Muskies celebrate 1997 victory. (Saed Hindash photo) | ZOOM |

        Gary Lumpkin speaks for many.

        “Let's just play,” Xavier's senior point guard said Wednesday. “Just roll it out there already.”

        Time for the hype to stop and the game to begin.

        Fifth-ranked Cincinnati will try to end 26 months of Xavier's reign in the city when the two teams meet tonight in the 66th Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Game time is 9:30 p.m.; a national television audience will be watching on ESPN.

        UC's Shoemaker Center is expected to be packed with 13,176 fans, most of whom will be pulling for the Bearcats (18-1) to end a two-game losing streak to their city rival.

        Is revenge on their minds for their losses in 1996 and 1997?

        “I've heard that from, like, 12,000 UC people; I haven't heard that from our guys,” Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins told more than 900 people at Wednesday's Crosstown Shootout luncheon. “Our guys have taken it as business as usual.”

        Both teams have had since Saturday to prepare for this game and endure the non-stop buzz that consumes the city.

        The Musketeers (15-4) boast a 10-game winning streak yet remain unranked. They come into tonight's game as a 13-point underdog. Their only victory ever in Shoemaker came in November 1996 on Lenny Brown's last-second jump shot.

        “I don't think anybody expects us to win — again,” XU coach Skip Prosser said. “But somewhere in the back of their minds, people remember two years ago.”

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