By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

This is unfamiliar terrain for the University of Cincinnati basketball program.

By now, the Bearcats usually have the Conference USA regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament safely tucked away. But this year they find themselves grappling for a first-round bye in next week's tournament in Louisville.

UC (16-9, 8-6 in C-USA) plays UAB (16-9, 8-6) at 8:05 p.m. today at Shoemaker Center. The Bearcats have lost six of their last nine games.

UC coach Bob Huggins cut short practice by an hour Tuesday afternoon so he could travel to Canton to be with his mother, who has cancer. He's expected to return in time for tonight's game.

The winner gets a leg up in the battle for a first-round bye that allows a team to win only three games instead of four to claim the tournament championship.

Memphis and Marquette, winners of their respective divisions, have clinched first-round byes. Louisville, at 10-4 in the league, needs one more win to clinch the third.

On Saturday, UC completes its regular season at No. 8 Marquette. UAB plays at home against No. 18 Memphis. Charlotte (8-6 in the league), Saint Louis (7-7) and Tulane (7-7) also are contending for that final first-round bye, along with DePaul (6-8) and South Florida (6-8), both of which remain in contention mathematically.

This is senior night for UC's Leonard Stokes and point guard Taron Barker, who are playing their final game at Shoemaker Center. They will be honored along with Jimmy Hubbard and Derek Hollman.

Hubbard played in 16 games for UC last season before a back injury ended his career. He already has his degree and is working on his master's. Hollman, who missed last season with a shoulder injury, is a junior-college transfer who could petition the NCAA for another season of eligibility.

Once the emotion of the pre-game ceremony has subsided, there will be serious business to tend to. The Bearcats, who still need a win or two to secure an at-large NCAA berth, understand what's at stake.

"We've got to go all out and leave it on the floor," said junior guard Tony Bobbitt. "We've been saying all year that we have to go out and play, but now we've got to go out and play. You can say what you want to say, but the big hand is on us now."

UAB is led by guard Mo Finley, the third-leading scorer in the league at 18.2 points a game. Under first-year coach Mike Anderson, a former assistant to Nolan Richardson at Arkansas, the Blazers have instituted Richardson's "40 minutes of hell" style, pressing and running their way to 76.6 points a game.

They lead the nation in steals at 12.2 a game. UC has not been vulnerable to full-court pressure this season. In fact, taking care of the ball is one of its strengths. The Bearcats average 10.4 turnovers a game, tops in C-USA and among the top three in the nation.

"They play hard," Huggins said of UAB. "But we have three hours of it every day (in practice)."

Today's lineups:

UAB	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Sidney Hall	Jr.	6-6	4.9
Demario Eddins	Fr.	6-7	10.0
Gabe Kennedy	Jr.	6-9	9.8
Eric Bush	Sr.	5-10	7.8
Morris Finley	Jr.	5-11	18.2

Coach: Mike Anderson (16-9, first season; same overall).

CINCINNATI	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Leonard Stokes	Sr.	6-6	16.0
Jason Maxiell	So.	6-7	12.0
Kareem Johnson	Jr.	6-7	2.5
Field Williams	Jr.	6-3	12.2
Taron Barker	Sr.	6-1	6.4

Coach: Bob Huggins (348-109, 14th season; 516-181 overall).