After four games against Detroit, Northwestern State, Jackson State and La Salle - teams with a combined 12-18 record - the University of Cincinnati could use a stern test before heading to Las Vegas for a showdown against top-ranked Illinois Friday.
Miami is happy to provide one.
The RedHawks (6-2) have their best team since Wally Szczerbiak left in 1999 and would love nothing better than to ruin No. 22 UC's 9-0 start. They'll meet for the 141st time at 8 p.m. today at U.S. Bank Arena.
The Bearcats have won the last six meetings, their longest winning streak against Miami since they won eight straight from 1956-57 to 1963-64.
This is the third consecutive year they've played at U.S. Bank. UC hasn't played at Millett Hall, where the RedHawks have won three of the last four meetings, since 1992-93.
Miami has certainly attracted UC's attention with its 48.1 shooting percentage, which ranks second nationally, and 44.1 3-point shooting percentage, which ranks eighth.
Senior forward Danny Horace is second in the nation in rebounding with 12.3 a game.
He also averages 17.9 points.
The Bearcats, who are holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting, 32.2 percent from 3-point range, are looking forward to the challenge of stopping one of the country's hottest shooting teams.
"This is probably the best Miami team I've played since I came to UC," junior forward Armein Kirkland said.
"They're a little bit better competition than what we've been playing. It's a good game to get us ready for Illinois. This will be a good test for us."
Kirkland, who averages 14.0 points per game, is expected to start tonight after missing UC's last two games with a sprained left ankle that he says is about 75 percent of full strength.
UC's defensive effort this season has generally met the expectations of demanding coach Bob Huggins, but he concedes the Bearcats have yet to play a team with Miami's offensive skills.
To beat the RedHawks, he said, UC will have to contain their 3-point shooters, which isn't as simple as it sounds because of the RedHawks' approach.
"They really spread you," Huggins said. "They're really making 3s, but they're able to make 3s because they put so much pressure on the rim with all their back cuts."
UC has long been known for its defense and its ability to force opponents out of doing what they like to do best on offense.
Huggins says the Bearcats' perennially sound defense is the result of keeping basic principles intact while adapting to the styles of individual opponents.
He believes this UC team, despite its already impressive numbers, can improve as the season progresses.
"I think we're a little too man conscious," Huggins said. "We've got to find a better medium between being man conscious and being ball conscious. I think we could create more offense with our defense if we were a little more ball conscious."
The Bearcats certainly will be conscious tonight of Miami's Horace and Monty St. Clair, a 56 percent 3-point shooter.
"Every shot has got to be contested with a hand in their face because if you give them open looks they're going to hit them," Kirkland said.
"We're going to try to limit the open looks that they get."
Miami is happy to provide one.
The RedHawks (6-2) have their best team since Wally Szczerbiak left in 1999 and would love nothing better than to ruin No. 22 UC's 9-0 start. They'll meet for the 141st time at 8 p.m. today at U.S. Bank Arena.
The Bearcats have won the last six meetings, their longest winning streak against Miami since they won eight straight from 1956-57 to 1963-64.
This is the third consecutive year they've played at U.S. Bank. UC hasn't played at Millett Hall, where the RedHawks have won three of the last four meetings, since 1992-93.
Miami has certainly attracted UC's attention with its 48.1 shooting percentage, which ranks second nationally, and 44.1 3-point shooting percentage, which ranks eighth.
Senior forward Danny Horace is second in the nation in rebounding with 12.3 a game.
He also averages 17.9 points.
The Bearcats, who are holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting, 32.2 percent from 3-point range, are looking forward to the challenge of stopping one of the country's hottest shooting teams.
"This is probably the best Miami team I've played since I came to UC," junior forward Armein Kirkland said.
"They're a little bit better competition than what we've been playing. It's a good game to get us ready for Illinois. This will be a good test for us."
Kirkland, who averages 14.0 points per game, is expected to start tonight after missing UC's last two games with a sprained left ankle that he says is about 75 percent of full strength.
UC's defensive effort this season has generally met the expectations of demanding coach Bob Huggins, but he concedes the Bearcats have yet to play a team with Miami's offensive skills.
To beat the RedHawks, he said, UC will have to contain their 3-point shooters, which isn't as simple as it sounds because of the RedHawks' approach.
"They really spread you," Huggins said. "They're really making 3s, but they're able to make 3s because they put so much pressure on the rim with all their back cuts."
UC has long been known for its defense and its ability to force opponents out of doing what they like to do best on offense.
Huggins says the Bearcats' perennially sound defense is the result of keeping basic principles intact while adapting to the styles of individual opponents.
He believes this UC team, despite its already impressive numbers, can improve as the season progresses.
"I think we're a little too man conscious," Huggins said. "We've got to find a better medium between being man conscious and being ball conscious. I think we could create more offense with our defense if we were a little more ball conscious."
The Bearcats certainly will be conscious tonight of Miami's Horace and Monty St. Clair, a 56 percent 3-point shooter.
"Every shot has got to be contested with a hand in their face because if you give them open looks they're going to hit them," Kirkland said.
"We're going to try to limit the open looks that they get."
