BIG EAST CLASH: ROUND-2 PLAY-OF-THE-DAY

2011 NCAA TOURNAMENT | ROUND 2
Sat Mar 19 | 9:55 PM, EDT | TBS-TV
Verizon Center | Washington, DC

6 CINCINNATI BEARCATS 26-8 | 11-7 Conf (16-13 ATS)
3 CONNECTICUT HUSKIES 27-9 | 9-9 Conf (19-11 ATS)

BIG EAST RIVALS MEET IN ROUND-2

These are both very big physical teams
One Meeting this Year in Cincinnati
UConn shot 50% in Cincy to Capture a tightly played Game
Huskies nudged out to 3-Pt Halftime Lead, & kept Cincy at arms' length to win by 8

FEBRUARY 27, 2011 

    CONNECTICUT 67

    CINCINNATI 59 

Cincinnati's only Loss in a 7-Game Stretch
UConn Win in a 4-Game Stretch
Connecticut held Cincinnati to 41% FG
Bearcats shot inconceivable 4-17 from deep
UConn shot 50% FG in Cincy
Huskies superb 10-19 from behind the 3-Point Line

CINCINNATI

[1]
CIN 6-0 | 175 Soph Cashmere Wright
31 Threes Made (36%)

[2]
CIN 6-3 | 200 Jr Dion Dixon
48 Threes Made (37%)

[3]
CIN 6-4 | 215 Fr Sean Kilpatrick
46 Threes Made (40%)

[4]
CIN 6-6 | 225 Sr Rashad Bishop
38 Threes Made (36%)

[5]
CIN 6-9 | 260 Jr Yancy Gates

CONNECTICUT

[1]
CON 6-0 | 170 Fr Shabazz Nepier
Sensational Defender
(#2 Steal%, 4.4 | & #2 Big East Asst Rate, 24%)

[2]CON 6-1 | 172 Jr Kemba Walker
Staggering THIRD of UConn Offense Channels thru Walker
ALSO - WALKER #1 BIG-EAST, AST RATE (27.6%)

[3]
CON 6-5 | 191 Fr Jeremy Lamb
Decent eFG (53%) | Yet Struggled from Deep (31%)

[4]
CON 6-8 | 207 Fr Rosce Smith
Struggled Offensively in Stretch-4 Role (30% Deep | 41% FG)
Def came on late

[5]
CON 6-9 | 246 Soph Alex Oriakhi
Far above avg Post Numbers & FTA (125 | 63%)

CINCY

CINCY Held BIG-EAST OPPONENTS to 59 PPG
CINCY Held BIG-EAST OPPONENTS to 41% FG

Rematch for Cincy
Bearcats' consistent Defensive Duo
SENIORS Dixon & Bishop
Are very active & surging Defensively on Perimeter

CINCY's Matchup Zone & Slower Pace Is well-suited to Force
CONNECTICUT FRESHMAN TRIO to Beat Cincy from Deep

For all the success UConn has had they do not shoot 3's great
CINCY is defending the Arch far better (30% alwd last 9 Gms) 

BEATCATS won & Covered 4x after UConn Came in an Won at Fifth-Three

We have many indicators
Huskies Feb 27 67-59 Win in Cincy was an aberration
CINCY has had FG Games vs great number of decent Defensive B-East Tms
& Truth of matter is Cincy plays so methodically
They have MOST of their Wins w/o shooting above 44%

UCONN

UConn is talented enigma
Huskies in Big East Play were a whirling dervish of inconsistent play:
5-2 Start
4-7 Close
1-4 Close
Infamous 5 Wins in 5 Day Kemba Walker Garden Party
UCONN 6-1 | 172 Jr KEMBA WALKER
Truly made The Big East Tourney MUST-WATCH Theatre

A big part of Huskies Big-East Run
K Walker ability to flourish wouldn't have been possible 
w/o 3 UConn Fr providing sparkling play:
10-17 FG Combined vs PITT
5-12 FG (survived in OT) vs Syr
10-19 FG vs Louisville

Even though Connecticut beat #1 Seed Pitt
& #4 Seed Syracuse (& GTown)
UConn had benefit of Up-Tempo Team Matchups

TONIGHT'S GAME

UCONN FACTOR THAT STILL JUMPS OUT:
Inexperience
UCONN 3 STARTING FRESHMAN & 1 SOPHOMORE

UCONN
For all Huskies' well-deserved praise
Considering Huskies' were 1-4 & 4-7 Close to Regular Season
Huskies' far-fetched ride to their Big East Conference Title
Is as extraordinary & improbable w/benefit of a full week hindsight    

CINCY
Bearcats' quietly won 6 of their last 7 Regular Season Games
In a Rough-&-Tumble BIG EAST
Bearcats 7-2 ATS Run, Including Dominant 78-63 Win
Round-1 vs Mizzou

Cincy has 4 Starters w/more than 37 made Threes
This force UConn to Perimeter
& Cincy riding hot streak,
Exceedingly unlikely to produce repeat of Feb 27th, 4-17 Three-Pt effort 
& Cincy versatile Half-Court Attack
w/4 Three-Point Shooters
Continues to give Bearcats all the spacing they prefer
In Cincy's painstakingly deliberate Offensive Game
The type of scheme UConn hasn't faced since beating G'Town

UCONN's BIG EAST FG% WAS SHOCKINGLY POOR 41.3% (CONF SEASON)
CINCY FG-DEFENSE WAS #2 BIG-EAST (38.8% ALLOWED) 

Cincinnati
  * DIVERSE LINE-UP
  * EQUAL SIZE
  * EXPERIENCE AT KEY POSITION (PG)
  * UNDER-RATED MOMENTUM
  * DISRUPTIVE PACE 

Cincy is the calculated value play here

2 UNIT
CINCINNATI +5 (BH | Bodog)
CONNECTICUT