EDIT: Koch gets his shot in, in the very first line.

Undefeated University of Cincinnati Bearcats pummel Toledo

By Bill Koch • bkoch@enquirer.com • December 4, 2010

TOLEDO, Ohio – At some point after the Big East Conference season begins, University of Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin might wish he had played a more competitive non-league schedule.

But for now, the victories keep piling up and the good times continue to roll.

UC’s latest outing was an 81-47 victory Saturday night at Savage Arena over an overmatched Toledo team that started four freshmen and one sophomore and has four walk-ons on its roster.

The Bearcats’ 34-point margin of victory matched the margin over Dayton a week earlier for their largest of the season. Their 81 points were a season high.

UC (7-0) was playing its first road game of the season. The Bearcats are off to their best start since 2004-05 when they won their first 11 games.

The victory improved fifth-year coach Mick Cronin’s record at UC to 68-68, the first time since the Bearcats were 10-10 in his first season that Cronin’s record has been at .500.

Toledo (0-8) is still looking for its first win under first-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk.

Dion Dixon scored 17 points to lead UC, with Cashmere Wright scoring 10.

Delino Dear led the Rockets with 18.

The best-case scenario for the Bearcats as they rampage through this pre-conference part of their season is that they are gaining confidence that will serve them well in the Big East.

The flip side is a concern over whether these wins are providing a false sense of well-being that will be exposed against the likes of Pitt, Villanova and Syracuse.

Give the Bearcats credit for this much: They did not let Toledo’s winless status affect their intensity. UC vaulted out to a 27-5 lead, making 10 of its first 11 shots and going five-for-five from 3-point range.

Yancy Gates got things started for UC when he made his first two shots, followed by a Rashad Bishop 3-pointer. Before long, though, it was junior guard Dion Dixon who was setting the pace on offense.

Dixon scored 16 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, making four of seven from long range.

The UC defense was every bit as impressive as its offense. The Bearcats forced 10 turnovers in the first half and score 19 points off them. They also recorded 16 assists, again displaying a willingness to share the ball that has characterized UC in this early part of the season.

The Rockets did not convert their second field goal until the 10:25 mark of the first half and shot just 31.8 percent for the half.

UC wasn’t nearly as sharp offensively in the second half, with the quality of play deteriorating significantly. The Bearcats scored only 28 points in the second half after producing 53 in the first, continuing a trend that has seen them score 13 fewer points in the second half than they have in the first.

But even with the Bearcats’ performance slipping Toledo was unable to mount a comeback.

The Bearcats are now 40-18 against non-league competition during the regular season under Cronin.

UC is off for final exams next week and resumes play on Saturday at home against Utah Valley at Fifth Third Arena.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101...winless-UT

Quote:UC wasn’t nearly as sharp offensively in the second half, with the quality of play deteriorating significantly. The Bearcats scored only 28 points in the second half after producing 53 in the first, continuing a trend that has seen them score 13 fewer points in the second half than they have in the first.

Well gee Bill....I guess that's the difference between the starters and the second team. What a joke.

I see Debbie Downer is at it again. Does Bill know the 2nd team was playing the 2nd half? A preschooler grader could cover sports better.

Well, obviously since it wasn't on TV, I didn't see the game.

While Dixon had the hot hand early on, I would have liked to have seen Gates more involved. He only played 18 minutes, grabbed 4 boards, and didn't score in double digits. This concerns me. And I think he attempted a couple of 3's.

Also would have liked to have seen the guards attack the basket a bit more, rather than jacking up 3's continuously.

One of those games where the jumpshots were falling. Won't be like this often.

(12-04-2010 11:25 PM)Vottomatic Wrote:  Well, obviously since it wasn't on TV, I didn't see the game.

While Dixon had the hot hand early on, I would have liked to have seen Gates more involved. He only played 18 minutes, grabbed 4 boards, and didn't score in double digits. This concerns me. And I think he attempted a couple of 3's.

Also would have liked to have seen the guards attack the basket a bit more, rather than jacking up 3's continuously.

One of those games where the jumpshots were falling. Won't be like this often.

agree with that. This team isn't going to win many, if any, games in the big east with outside shooting. This team has to force the opponent to shoot low percentages and they got back to that tonight.

It might be a negative comment by Koch, but it's a realistic one. Playing all these cupcakes isn't going to show you much of anything about how your team is progressing. Once they hit the Big East, ain't no more cupcakes anymore.

It's one of my main concerns. The best competition they have faced this year seems to be Dayton, but they thrashed them. Which begs the question is Dayton godawful? Or are we really good? Some of our outings (particularly against IPFW) are concerning in that we did not crush them like I felt we coulda/should have.

Really have no help on our OOC schedule to gauge where this team is. Oklahoma is down this year, and X is looking offensively challenged as well.

To me, this looks like the best team that Cronin has put on the floor to date. But is it really?

Here's what I think of Bill Koch...



:moon2:

(12-05-2010 01:24 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  It's one of my main concerns. The best competition they have faced this year seems to be Dayton, but they thrashed them. Which begs the question is Dayton godawful? Or are we really good? Some of our outings (particularly against IPFW) are concerning in that we did not crush them like I felt we coulda/should have.

Really have no help on our OOC schedule to gauge where this team is. Oklahoma is down this year, and X is looking offensively challenged as well.

To me, this looks like the best team that Cronin has put on the floor to date. But is it really?

Dayton i think is in between awful and good. They just beat MU, which beat X. All three of those teams are teams we should beat this year (Oklahoma included) but obviously those teams while not great are step above other cupcakes we face. The fact that we thrashed Dayton is a good sign, but our first real test comes at Villanova, third game of conference sched.

