 3 to beat the shot clock. He was 9 of 11 from beyond the arc, tying the school record for 3s in a game.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers didn't get much outside of Bluiett. They came in ranked 15th nationally in rebounding margin at 7.6 per game, but got pushed around inside in all ways. Forwards RaShid Gaston and Sean O'Mara were a combined 0 of 7 with seven rebounds. Point guard Edmond Sumner, playing with a brace on his injured left shoulder, was 1 of 7 with six points.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats' 11-game winning streak is their longest since they took 15 in a row in 2013-14. They have won 20 straight home games, their third-longest streak since their current arena opened in 1989. Their last loss was to Temple on Dec. 29, 2015.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Xavier was No. 7 in the preseason poll, but the loss to its crosstown rival leaves the Musketeers in danger of falling out of the Top 25 for the first time this season. Cincinnati has been ranked for eight straight weeks, with No. 19 its best spot.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers play St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. They beat the Red Storm 97-82 at the Cintas Center on Jan. 7.

The Bearcats host South Florida on Sunday, having won six straight in the series.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...=400916602

Team can score. Missed 19 free throws and scored 86. Exciting.

(01-26-2017 11:15 PM)BcatMatt13 Wrote:  Team can score. Missed 19 free throws and scored 86. Exciting.

Xavier's defense sucked. We did anything we wanted to against them in the second half.

Doc: Not even Bluiett's big night could stop Mick's best Bearcat team
Paul Daugherty , pdaugherty@enquirer.com Published 10:47 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2017 | Updated 1 hour ago

The Xavier Bluietts nearly stole one at Fifth Third Arena Thursday night. They got outhustled/muscled/played. The best thing the Bluietts did was get Trevon Bluiett the ball, and as great as he was, he wasn’t great enough. UC was the better team. The Bearcats affirmed some things about themselves, traits that should last well beyond Thursday.

Our annual civic Super Bowl was up to the hype. Great game, nearly transcendent individual show, no negative chaos. It left Xavier continuing its season-long search for a winning formula. It left the Bearcats believing they belong in the very big leagues.

Had Xavier not lost 86-78, we’d be talking about Bluiett for a long, long time. As it is, we’ll be discussing how the Bearcats absolutely manhandled Xavier near the basket. “Punked,’’ to quote Chris Mack.

“Only one thing you can talk about,’’ Mack decided. “We got our asses kicked on the glass. If you can’t keep Cincinnati off the glass, which is easier said than done, you’re not winning. We couldn’t and we didn’t.

“We had soft guys on the glass tonight. We couldn’t match their effort, we couldn’t match their intensity. That intensity, that effort, that want was greater than ours.’’

Other than that, the visiting Musketeers played great.

The most telling numbers of this Shootout were not Bluiett’s shooting stats, though they were all but infallible. The stats that resonated were the Points in the Paint and the Second Chance Points.

Cincinnati won the paint scoring, 34-12 and the second-chance game, 30-4. And the Bearcats had 19 offensive rebounds. Essentially, the Bearcats used the paint as their own, exclusive clubhouse.

And to think, Xavier is a good rebounding team.

What this said about UC’s future was highly good. This is Mick Cronin’s best group, because this group excels at what UC always excels at – grinding, will-breaking defense – with the new, much-needed wrinkle of being able to score from anywhere, with any number of players.

Gary Clark opened the game with two muscle buckets. Jarron Cumberland, the freshman tight end, er, guard, had 13 points in the second half, from all over the floor. Jacob Evans added 12 after halftime. Troy Caupain was the tour guide again, finishing with a quiet 16 points, plus five assists and just one turnover, in a cauldron of a game.

Some of us have criticized Cronin in the past, for not signing shooters. We were right then. We’re going to shut up now.

“We’ve got a lot of good players,’’ he said. “We’ve got different guys that can hurt you, that can carry us at different points in the game.

“I told them from jump that offensively, we’re going to get better. We play much freer, more open floor. I think the key for us is to be who we were on offense (Thursday), but continue to play Cincinnati defense.’’

Defense matters. In March, offense matters more.

