Depending on which University of Cincinnati basketball player you talk to, Saturday?s game against Marshall is either a chance for payback or just another non-conference tune-up as the Big East Conference season approaches.
The Thundering Herd knocked off the Bearcats, 73-69, in overtime on Nov. 25 last year at Fifth Third Arena, out-rebounding the Bearcats by 13 and senior point guard Cashmere Wright hasn?t forgotten.
?They came here and beat us at home so it?s only right that we go get our ?W? back,? Wright said. ?As a senior, we can?t leave with that taste in our mouth that we let them defeat us. ?
But Sean Kilpatrick cautions that it would not be wise to get too carried away about seeking retribution for what happened a year ago when the two teams meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Charleston Civic Center.
?Whatever happened last year happened last year,? Kilpatrick said. ?You can?t really look at it like this is a revenge game because you?ll wind up playing bad if you?re thinking about it like that.?
No. 11 UC (9-0) gets a break Saturday because Marshall guard DeAndre Kane will not play due to a hand injury. Kane leads the Herd in scoring at 16.0 points per game and ranks second nationally in assists with 8.5 per game. Marshall (6-4) has won four of its last five games.
One thing the Bearcats agree on is that UC will have to do a better job of rebounding against a rugged Marshall front line that stands 6-8, 6-10, 6-9, with forward Dennis Tinnon averaging 9.7 rebounds and center Nigel Spikes pulling down 9.2 per game.
That kind of size and those rebounding numbers could pose a problem for a UC team that runs a three-guard offense.
?Defensive rebounding has definitely been a concern of ours,? said UC coach Mick Cronin. ?We?re not going to be the best rebounding team in the country because we play small and quickness is a big factor in what we do. We?re going to have more steals than the other team but that being said, you can?t get outrebounded. You might not dominate your opponent on the glass but you can?t get outrebounded, especially on the defensive backboard.?
That?s the why the play of Cheikh Mbodj and David Nyarsuk, who share the center position for UC, will be so important today. Together, they are producing 10.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. But Cronin wants more, not so much from the standpoint of offensive production, but from a rebounding standpoint.
?What I want is consistency of effort on the defensive and end and an offensive toughness and defensive rebounding,? Cronin said.
The 6-foot-10 Mbodj, who was hampered by injuries last year, has slimmed down and become more of a factor as a starter this season, averaging 16.9 minutes per game and averaging 5.2 points with 4.2 rebounds.
?I feel like I?m getting better every day,? Mbodj said. ?I feel much better from where I was at last year. Losing all that weight, it?s a different style of play for me. Last year I was stronger, now I just use my speed to get around people. I feel like that?s my strength now.?
The 7-foot-1 Nyarsuk played last year at an NAIA school and is still feeling his way in Division I. He has averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 16.1 minutes.
?David?s got the double whammy,? Cronin said. ?He?s playing at a higher level and he?s playing in a whole new style of play.?
The Thundering Herd knocked off the Bearcats, 73-69, in overtime on Nov. 25 last year at Fifth Third Arena, out-rebounding the Bearcats by 13 and senior point guard Cashmere Wright hasn?t forgotten.
?They came here and beat us at home so it?s only right that we go get our ?W? back,? Wright said. ?As a senior, we can?t leave with that taste in our mouth that we let them defeat us. ?
But Sean Kilpatrick cautions that it would not be wise to get too carried away about seeking retribution for what happened a year ago when the two teams meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Charleston Civic Center.
?Whatever happened last year happened last year,? Kilpatrick said. ?You can?t really look at it like this is a revenge game because you?ll wind up playing bad if you?re thinking about it like that.?
No. 11 UC (9-0) gets a break Saturday because Marshall guard DeAndre Kane will not play due to a hand injury. Kane leads the Herd in scoring at 16.0 points per game and ranks second nationally in assists with 8.5 per game. Marshall (6-4) has won four of its last five games.
One thing the Bearcats agree on is that UC will have to do a better job of rebounding against a rugged Marshall front line that stands 6-8, 6-10, 6-9, with forward Dennis Tinnon averaging 9.7 rebounds and center Nigel Spikes pulling down 9.2 per game.
That kind of size and those rebounding numbers could pose a problem for a UC team that runs a three-guard offense.
?Defensive rebounding has definitely been a concern of ours,? said UC coach Mick Cronin. ?We?re not going to be the best rebounding team in the country because we play small and quickness is a big factor in what we do. We?re going to have more steals than the other team but that being said, you can?t get outrebounded. You might not dominate your opponent on the glass but you can?t get outrebounded, especially on the defensive backboard.?
That?s the why the play of Cheikh Mbodj and David Nyarsuk, who share the center position for UC, will be so important today. Together, they are producing 10.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. But Cronin wants more, not so much from the standpoint of offensive production, but from a rebounding standpoint.
?What I want is consistency of effort on the defensive and end and an offensive toughness and defensive rebounding,? Cronin said.
The 6-foot-10 Mbodj, who was hampered by injuries last year, has slimmed down and become more of a factor as a starter this season, averaging 16.9 minutes per game and averaging 5.2 points with 4.2 rebounds.
?I feel like I?m getting better every day,? Mbodj said. ?I feel much better from where I was at last year. Losing all that weight, it?s a different style of play for me. Last year I was stronger, now I just use my speed to get around people. I feel like that?s my strength now.?
The 7-foot-1 Nyarsuk played last year at an NAIA school and is still feeling his way in Division I. He has averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 16.1 minutes.
?David?s got the double whammy,? Cronin said. ?He?s playing at a higher level and he?s playing in a whole new style of play.?
