Postgame Replay: Cincy 78, USF 70

Posted Jan 20, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jan 20, 2010 at 10:58 PM

The USF men’s basketball team lost for the fifth time in six games Wednesday night at Cincinnati, falling 78-70 to the Bearcats.

Click here for the boxscore.

Here are five thoughts about USF’s latest loss:

** Injured forward Gus Gilchrist can’t get healthy soon enough. Gilchrist could have made a huge difference in tonight’s game when Cincinnati’s top two frontcourt players—F Yancy Gates and C Steve Toyloy—each picked up their third fouls early in the second half.

** Transfer G Anthony Crater has yet to make much of an impact since becoming eligible. Crater provides some much-needed depth, but in 32 minutes Wednesday, he missed all three of his 3-point shots and finished with four points and three assists. In four games, Crater is shooting just 20.8 percent (5 of 24), and just 2-for-19 from beyond the 3-point line.

** Too bad USF coach Stan Heath can’t clone junior G Dominique Jones. Jones led the Bulls with 21 points, but as Jones said after the loss to West Virginia last week, he can’t do it alone.

** Five Bulls played 32 minutes or more, with junior F/C Jarrid Famous logging a team-high 39 minutes. Famous had a respectable game—14 points, 7 rebounds—but he doesn’t provide the inside-outside threat that Gilchrist does to force opponents to work harder defensively.

** I just can’t get around how bad a fit the Big East is for USF. The Bulls were optimistic following a 10-2 start, but at 1-5 in the Big East, USF is now 12-62 in league play over the past five seasons.