The outcome didn’t dim the magnificence of Bluiett, who had a game in the first half and two games by the time it was over. What’s it like to make your first 10 shots (eight of them threes). . . without the ball ever touching the rim? Except, ironically, on one rim-rattling dunk. Is there anything more perfect than perfect?

Talk about tickling the twine. The twine was laughing uncontrollably.

Blueitt finished the first half by taking a pass from Edmund Sumner and launching from just right of the key. The ball splashed unfettered through the net for points 24, 25 and 26, and at that stage you wondered how much better one guy could play.

“Once you get a couple to fall, (and) get that adrenaline going, I just felt that every shot I was taking was good,’’ said Bluiett. “I was just playing the game, finding open holes.’’

Xavier led 44-36 at half. UC hadn’t played that poorly. It just couldn’t stop Bluiett. Or make free throws. Still, Bearcat bleeders had to think Bluiett couldn’t score 26 more points in the second half. And Xavier wasn’t doing anything else well.

Bluiett cooled. He went more than 10 minutes without a basket. UC players said that was because they clamped down on him. True, but the law of averages didn’t hurt their cause either.

The Bearcats spent the second half in the deep middle of Xavier’s defense, roaming the lane at will. This is Bearcat style, with the addition of the occasional surgeon’s touch from outside. Very encouraging, if you root for the red and black. And a little unusual. Vive la difference, Bearcats. You’re Mick’s best in 11 seasons.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../97109702/

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/

I'm not usually one of those guys but there is literally NO mention of this game on ESPN's college basketball page. Huge rivalry between top 25 teams. I get that part of it is probably because X is with Fox but not even a mention of it???????????????

The first story? A 19 point UNC win vs Virginia ******* Tech at Chapel Hill. **** off. ESPN.

(01-27-2017 09:30 AM)DownOnRohs Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/

I'm not usually one of those guys but there is literally NO mention of this game on ESPN's college basketball page. Huge rivalry between top 25 teams. I get that part of it is probably because X is with Fox but not even a mention of it???????????????

The first story? A 19 point UNC win vs Virginia ******* Tech at Chapel Hill. **** off. ESPN.

ESPN is doing everything they can to rid themselves of non so called "P5" or "P6" schools.

I found a great article on Fox Sports instead.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati knocked off Xavier, 86-78, in the Crosstown Shootout, Thursday and the Bearcats did it through toughness and grit.

Freshman Jarron Cumberland made big shot after big shot for Cincinnati. The tough, burly wing hit a pair of key 3-pointers and also knocked down a pull-up from 15 feet when Xavier was trying to get back into the game. Cumberland hasn’t received a ton of attention nationally, but this was a heck of a performance on a big stage. Cumberland finished 5-for-9 from the field, scored 15 points and reeled in four rebounds.

People have told me the atmosphere for the Cincinnati-Xavier rivalry is incredible. And I’m not going to lie, for the first 23 1/2 minutes or so I didn’t fully get it. I understand it’s schools located in the same city that hate each other, and while it was certainly above average, I wasn’t blown away. Then, around the 16-minute mark in the second half, the Cincinnati faithful got it going. And at 12:28, the place nearly erupted when Cumberland buried a 3-pointer to get UC within one. By the time I left Fifth Third Arena, I understood.



http://www.foxsports.com/college-basketb...out-012617

(01-27-2017 09:30 AM)DownOnRohs Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/

I'm not usually one of those guys but there is literally NO mention of this game on ESPN's college basketball page. Huge rivalry between top 25 teams. I get that part of it is probably because X is with Fox but not even a mention of it???????????????

The first story? A 19 point UNC win vs Virginia ******* Tech at Chapel Hill. **** off. ESPN.

I had the same thought when I opened that this morning. Very disappointing. It at least deserved a mention in the sidebar headlines.

UC keeps winning though there will be no denying a spotlight on their season.

The Evans 3 pointer at around the 3 minute mark was huge! It was great that UC made the shots down the stretch.

He's gotten some hate for his shooting struggles early in the year, but Troy has been incredible the last month. He controls every game, is consistently the key to getting the offense going, rarely turns it over and has been hitting shots at a high rate the last month. He's one of my all time favorite Bearcats. Glad to see a senior like him having a great second half to the season.

