Winning In The Front Court Key For Bearcats In Crosstown Shootout

Reeling from consecutive conference losses to Temple and Tulane, the Cincinnati Bearcats don’t have an easier go of things this Wednesday when they host the Xavier Musketeers in the annual Crosstown Shootout.

Xavier is one of the top offensive teams and even though they can’t play a lick of defense to save their lives, the Musketeers can reel off points with the best of them. The key has been a front court that can score in a number of ways. Matt Stainbrook, for as much as he looks like a goofy son of a bitch, is one of the best centers in the Big East, let alone college basketball.

Cincinnati Bearcats

The 6’10”, 270 lbs forward knows how to throw his big body around in the paint, allowing Xavier to pile up easy points around the bucket while simultaneously taking pressure off the guards. Stainbrook is averaging a solid 12.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Most impressively is his ability to hit free throws, which he’s doing so at a rate of 78% this season. In essence, Stainbrook has no problem picking up a few bruises to get his points.

Making matters even more complicated is true freshman Trevon Bluiett. The athletic three-man is leading all Xavier scorers averaging 12.5 points per game and snagging rebounds at a rate of 4.6 per game. Bluiett is the ideal player to take advantage of Stainbrooks size underneath. With the 6’10” center occupying space and most of the opposing front court’s attention, Bluiett uses his unique blend of size, speed, and scoring ability to drive the lane for quick buckets.

It’s a deadly combination that Cincinnati needs to be mindful of on Wednesday, especially when these two areas have been problematic for the Bearcats. Say what you want about UC’s guards of late, and there’s been plenty, but this game teeters on Cincinnati’s front court exerting their dominance on both ends of the floor.

While Octavius Ellis can go for 9 and 7 on any given night, he’s far too slender to take on larger big men, like Stainbrook, for 30 to 35 minutes per game. Plus he’s just not all that aggressive with the ball in his hand when the play is ran through him. Instead of using his length and athleticism to get an easy basket, Ellis too often opts for an outlet pass, bogging down the play or causing the guards to hit the reset button and try something else.

Then there’s Gary Clark. He’s been sensational as a true freshman but seems to have hit the wall of late, averaging just 4.6 points and 4.2 boards in the last five games. Like Ellis, he’s been getting into the nasty habit of over thinking with the ball in his hand in the paint and not using his god given abilities to drain an easy two.

Finally, there’s Bluiett’s counterpart Shaq Thomas. The junior has displayed spurts of excellence this season, as he has for most of his career, but becomes a ghost far too frequently to be relied upon for long stretches.

Plus, none of them can shoot free throws. To be fair, Ellis was solid on the whole this year but has hit a rough patch of late. Even so I’m not convinced they can collectively match what Stainbrook and Bluiett bring to the table offensively. They, like the rest of the Bearcats, will have to rely on their defense to bring the Musketeers’ front court to a halt.

Ellis is one of the best shot blockers in college basketball and both Clark and Thomas have the length to attack passing lanes, picking up easy steals. Plus as a front court unit, they’ve been solid at grabbing defensive rebounds. This will be a huge factor on Wednesday. For all the good Xavier does scoring the ball, they’re quite terrible on the offensive glass. Part of that could be the fact that they shoot 48.1% from the field and aren’t allotted a whole lot of opportunities by way of missed shots. But even Stainbrook and partner in the paint James Farr are only grabbing 2 and 1.3 offensive rebounds per game respectively.

To their own offense, Cincinnati’s front court needs to do a far better job collective grabbing missed shots against the Musketeers than they’ve done recently. Xavier doesn’t do a whole heck of lot of things right defensively but are second in the Big East in defensive boards, grabbing 24.7 per game. The Bearcats struggle scoring the ball as it is and if this turns out to be a fast paced game (it will be), they’ll need to get as many opportunities as possible to get a lead and keep it.

At the end of the day, Cincinnati wins games based on their defense. Not only that, they do so by shutting down opposing front courts in both man-to-man and zone. That’s been the formula for success this season more so than Troy Caupain’s ability to drive the lane or Farad Cobb’s three’s. The spotlight’s on the front court and they need to have a sensational game on Wednesday if the Bearcats have any hope of taking down the Musketeers.