(12-05-2010 01:10 PM)Kenyon#4 Wrote:  It might be a negative comment by Koch, but it's a realistic one. Playing all these cupcakes isn't going to show you much of anything about how your team is progressing. Once they hit the Big East, ain't no more cupcakes anymore.

I agree. Destroying inferior competition may build some confidence, but it doesn't allow you to judge where your team is or work on things you'd like to get ready for conference play.

That may lead to a learning period when conference play starts that other teams have negated by playing tough competition in the non-conference portion of their schedules.

Their non-conference opponents did them no favors by having down years themselves.

i know people here dont like koch- but in this article- is his point that hard to agree with? im not talking about past stuff, just this. i think we all are concerned that we are gonna hit xu, then go on the road for 4 of our next 5 BE games- Nova, Cuse, ND, SJU- all teams that can beat us- having only really been tested against XU- a game that will be more of a mental battle than a physical one.

I don't think anyone disagrees with his statement, it is the fact that he made it. He seems to always focus on the negative. That article would have been just fine without the jabs at the schedule. He is turning an article about the game into an opinion piece. It seems almost everything he writes has some negative point, no matter what the subject. A prime example is his blog post the other day about the team not being able to use the bubble yet. What was the point? They were in there the next day.

(12-05-2010 05:45 PM)DP3113 Wrote:  i know people here dont like koch- but in this article- is his point that hard to agree with? im not talking about past stuff, just this. i think we all are concerned that we are gonna hit xu, then go on the road for 4 of our next 5 BE games- Nova, Cuse, ND, SJU- all teams that can beat us- having only really been tested against XU- a game that will be more of a mental battle than a physical one.

(12-05-2010 08:05 PM)subflea Wrote:  I don't think anyone disagrees with his statement, it is the fact that he made it. He seems to always focus on the negative. That article would have been just fine without the jabs at the schedule. He is turning an article about the game into an opinion piece. It seems almost everything he writes has some negative point, no matter what the subject. A prime example is his blog post the other day about the team not being able to use the bubble yet. What was the point? They were in there the next day.

I agree with sub. And I could even respect Koch's criticism if he wrote a separate article comparing our schedule to other Big East teams and then showed how that has impacted making the Tourney historically. But he does nothing - no meaningful facts, no real analysis, just snide commentary.

It's been a while since I seen them play but it seems that gates is still too damn comfortable being average He has all american talent with a role player mentality. Him being a dominate player would open things up for the other guys. I like when the offense flows through him.

On the other side, I love dixon's aggressive play. He's playing like an upperclassman. Even when he's off he's still looking to put the weight on his shoulders.

I paid my $10 to watch the game on Toledo's website and would like to correct a few comments from previous posters. In the first half when it was still a game, UC moved the ball well, passed it into the post effectively and the shots taken including 3 point shots were wide open and very good shots. I don't remember the exact stats but I think UC made 10 of their first 12 shots and they were all good shots. Gates was aggressive and rebounded well. Dixon was very hot, they were all wide open and the result of good ball movement. Thomas was assertive on the boards and the team played great.

They lost focus in the second half and played the second team but still dominated.

Some of the comments were not based on watching the game and were off base.

(12-05-2010 05:10 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  Here's what I think of Bill Koch...



:moon2:

Are you making a pass at Koch?

(12-05-2010 09:05 PM)b Wrote:  It's been a while since I seen them play but it seems that gates is still too damn comfortable being average He has all american talent with a role player mentality. Him being a dominate player would open things up for the other guys. I like when the offense flows through him.

On the other side, I love dixon's aggressive play. He's playing like an upperclassman. Even when he's off he's still looking to put the weight on his shoulders.

I don't agree that Gates is comfortable being average, but he's definitely not aggressive enough. He'll never dominate the block like Fortson, but I wish he was less like his idol, Kevin Garnett. That stick has changed the offensive mindset of bigs for a generation. Yancy has improved his range, but I wish he wouldn't settle for as many outside shots. A lot like working the pitch count in baseball, I'd love for Gates to hulk up in the lane and go from Dr. Banner to a foul drawing machine. If he goes STRONG, it'll be a positive result more often than not. I don't want to be all Koch-like, so I would be remiss to say that Gates has definitely improved from what I've seen so far. I like his rebounding effort and he's made quite a few good passes from the post for an easy layup or open three.

Dixon, amongst a number of Chicago players, went back home and worked out with Wade in the offseason. I was hoping something would rub off on him. In a minuscule way, he's a lot like Wade; better when he's driving and drawing fouls and not taking all outside shots. If Dixon remains aggressive with a double-digit scoring average through the conference schedule, then this should be a happy place come March 13, 2011.

If Koch knows any Duke beat writers, then he might want to pass this info along... an undefeated, 1st place team should be embarrassed by their 3FG defense and the number of offensive rebounds that they've allowed. Negative stories sell... too well.

(12-04-2010 11:00 PM)apoe Wrote:  

Quote:UC wasn’t nearly as sharp offensively in the second half, with the quality of play deteriorating significantly. The Bearcats scored only 28 points in the second half after producing 53 in the first, continuing a trend that has seen them score 13 fewer points in the second half than they have in the first.

Well gee Bill....I guess that's the difference between the starters and the second team. What a joke.

BK probably didn't know they substituted.

(12-06-2010 01:36 AM)Vottomatic Wrote:  

(12-05-2010 05:10 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  Here's what I think of Bill Koch...



:moon2:

Are you making a pass at Koch?

On your behalf...

Quote:Kevin Garnett. That stick has changed the offensive mindset of bigs for a generation.

You got that right. and it hurts these playrs who could be so much better if they learned to use their size instead of trying to show how "skilled" they are.