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Miami of Ohio coach
Charlie Coles knows the way to beat Cincinnati. Getting his team to do it promises
to be much more difficult.
The 14th-ranked Bearcats (7-0) hope to match their best start in four years
when they host the RedHawks (4-4) at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday.
With its trapping defense that wears down opponents and forces turnovers, Cincinnati is proving to be one of the nation's toughest teams to play against. The Bearcats, with 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes a game, have hardly been challenged while winning by an average of 25.2 points -- the best mark in the nation.
Miami's wins have come against Liberty, Ohio Dominican, Wright State and Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, so a victory against Cincinnati would be a major achievement for Coles' team.
``First, we've
got to beat their press,'' Coles said. ``They've been pressing teams a lot and
doing a great job with their press. Second, we've got to score some baskets
and do good job of hitting open shots. We may not get that many open shots,
so we need to capitalize on the one's we do get.''
Cincinnati recorded its most impressive victory of the season with an 82-53
rout of No. 23 Dayton on Tuesday. Jason Maxiell scored 19 points and the Bearcats
forced the Flyers into turnovers on six of their first eight possessions and
28 overall.
Nick Wiliams had 11 points and Armein Kirkland and Field Williams each added 10 points for Cincinnati, which won easily despite shooting just 12-of-25 from the free throw line.
``I told them from day one that our strength is going to be our numbers,'' Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. ``We were a little too excited and took some bad shots. It's hard to play at that pace defensively and come down and slow down on offense, but that's what you've got to do.''
The Bearcats have forced each opponent this season into at least 20 turnovers, including three straight with 25 or more.
Cincinnati's start is its best since the 1999-00 team opened with eight wins.
Generating offense against the Bearcats has been very difficult for teams this season and Miami figures to be no exception. The RedHawks are averaging just 58.4 points per game while shooting 39.5 percent from the field.
One day after losing to Southern Methodist, Miami rebounded with a 63-52 victory over IPFW on Sunday in the consolation game of the Boilermaker Invitational. Sophomore Josh Hausfeld scored 16 points, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, for the RedHawks, who haven't beaten a ranked team since a 73-67 win over No. 10 Boston College on Dec. 20, 2001.
Cincinnati has won five straight against Miami, including a 66-54 victory at U.S. Bank Arena last season. The RedHawks' last win in the series came on Dec. 1, 1990.