(01-27-2017 10:06 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  He's gotten some hate for his shooting struggles early in the year, but Troy has been incredible the last month. He controls every game, is consistently the key to getting the offense going, rarely turns it over and has been hitting shots at a high rate the last month. He's one of my all time favorite Bearcats. Glad to see a senior like him having a great second half to the season.

As far as players under Mick, I think you could argue he has had the 2nd best career (or Yancy) after SK. He's played like the CPOY since the year turned over.

Mick Cronin's Most Talented Team Might Also Be His Toughest.
posted by Mo Egger, ESPN1530

Read more: http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egge...z4Wyc0w0V8



Winning the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout is, on its own, hard enough. Especially for the UC Bearcats. The opponent is always good. The pressure is usually immense. And luck has rarely been on Cincinnati's side.

Winning the game when a Xavier Musketeer has one of the best individual performances in your arena's history and when your team clangs a month's worth of missed free throws seems nearly impossible.

Mick Cronin may have his most talented team at UC. Time will tell if he has his most accomplished. He clearly though, has his toughest.

The Bearcats' first win in the series in four years was a testament to a lot of things. Their talent. Their depth. Maybe even a little good fortune. It spoke more than anything, though, to their collective and individual backbones.

Consider that in 459 previous UC basketball games at Fifth Third Arena, no opposing player had ever scored 40 against the Bearcats. Trevon Bluiett didn't just do that, he had one of the most efficient offensive night's in Xavier's history - tying a school record for threes in a game, becoming the first Musketeer since David West 14 years ago to score 40 in a game, and authoring one of the best halves of shooting you'll ever see, while establishing a new arena record for most points against Cincinnati.


<<various game stats >>>>

UC, meanwhile, is surging. I've said for a few weeks that the exciting thing about rooting for this Bearcats team is that I still don't think they've come close to playing their best ball yet. There's another gear or two that they really haven't kicked into, and maybe with Cumberland's emergence, they're about to start reaching their full potential. This is a UC team that can - finally - win with offense, and Mick Cronin has a team that's able to beat opponents with multiple scoring options.

Just as important, though, this team seems able to take a punch, and not only come off the canvas, but come back swinging with blows of their own. They seem to have learned from a couple of tough early-season lessons against Rhode Island and Butler, and while they may have caught Xavier at the right time, they certainly had to withstand enough of a challenge against the Musketeers that the game was in doubt until the final minute.

Many have called this year's UC team Mick Cronin's best. They may have shown last night that it's his most resilient. Maybe it's his luckiest.

It definitely has a chance to be a special one.

(01-27-2017 10:06 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  He's gotten some hate for his shooting struggles early in the year, but Troy has been incredible the last month. He controls every game, is consistently the key to getting the offense going, rarely turns it over and has been hitting shots at a high rate the last month. He's one of my all time favorite Bearcats. Glad to see a senior like him having a great second half to the season.

I might tear up on senior night.

(01-27-2017 10:06 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  He's gotten some hate for his shooting struggles early in the year, but Troy has been incredible the last month. He controls every game, is consistently the key to getting the offense going, rarely turns it over and has been hitting shots at a high rate the last month. He's one of my all time favorite Bearcats. Glad to see a senior like him having a great second half to the season.

Troy has been excellent. Averaging 11pts, 5.4reb, 4.6ast, 1.3to, in a team high 32 mins per game. Those are some excellent numbers, but he is a steadying influence on the court which is huge. I also love how he loves UC, and the crowds and students.

I think Cumberland may have eaten into Sumner's reputation to drive the lane. I know i'm not getting in front of him.

(01-27-2017 10:25 AM)JFlight21 Wrote:  

(01-27-2017 10:06 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  He's gotten some hate for his shooting struggles early in the year, but Troy has been incredible the last month. He controls every game, is consistently the key to getting the offense going, rarely turns it over and has been hitting shots at a high rate the last month. He's one of my all time favorite Bearcats. Glad to see a senior like him having a great second half to the season.

As far as players under Mick, I think you could argue he has had the 2nd best career (or Yancy) after SK. He's played like the CPOY since the year turned over.

This is fair

Peace and satisfaction rests in me today.