Huskies-Bearcats: A Preview Of Connecticut's Clash With Cincinnati

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30, 2009

No. 10 Connecticut Huskies (9-2) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (8-3)

The No. 10 Connecticut Huskies will open conference play against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH.

The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 10, 2009. The Bearcats fell to the Huskies 81-72.

Playing its first game since dropping out of the top 25, the Bearcats held off Winthrop for a 74-57 victory in its final non-conference game before getting into Big East play Sophomore forward Yancy Gates scored 16 points to lead the Bearcats in the win.

There is not question that Cincinnati has done a good job building a tough team that rebounds hard and plays defense. Now they need to find their offensive identity to get back into the top 25.

Top young recruit Lancy Stephenson, may be part of that identity. He leads the Bearcats in scoring with 12.5 points a game going into the Christmas break. One area the Bearcats could improve is free throw percentage. They are just 29 percent from the stripe.

Senior forward Stanley Robinson scored a season-high 29 points and Jerome Dyson added 17 as UConn beat Iona 93-74 on Sunday.

The win notched the Huskies 143rd victory out of its last 144 home games against non-league competition. UConn has been very good at times this season but will now start Big East play where the squad’s weaknesses will be exposed.

The Huskies have lacked the ability to get open against tough defenders, which has them shooting just 46 percent from the field. Defensively they have struggled against backdoor cuts and screens and have lacked total focus for an entire 40 minutes.

The odds makers have the Bearcats as minus one-and-a-half–point favorites with a game total of 132.

The Bearcats should be able to attack the Huskies lack of depth and challenge the UConn front court, while keeping them off the charity strip where they are shooting 66 percent. The Bearcats are 6-0 at home.

Expect the Bearcats to win this one with home court advantage.

Connecticut Huskies Basketball Betting Trends

• Connecticut is 5-1 SU in its last six games
• Connecticut is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in seven of Connecticut’s last eight games on the road

Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Betting Trends

• Cincinnati is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
• Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last five games at home