12-28-2011, 11:55 PM
Cincinnati seeking Sooner credibility
Oklahoma, Bearcats looking for RPI boost
![[Image: bilde?Site=AB&Date=20111228&...redibility]](http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20111228&Category=SPT0101&ArtNo=312280105&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0&Cincinnati-seeking-Sooner-credibility)
AP Photo/Alonzo Adams
Sean Kilpatrick (23) goes up for a basket as Oklahoma's Cade Davis (34) and Andrew Fitzgerald (4) defend during UC's 66-56 win last year in Oklahoma City.
Written by
Bill Koch | bkoch@enquirer.com
The University of Cincinnati and Oklahoma basketball teams are looking for some badly needed credibility Thursday.
Picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference, the Sooners have vaulted to a 9-1 start under first-year coach Lon Kruger but have yet to play a true road game and have played a non-league schedule ranked No. 122 by CollegeRPI.com, leaving their fans to wonder just how valid that sparkling record is.
Oklahoma’s schedule looks pretty formidable compared with UC’s, which ranks No. 325 nationally. The Bearcats (9-3) have won four in a row, beating their opponents by an average score of 94-60, but those four opponents have a combined record of 10-41.
UC has flourished in those four games with a four-guard offense, shooting 47.4 percent from 3-point range, playing without three of its five big men, who were suspended for six games for their roles in the fight against Xavier on Dec. 10.
Both teams hope to learn more about themselves Thursday at 9 when they meet at U.S. Bank Arena, where UC has won its last 16 games dating to 1997.
“I think Cincinnati could well be the best team we’ve seen to date,” Kruger said Wednesday before boarding a plane for Cincinnati. “I guess I would put them in there with Saint Louis. They’re playing great. They’re aggressive and playing with a great deal of confidence. They’re very active defensively.”
The Sooners, whose only loss was to Saint Louis by 20 at the 76 Classic Final in Anaheim, have one of the top rebounding teams in the country, averaging 16.8 offensive rebounds. They have a rebounding margin of plus-10.8, which leads the Big 12.
“It was a question mark about this team,” Kruger said. “We haven’t played any real good rebounding teams. That’s part of it. We know it will be a lot tougher against Cincinnati and the Big 12.”
Kruger, 58, took over at Oklahoma this season for Jeff Capel, signing a seven-year, $16 million contract after seven years at UNLV, where he was 161-71 and took the Runnin’ Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons.
He has a career record of 488-305 after stints at Texas Pan American; Kansas State, his alma mater; Florida, which he took to the Final Four in 1994; Illinois, and UNLV. He also coached four years in the NBA.
At Oklahoma, he inherited a program that’s on three years probation.
“The penalty keeps us off the road a little bit on recruiting and reduces the number of visits we have,” Kruger said. “But it doesn’t affect the players. They don’t even stop to think about it. It’s the way it is. I don’t think about it either. We’re not walking around thinking about what we don’t have. It doesn’t affect this team.”
The Sooners are led by junior guard Steven Pledger, who’s averaging 19.8 points and shooting 57.5 percent from the field – 49 percent from 3-point range – after averaging only 10.9 points last year.
“He’s as good in college basketball as there is in shooting the ball,” Cronin said. “If you give him open looks, you’ve got no chance. He’s making guarded shots.”
The Bearcats beat Oklahoma last year 66-56 in Oklahoma City. Cronin says he could see then that the Sooners had talent. This year they’ve added point guard Sam Grooms and forward Romero Osby, both of whom have made major contributions to the 9-1 start.
“We’ve got to continue to have tremendous hustle, which we have, but that’s not going to be enough from here on out,” Cronin said. “We also have to have defensive execution. We showed them film of ourselves. There’s plays where we broke down, but the other team either turned it over or didn’t make the right pass. If you’re playing Oklahoma or Pittsburgh or whoever’s after that, it’s going to be a basket.”
RON KRICK DIES: Former UC center Ron Krick, who played for the Bearcats from 1964-66, died Monday in his hometown of Reading, Pa.
Krick, 68, was the starting center for UC in 1964-65, averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, and in 1965-66, when he averaged 8.9 and 5.6, helping the Bearcats win the Missouri Valley Conference championship.
Krick scored 3,174 points at West Reading High School in Pennsylvania, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain as the state’s all-time leading prep scorer.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111...RONTPAGE|s
Oklahoma, Bearcats looking for RPI boost
AP Photo/Alonzo Adams
Sean Kilpatrick (23) goes up for a basket as Oklahoma's Cade Davis (34) and Andrew Fitzgerald (4) defend during UC's 66-56 win last year in Oklahoma City.
