By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats begin Conference USA play tonight knowing that the rest of the league would love nothing better than to see their streak of seven straight league championships come to an end.

What they didn't know late Tuesday afternoon was who their starting point guard would be for today's 8:05 p.m. game against DePaul at Shoemaker Center.

Will it be freshman Chadd Moore, who dazzled UC fans with a 12-point, eight-assist effort in his first career start Saturday against Chattanooga?

Or will senior Taron Barker, who missed that game because of a sore back, reclaim the starting position?

UC coach Bob Huggins was out with the flu Tuesday and didn't issue a decision. It's believed to be the first time in Huggins' 14-season tenure at UC that he has missed a practice because of illness.

"Chadd will play whether he starts or not," said associate head coach Dan Peters, who conducted practice. "That will be up to Coach and he'll make that decision (today). I don't want to speak for Huggs, but I think he might start Taron. ... You could make a case either way."

Peters reasoned Huggins would not deny Barker the start because of an injury.

"There's no question that Chadd gives us some things that Taron doesn't," Peters said. "But Taron, if he wouldn't have gotten hurt, would have continued to start. Is it fair not to start him?"

Barker said he can live with Huggins' decision either way.

"When he calls on me, I'm going to be ready," said Barker, who averages 7.1 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds a game.

Barker said he and his teammates are more focused on maintaining dominance in the league. The Bearcats were picked by the league's coaches to win for the eighth straight time.

"Everybody is coming for us," Barker said. "I don't want to be (on) the only (UC) team that didn't win the conference championship."

Said senior Leonard Stokes: "It's like a tradition here to win it. ... No one wants to be the first team to lose."

The 7-3 Bearcats, who have the longest string of regular-season conference championships in the country, have won 22 of their last 23 games against DePaul. But this Blue Demons team, under new coach Dave Leitao, is 8-2, its best start since the 1993-94 team opened 10-1.

The Blue Demons have improved their defense and intensity. They rank fourth in the league in scoring defense (61.5 points a game) and third in field goal percentage defense (38.6 percent); UC leads in both categories.

"We've been preaching from day one that we have to stop people, and we've been able to do that so far," said Leitao, a former Connecticut assistant and Northeastern head coach.

DePaul is first in C-USA in rebounding margin at plus-7.6 and has four players averaging in double figures, led by junior forward Delonte Holland (14.7) and senior center Sam Hoskin (14.5). Andre Brown, a 6-foot-9 junior, comes off the bench to average 8.1 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Peters said the difference in the Blue Demons is noticeable on tape.

"This team is playing defense," Peters said. "They sustain an effort and they're not taking bad shots, and when things get a little tough, they're playing with much more cohesiveness.

"I think they'll play the full 40 minutes, where in the past you almost could count on there would be somewhere in the game where they would just lay down and die."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

DePAUL	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Quemont Greer	So.	6-7	10.2
Delonte Holland	Jr.	6-7	14.7
Sam Hoskin	Sr.	6-9	14.5
Joe Tulley	Sr.	6-2	10.6
Drake Diener	So.	6-5	7.7

Coach: Dave Leitao (8-2, first season; 30-37 overall).

UC	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Leonard Stokes	Sr.	6-6	14.9
Jason Maxiell	So.	6-7	11.9
Derek Hollman	Jr.	6-7	1.6
Field Williams	Jr.	6-3	11.1
Taron Barker	Sr.	6-1	7.1

Coach: Bob Huggins (339-103, 14th season; 507-175 overall).