Looking at Cincinnatistrong>Cincinnati, Ohio /strong>-- Talk about your shocking lead-ins.
On Wednesday, three days before MU was scheduled to travel to Cincinnati, the Bearcats went into Morgantown, W. Va. -- a place that's given the Golden Eagles fits since they joined the Big East -- and absolutely destroyed the Mountaineers, 62-39.
It was an outcome that raised the eyebrows of coach Tom Crean and his staff.
"That they won is not shocking," he said. "What they won by, and that they dominated the entire game from start to finish is really incredible because they were outstanding the entire game. To out-rebound that team by 21...we were already concerned about their rebounding, so that just adds that much more to it. Now we know they're going to play well. They're a tough, tough physical team, they appear to be very tough mentally, and they've got a lot of different guys they can throw at you. (Coach Mick Cronin's) really utilizing his depth very well."
Cincinnati (10-11, 4-5) is 8-4 so far this season at Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, with its losses coming to Belmont, Bowling Green, then No. 2-Memphis and Connecticut. The Bearcats have beaten Syracuse, Villanova and Pittsburgh since Big East play began, though, and also have a victory at Louisville on their resume.
They're led in scoring by sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, who averages 17.5 points per game while also chipping in 4.1 rebounds. I asked Crean is he thought Vaughn was one of the leading candidates for the Big East's most improved player award -- the same award Lazar Hayward is vying for as well.
"Deonta was such a key part of their team a year ago...when you look at the increase in numbers, absolutely. No question about it," he said. "But they have five bigs that they can play right now, they can make things happen. They've got the wings, they can go small like they did (against West Virginia). They can go big wing like they do with Rashad Bishop. There's no question Vaughn's having one of the best years of anybody in this league, and he's establishing himself as one of the best guards in the country."
Senior big man John Williamson is Cincinnati's second-leading scorer at 9.7 points and its leading rebounder at 6.0 per game. The Bearcats are among the worst-shooting teams in the Big East at 42.7%, and also are ranked last in assist-turnover ratio at minus-2.10.
From the Cincinnati angle, longtime Bearcats beat writer Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer was kind enough to provide Cronin's view on MU.
"One thing you've got to do when you play a Tom Crean team is you've got to match their intensity level. They play extremely hard, with great pride and passion. Marquette makes up for their lack of size with hustle. That's what got them so many wins."
"Their quickness on the defensive end ignites their fast break. That's a concern. They've got great hands and they get to the ball quickly so we're going to have to make sure that our spacing is good, that we're not in a hurry and we make sure we take care of the basketball."
"(Dominic) James is the heart and soul of their team. When he's playing well, they can beat anybody on any given night. He's a guy that is probably at his best when he's attacking the basket and they're getting steals and getting out in transition. Deonta is not near as fast or as quick as Dominic James. Deonta may be a little better shooter."
Koch also noted that Vaughn and James squared off three times in high school - Vaughn at Indianapolis Arlington and James at Richmond - with Vaughn winning all three times.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/02/02/looking-at-cincinnati.aspx