Written by
Bill Koch | bkoch@enquirer.com
The University of Cincinnati and Oklahoma basketball teams are looking for some badly needed credibility Thursday.
Picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference, the Sooners have vaulted to a 9-1 start under first-year coach Lon Kruger but have yet to play a true road game and have played a non-league schedule ranked No. 122 by CollegeRPI.com, leaving their fans to wonder just how valid that sparkling record is.
Oklahoma’s schedule looks pretty formidable compared with UC’s, which ranks No. 325 nationally. The Bearcats (9-3) have won four in a row, beating their opponents by an average score of 94-60, but those four opponents have a combined record of 10-41.
UC has flourished in those four games with a four-guard offense, shooting 47.4 percent from 3-point range, playing without three of its five big men, who were suspended for six games for their roles in the fight against Xavier on Dec. 10.
Both teams hope to learn more about themselves Thursday at 9 when they meet at U.S. Bank Arena, where UC has won its last 16 games dating to 1997.
“I think Cincinnati could well be the best team we’ve seen to date,” Kruger said Wednesday before boarding a plane for Cincinnati. “I guess I would put them in there with Saint Louis. They’re playing great. They’re aggressive and playing with a great deal of confidence. They’re very active defensively.”
The Sooners, whose only loss was to Saint Louis by 20 at the 76 Classic Final in Anaheim, have one of the top rebounding teams in the country, averaging 16.8 offensive rebounds. They have a rebounding margin of plus-10.8, which leads the Big 12.
“It was a question mark about this team,” Kruger said. “We haven’t played any real good rebounding teams. That’s part of it. We know it will be a lot tougher against Cincinnati and the Big 12.”
Kruger, 58, took over at Oklahoma this season for Jeff Capel, signing a seven-year, $16 million contract after seven years at UNLV, where he was 161-71 and took the Runnin’ Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons.
He has a career record of 488-305 after stints at Texas Pan American; Kansas State, his alma mater; Florida, which he took to the Final Four in 1994; Illinois, and UNLV. He also coached four years in the NBA.
At Oklahoma, he inherited a program that’s on three years probation.
“The penalty keeps us off the road a little bit on recruiting and reduces the number of visits we have,” Kruger said. “But it doesn’t affect the players. They don’t even stop to think about it. It’s the way it is. I don’t think about it either. We’re not walking around thinking about what we don’t have. It doesn’t affect this team.”
The Sooners are led by junior guard Steven Pledger, who’s averaging 19.8 points and shooting 57.5 percent from the field – 49 percent from 3-point range – after averaging only 10.9 points last year.
“He’s as good in college basketball as there is in shooting the ball,” Cronin said. “If you give him open looks, you’ve got no chance. He’s making guarded shots.”
The Bearcats beat Oklahoma last year 66-56 in Oklahoma City. Cronin says he could see then that the Sooners had talent. This year they’ve added point guard Sam Grooms and forward Romero Osby, both of whom have made major contributions to the 9-1 start.
“We’ve got to continue to have tremendous hustle, which we have, but that’s not going to be enough from here on out,” Cronin said. “We also have to have defensive execution. We showed them film of ourselves. There’s plays where we broke down, but the other team either turned it over or didn’t make the right pass. If you’re playing Oklahoma or Pittsburgh or whoever’s after that, it’s going to be a basket.”
RON KRICK DIES: Former UC center Ron Krick, who played for the Bearcats from 1964-66, died Monday in his hometown of Reading, Pa.
Krick, 68, was the starting center for UC in 1964-65, averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, and in 1965-66, when he averaged 8.9 and 5.6, helping the Bearcats win the Missouri Valley Conference championship.
Krick scored 3,174 points at West Reading High School in Pennsylvania, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain as the state’s all-time leading prep scorer.
Quote:UC vs Oklahoma
Tipoff: 9 p.m. Thursday at U.S. Bank Arena (17,000).
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WLW-AM (700).
Records: UC 9-3; Oklahoma 9-1.
Coaches: UC – Mick Cronin (96-80, sixth year; 165-104 overall); Oklahoma – Lon Kruger (9-1, 1st year; 488-205 overall).
Leading scorers: UC – Sean Kilpatrick 15.4; Oklahoma – Steven Pledger 19.8.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111...RONTPAGE|s