By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CHARLOTTE AT UC

Tipoff: Noon, Shoemaker Center (13,176). Records: UC 12-3 (5-0 C-USA); Charlotte 7-8 (2-2). Radio: WLW-AM (700) TV: Ch. 19. Series: UC leads 11-5. CHARLOTTE Player Yr. Ht. PPG Butter Johnson Jr. 6-8 10.0 Eddie Basden So. 6-5 6.1 Tory Reed Jr. 6-8 3.8 Demon Brown Jr. 6-1 17.8 Curtis Nash Sr. 6-6 7.3 Coach: Bobby Lutz (87-58, 5th season; 268-149 overall). UC Player Yr. Ht. PPG Leonard Stokes Sr. 6-6 16.7 Jason Maxiell So. 6-7 11.9 Rod Flowers Jr. 6-8 3.0 Field Williams Jr. 6-3 11.9 Taron Barker Sr. 6-1 6.9 Coach: Bob Huggins (344-103, 14th season; 512-175 overall).

If anybody understands how difficult it has been for Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins to patch together a 12-3 record with only one returning starter, it's Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz.

Lutz returned two starters from last season's 18-12 NCAA Tournament team and is struggling to get his team to .500.

"You have to be impressed by Cincinnati," Lutz said. "To lose what they lost and still be 5-0 in the league at this point is a tribute not only to Bob and his staff but to his players. They just find a way to win."

With only one senior in the starting lineup and three freshmen seeing significant playing time, the 49ers have lost two games in overtime, one game by two points and another - to Marquette, now No. 20 - by three.

"We've got to find a way to make plays to win those games," Lutz said.

The 49ers (7-8, 2-2 Conference USA) will play UC (12-3, 5-0) at noon today at Shoemaker Center, where they haven't beaten the Bearcats in seven tries.

Under Lutz, Charlotte has developed into one of UC's staunchest league rivals, with five wins over the Bearcats since the conference began in 1995-96. Only Marquette, with seven, has more.

The 49ers don't back down from UC.

"They try to come in and try to be tough," said UC guard Field Williams. "But nobody's tough like us in this league."

Williams could find himself in a long-range shooting showdown today with Charlotte guard Demon Brown, who leads the nation with an average of 4.9 3-pointers a game. Brown shoots 43.2 percent from long range and has scored at least 20 points in each of his last three games.

Brown is part of a recent tradition of great 3-point shooters at Charlotte that includes Jobey Thomas and Diego Guevera.

"He's really a little bit of each of those guys," Lutz said. "He's not quite as good as Jobey coming off screens to shoot the 3, but he's a little better off the dribble. Diego was better pulling up off the dribble. Demon can do both of those."

Williams is second in C-USA behind Brown at 3.2 treys per game and is averaging 11.9 points. But he was scoreless Wednesday at East Carolina, where he missed seven shots.

"I don't think they were bad shots," Williams said. "They just didn't drop. I don't change anything. Mostly I just go out and shoot more. I'll go into this game thinking that last game I made every shot."

The 49ers have benefited the last two games from the return of 6-foot-8 junior Calvin Clemons, who missed 10 games because of a partial ligament tear in his left knee. Clemons, who gives Charlotte a stronger physical presence inside, has averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds since his return.

But the 49ers remain a perimeter-oriented team. They've attempted 377 3-pointers - an average of 25 a game.

"We've always tried to recruit 3-point shooters," Lutz said. "I feel where the line is, if you can get a good shooter, it's a great equalizer. It's been good to us."

On defense, Charlotte will use a variety of looks to keep the Bearcats off balance.

"You're going to see every defense that he knows at some point in the game," said Huggins. "They keep throwing them at you until it works."

HUGGINS RETURNS

Huggins returned to practice Friday after spending Thursday in Canton to be with his mother, Norma, who had surgery for colon cancer.

"I'm all right," Huggins said. "I've got to be. But it's going to be a rough go for a while."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com