by Catherine Taylor
Staff Writer
If the Houston Cougars want to salvage what has been a difficult season, they will have to start by containing Cincinnati's Danny Fortson, one of the top forwards in the country.
The Houston men's basketball team is in Cincinnati today to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats at 6:05 p.m. at the Shoemaker Center.
Both teams are coming off disappointing Saturday losses and will be looking to redeem themselves. Houston lost a close game to Louisville (70-66) after coming back from a 65-57 deficit. The Bearcats dropped a heartbreaker at home to South Carolina (97-83).
The Cougars (11-11 overall, 3-7 in Conference USA) will be concentrating on two areas: ball handling and defensive rebounding. Turnovers have really hurt Houston this year, and the Cougars' ability to control the ball will be a major factor.
"Cincinnati has a very tough trapping defense," said Houston coach Alvin Brooks. "We have to be able to take care of the ball and not get caught in their traps."
The Cougars will have to stop All-American Fortson, who has been averaging 21.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Houston forward Galen Robinson will have his hands full containing the 6-foot-7-inch Fortson, but he has some weapons of his own. Robinson averages 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
Along with Fortson, Cincinnati has two other players, forward Ruben Patterson and guard Darnell Burton, averaging in double digits. Houston will have to concentrate its efforts on keeping control of the boards and stopping the Bearcats from making fatal runs.
The Bearcats' (19-5, 7-1) grueling late-season schedule seems to be taking its toll on the team. Since the beginning of February, Cincinnati has been playing almost every day, and this lack of preparation time showed last Saturday.
"We're not playing near as well defensively, or rebounding near as well as we did earlier this season," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. "When you play every other day, as we have been doing, you lose things fundamentally."
Even not playing as well as they can, the Bearcats have still managed to hold a 7-1 conference record and are 19-5 overall.
The Cougars will be hoping to capitalize on the Bearcats' defensive fatigue with three players averaging more than ten points per game. Along with Robinson, guard Damon Jones is a constant threat, racking up 28 points in his record-setting show against Louisville. Guard/forward Kenya Capers has also established himself as a vital offensive power, averaging 12.7 points per game.
Houston has proven it can compete with the top teams, but competing against and beating them are two different things. Pulling from a thin bench, with only guard Willie Byrd averaging over five points a game, the Cougars will be trying to capitalize on every possession.
Houston has an uphill battle ahead of it if it wants to prove itself in the last stretch of the season. Three of its last four games will be played on the road, starting in Cincinnati, and two of those games will be against top-25 teams.
"Our goal is to continue to improve as a team," Brooks said, "and to use these conference games to prepare for the Conference tournament."