Sunday, January 24, 1999
UC NOTEBOOK
UC schedule set up like NCAA tourney
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If Cincinnati fans don't believe the Bearcats Conference USA schedule is tough enough to prepare them for the NCAA Tournament, at least its structured to get them ready.
This is the second of three consecutive weeks in which the Bearcats play a Thursday night game followed by a Saturday afternoon game — precisely the format followed in the first two rounds of the NCAAs.
So far, UC coach Bob Huggins is not pleased with how the Bearcats have treated that circumstance. They lost the Thursday game last week. This time, he thought their preparation was substandard on the in-between day.
“If you're a high seed, which hopefully we're going to be a fairly high seed, you're going to play on Thursday night and then on Saturday afternoon,” Huggins said. “Your chance to rest and recuperate isn't there.
“You might as well prepare for that, because it's what's going to happen. This doesn't bode well for March.”
Little action
Huggins said no decision has been made on whether to redshirt freshman center Donald Little, even though it seems likely as his absences mount.
Little, who injured his elbow in December, has not played in the past nine games and said Friday he expects to be out of action perhaps two more weeks.
Fletch, too
UC forward Ryan Fletcher turned his first career double-figure rebounding game into his first career double-double.
He scored 10 points in addition to grabbing 11 rebounds and became the third Bearcat to record a double-double.
Forward Pete Mickeal and center Kenyon Martin each have three.
Since moving to a reserve role three games ago, Fletcher is averaging 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds over that stretch.
Numerology
Bearcats senior point guard Michael Horton played six minutes and did not score and sat through the entire second half. “Generally when you don't "play' in the first half,” Huggins said, “it's hard to play in the second half.”
• UC has beaten Saint Louis 10 consecutive times, its second-longest streak against a Conference USA opponent behind the 16 in a row the Bearcats have won over DePaul.
• Saint Louis' 44-point total was a season-low for a Bearcats opponent.
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