• 9 p.m. today • TV: ESPN • Live TotalCast • UC: WLW (700) • XU: WKRC (550)

        So they play the game well before March Madness. Call it December Desperation. In tonight's annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout, Cincinnati needs to prove it can beat its archrival. Xavier needs to prove it can beat somebody on the road.

        Forget the it's-only-one-game talk. This is basketball civil war.

        “It's big,” UC sophomore center Donald Little said. “We can't go around the city anymore seeing everybody, and we've got that loss to Xavier (to explain).

        “It was miserable last year. We were the No.1 team in the nation, and everybody didn't look at that, they looked at us losing to Xavier.”

UC players: (Front) Kenny Satterfield, Steve Logan. (Back) Jamaal Davis, Leonard Stokes, Immanuel McElroy, Donald Little. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

XU players: (Front) Lionel Chalmers, Maurice McAfee. (Back) Romain Sato, Lloyd Price, Kevin Frey, , David West. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        XU has similar issues. It gets credit for beating UC three of the past four years but flack for missing the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.

        XU (5-2) has looked poor in losing both its road games this season and has won just six of its last 22 games on opponents' home courts. A victory tonight could help turn that around. A loss could deepen its depression.

        “It's important we win a game — this game or any game,” XU coach Skip Prosser said. “If we do it in their gym, even better. But right now, we have a lot of things we need to work out.”

        UC (4-1) is ranked 17th nationally. Like most years, it appears it might not need this win as much as XU would in terms of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

        But XU's 66-64 upset victory at Cincinnati Gardens will be on the minds of every fan tonight in Shoemaker Center.

        “We're looking for revenge,” UC junior guard Steve Logan said. “I have an extremely bad taste about losing last year.”

        UC leads the series 44-23, though the rivalry is nearly even in recent years. UC has won six of the last 10. Over the last 20 years, XU is ahead 11-9.

        UC will be favored, but XU has more experience. Four Musketeers who started in last year's Shootout are back, but just one such Bearcat (Logan). Seven XU players have Shootout experience; just three of UC's do.

        XU's returning starters — senior Maurice McAfee, juniors Kevin Frey and Lloyd Price and sophomore David West — haven't yet hit on all cylinders. Price has hardly played since spraining an ankle a month ago, McAfee is in a shooting slump, and West and Frey have been inconsistent.

        “Those four guys have to play well for us to play well,” Prosser said. “When they all play consistently good, we'll be consistently good.”

        UC had multiple fears after an 18-point loss to Notre Dame. But the Bearcats were sharper in winning at Dayton and blitzing Oakland (Mich.) on Monday.

        “They're all going to play hard,” UC coach Bob Huggins said. “They got the message, I think, after (Monday) night: Play hard or don't play.”

        Huggins was pleased with several reserves who excelled Monday. He calls Little's play inconsistent and notes that during UC's 23-0 run that turned around Monday's game, Little was on the bench the whole time.

        Huggins also must address his team's .264 3-point shooting. His top shooter, Logan, is just 5-of-22 (.227) from long range.

        XU has no advantage there, because it's shooting just .291 on 3-pointers. McAfee is 6-of-30 (.200).

        XU, still debating whether Price will start, must have him be effective. He has scored just 13 points this season — same as his per-game average last year.

        “I ain't going to worry about (the ankle),” Price said. “I may have a limp, but I can't let this bother me.”

        This Shootout should live up to its name, because both teams love to push the pace. XU fears the speed of UC point guard Kenny Satterfield (18.4 ppg). UC fears an XU press that is forcing an average of 20.7 turnovers a game.

        Both teams have scouted each other all season. Expect gimmick defenses and chess-game coaching.

        In the end, though, this is a players' game.

        “These games aren't really about Xs and Os,” Frey said. “They're about what you have inside.”

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