By Andrew Krumme And Donnie Niehaus

Although they aren’t Kentucky, the Cincinnati Bearcats have become one of the Cardinals’ biggest rivals in recent years. Both schools have rich traditions (each team is featured in Street and Smith’s Top Ten College Basketball programs of all time) and consistently battle for Conference USA bragging rights. But what was once a mutual respect between the teams has slowly evolved into bitter rivalry.

The Bearcats will continue the rivalry tomorrow night as they drive down Interstate 71 to face the Cards in front of the hostile Freedom Hall crowd. While the Cards pulled off a remarkable comeback during their Jan. 15 rendezvous, the Bearcats were left searching for answers. After being up by as many 15 points in the first meeting, the Bearcats struggled down the stretch without an answer for the Cards’ zone defense and couldn’t make a free throw, eventually losing 69-66.

Since that mid-January meeting, both teams have played well and proven their capabilities. The Cards have won seven games in a row, including the 99-52 dismantling of a decent Marquette ball club and the Cards’ lopsided 105-69 point victory over Tulane Saturday.

Coming off the Louisville loss, the Bearcats responded by beating Charlotte and losing a close game to Wake Forest at home. Despite the loss to the Demon Deacons, Cincinnati showed their toughness by responding to all of Wakes’ weapons.

Louisville clearly has the adavantage talent-wise in the backcourt. Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean and Larry O’Bannon are better defensively and have an edge on the Bearcats’ guards when it comes to scoring. In their last meeting, Garcia was limited to only seven points while Dean and O’Bannon stepped up and dominated the UC guards.

While Nick Williams has been on a hot-streak from beyond the arc, he will have to be even hotter if he wants to come out of Freedom Hall with a win. Bearcat point guard Jihad Muhammed also needs to step up and improve his performance from the last time he met the Cards. At times, Muhammed can be great, and at other times he can be out of control and a liability as the team’s point guard.

Obviously, if Coach Pitino can get his trio of deadly guards the spacing they need, Cincinnati will have a tough time defending against Garcia and company.

While Louisville clearly has the edge in the backcourt, the Bearcats have a huge match-up advantage in the front court. There is no reason why Jason Maxiell, Eric Hicks and freshman Roy Bright should not dominate the Cardinal front line. Ellis Myles, Juan Palacios and Otis George are no match for the Bearcats’ physical and more offensive front line.

While the Louisville-Kentucky game is about bragging rights, the Louisville-Cincinnati meetings always hold great implications. Both teams are currently tied for first in C-USA standings, and tomorrow night’s game could decide who eventually takes home the conference trophy. It will also factor into the conference tournament seedings.

But after being shut down during their first meeting, how will Francisco Garcia play against the physical Bearcats? He has proven that he is a big-time player and consistently leads the team in scoring, but his physical strength has become a concern. Garcia will get a good opportunity to prove his toughness tomorrow.

Another factor in tomorrow night’s game will be how the Bearcats plan on dissecting the Cards’ zone. Although Nick Williams is slowly stepping up, the Bearcats don’t have a Steve Logan, someone who can hit a clutch-jumper at will. If Cincinnati is not hitting jump shots, the game may get away from them.

While Coach Huggins is highly regarded for his recruiting, he isn’t known for his game stategies. With an answer to the Cardinals’ defensive fronts, he can silence the doubters.

Although both teams are ranked in the top 20, the Cardinals appear to finally be playing to their potential. It will be interesting to see how the overachieving Bearcats respond to the “new” Cardinals coming off the last meeting’s defeat.

The winner of this game could gain the momentum it needs to finish the rest of the season on a high note and advance late into March.