UC's Clark, Evans recap win over East Carolina/ Tom Groeschen
For a while, it was mildly interesting. The No. 12-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats faced yet another early challenge from a determined underdog, then put said underdog squarely in its place.
UC trailed in the early stages, but gradually overwhelmed East Carolina 86-60 on Saturday afternoon at Northern Kentucky University, before 8,879 fans at BB&T Arena.
Junior guard Jacob Evans III and senior forward Kyle Washington led UC with 17 points each. Senior forward Gary Clark had 14 points and 14 rebounds, his third consecutive double-double game. Sophomore guard Jarron Cumberland scored 14 points.
UC (17-2, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) won its 10th straight game, having not lost since Dec. 9 to Florida.
UC recently has had several games where it fell behind early, only to rally and win. That included wins at both South Florida and Central Florida last week.
"It's teams coming out with nothing to lose and playing as hard as they can against us, because they understand what we've done to other teams," Clark said. "They come in with their best shot, and we've just got to withstand that wave."
ECU (8-11, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) came in with heads high, having drilled South Florida 90-52 on Wednesday. The Pirates hung around until early in the second half, until UC ground them down with superior size, speed and depth
UC held a commanding 50-24 edge on points in the paint.
Freshman guard Shawn Williams and junior guard Isaac Fleming led ECU with 15 points each.
UC extended its home-court winning streak to 36 games, the longest active streak in the nation.
Analysis, happenings and notes:
SLOW START: When ECU hit some shots and built an 11-7 lead, there still was a sense that the Bearcats -- listed as 30-point favorites by Las Vegas -- inevitably would storm back and win. That did happen, but UC coach Mick Cronin said his team should not need wake-up calls.
"Our attitude should have been, 'Let's play harder,' " Cronin said. "Instead I thought it was a little bit of, 'What's going on? Why are they playing well?' I don't think the guys expected them to put the ball in the basket the way they did, but we had a little attitude adjustment at halftime. We locked in much better."
NEAR FLAWLESS: UC led 46-38 at halftime, with the Bearcats committing only one turnover in the first half.
UC, in turn, helped force nine ECU turnovers before halftime. The Bearcats' fullcourt press was on its game, including a 10-second violation by the Pirates. UC also had nine steals on the day and blocked 10 shots.
ECU shot 55 percent in the first half and UC just 42 percent, but the Bearcats were having their way inside. UC in the first half posted a 24-12 advantage on points in the paint, with the ECU man-to-man defense generally helpless underneath.
On the other end, the UC interior defense sometimes had issues. Too often, ECU drove the lane relatively uncontested for layups.
"They scored 90 the other night," Cronin said. "They were confident and they hit a lot of late-clock, hard shots in the first half. That puts pressure on your defense, and you've got to step it up and play harder."
TURNAROUND: After shooting 55 percent in the first half, ECU made just 30 percent after halftime. UC shot 45.2 percent overall (48.6 percent in the second half).
"They shoot 1-for-9 from (3-point range), 11 percent, and 30 percent (overall) in the second half, and you end up with an easy win," Cronin said.
UC also dominated the boards, 46-29.
"We gave them a battle there for 32-33 minutes," ECU interim head coach Michael Perry said. "We really fought them hard but their defenders wore us down with their physicality, particularly in the paint, with their bigs. They had 22 offensive rebounds, an astounding number. That was the tale of the game.”
The Bearcats also made only seven turnovers, while ECU had 15. UC held a 19-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
"Once we started finishing around the basket with some strength, I thought that obviously changed the game as well," Cronin said.
EVANS ICES IT: Evans essentially decided the game by making nine straight UC points in a three-minute span. UC went from a 63-53 lead to 72-57 during Evans' run.
"We just weren't giving enough effort (early)," Evans said. "We weren't getting every loose ball. We'd just try to pick it up and they'd dive on it, get a bucket. We just tried to come out in the second half and play a little harder, and that got things going for us.
"We had let their shooters have some easy ones and they got hot, made a couple of tough shots. You just can't let them get going like that."
BENCH STRENGTH: The UC bench outscored ECU's 24-10. Sophomore center Nysier Brooks (eight points, five rebounds), junior guard Cane Broome (seven points, six assists, no turnovers in 28 minutes), sophomore forward Trevon Scott (five points, seven rebounds) and freshman forward Eliel Nsoseme (two points, five rebounds, three blocks) were among the contributors.
AAC RACE: UC leads the AAC with a 6-0 league record, and has built a 1 1/2-game lead on its closest pursuers. Houston upset No. 7-ranked Wichita State 73-59 on Saturday, with both teams now tied for second in the AAC with 5-2 records.
NOT MUCH DOUBT: The Bearcats were given a 99.4 percent chance to win Saturday's game, per the ESPN BPI (Basketball Power Index).
UC was picked by to win the AAC in a preseason poll of league coaches, while ECU was voted 11th in the 12-team conference. The Pirates last reached the NCAA Tournament in 1993.
UC entered the game ranked No. 6 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (overall efficiency) and ECU was No. 315. In the NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), UC was No. 23 and ECU was No. 297.
LOPSIDED: UC now leads its series 12-1 against ECU, including 7-0 at home. The Pirates' lone win was 50-46 on Feb. 1, 2015, at ECU.
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