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

        Enquirer reporters Michael Perry and Neil Schmidt analyze the matchups and make their prediction:

        POINT GUARD

        • Kenny Satterfield will need to keep his team poised and in control in a game that often has many emotional swings. Satterfield must take care of the ball and make some outside shots. UC will have to handle some full-court pressure from XU.

        • Senior Maurice McAfee is expected to return to his spot as the starting point guard, which could abate a slump caused in part by his playing out of position. His scoring average (7.6 ppg) is only half what it was last year, and he is making only 20 percent of his 3-point tries. If he doesn't shoot well, he must still calm his teammates and contribute in other ways.

        • Edge: UC

SHOOTING GUARD

        • This will be Steve Logan's third Shootout, and he has played significant min utes in the previous two. He scored 17 against XU as a freshman. Logan needs to shoot the ball well. He or Satterfield will likely have a freshman guarding them and need to take advantage.

        • Freshman Romain Sato could be a candidate to lose his starting spot in favor of contributions off the bench. He has averaged just 5.0 points in XU's two road games and been a defensive liability. But his sheer athleticism makes him invaluable. His 6.6 rebounding average ranks second on the team. Freshmen rarely excel in such a high-pressure environment, but Sato could surprise.

        • Edge: UC

        SMALL FORWARD

        • Leonard Stokes needs to rebound and score, but one of his big roles might be his defense on XU's small forwards Lloyd Price and Romain Sato. Both are capable of exploding offensively, and Stokes has to make sure that doesn't happen. He did a good job on Dayton's Tony Stanley and won the Marshall game with a great defensive play on Tamar Slay, so he's up for the task.

        • Junior Lloyd Price will likely make his first start of the season, having sufficiently rehabilitated a month-old ankle injury. His tantalizing talent makes him an X-factor tonight, and if he's leaping with abandon, it could be a huge help for XU. He was a strong outside shooter in preseason and could factor that way tonight.

        • Edge: UC

        POWER FORWARD

        • Jamaal Davis has never played in a Shootout, and he will need to be ready for how hard XU and its power forward Kevin Frey will play. Frey was a key for Xavier in last year's Shootout. Davis will have to keep him off the boards and play good defense.

        • < Junior Kevin Frey is XU's leading scorer (13.0 ppg), though XU's coaches continue to push him to play inside. Six of his nine shots last Saturday at Princeton were 3-point attempts. He got cranked up for this game last year and scored 12 critical points, so his experience is invaluable. Expect his best.

        • Edge: XU

        CENTER

        • Donald Little has had some dominating moments, and has also had times when he disappears. He needs to stay out of foul trouble, grab and hold on to rebounds and hustle for loose balls. He needs to match David West's intensity.

        • Sophomore David West is the centerpiece of the offense, the option XU's coaches want to exploit early and often. West, in turn, has become the team's most vocal leader. He was dominant in totaling 18 points and 11 rebounds last Saturday at Princeton, and he would have scored more if XU had been able to feed him more often.

        • Edge: XU

        BENCH

        • Before Monday night, UC had gotten minimal production from its reserves, none of whom have ever played in a Shootout. Immanuel McElroy will have to play well. UC could use some points from Antwan Jones. B.J. Grove could be a factor if Little gets in foul trouble. Rodney Crawford provides energy.

        • There are likely four or fewer reserves who will play: Lionel Chalmers (assuming he doesn't start), Reggie Butler, Dave Young and Alvin Brown. Chalmers is a speedster who could keep pace with Kenny Satterfield and maybe bury some 3-pointers. The others have all been up and down, though each is capable of providing a necessary spark.

        • Edge: EVEN

        COACHING

        • UC has lost three of the past four games against Xavier. Bob Huggins is 6-5 against the Musketeers and sure doesn't want to lose a second straight time, especially on his home court.

        • Skip Prosser has won three of the last four in this series to tie Bob Huggins at 3-3. His coaching in the upsets of top-ranked Bearcat teams in 1996 and last year were his finest hours. Prosser must mold the psyche of an inconsistent team which has been especially poor on the road.

        • Edge: EVEN

        INTANGIBLES

        • The game is at Shoemaker Center, where UC has won 30 of its past 31 and is 49-2 since the 1997-98 season. XU's only victory ever at Shoemaker came on Lenny Brown's last-second shot in November '96.

        • Foul trouble could cripple XU, especially inside. It's hard to know what the rookies -- Chalmers, Sato and Young -- will provide. McAfee is bound to shake his shooting slump at some point, and if it's tonight then UC is in trouble. The Shoemaker Center crowd may be able to rattle XU.

        • Edge: UC

        SCORE: UC 74-67

Big stakes, big reward in Shootout SULLIVAN: Tickets few, hard to find Fanaticism, new events spring from UC-XU rivalry Satterfield pivotal for UC Who will be the rising star? Each team's keys to winning Who's got the edge? Highlights of recent Shootouts Holley leaves UC women's team UC's Ruffin named AP All-American

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