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Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners | Three Keys

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Breakeven on the Glass

Oklahoma is a beastly team on the rebounds, particularly on the offensive glass. Oklahoma makes a real concerted effort to attack the glass. Even when healthy this year the Bearcats effort on the glass didn't quite measure up to previous seasons under Mick Cronin. The problem has been more profound with the need to play 4 guards given teams a chance to beat the Bearcats up on the glass. UC is 2 and 2 in terms of winning the rebounding margin since the suspensions. I don't think the Bearcats need to win the rebounding battle to beat Oklahoma, but they can't get destroyed.

Rise And Fire

If there is an issue with this Oklahoma teams it is most decidedly defensive in nature. Oklahoma is OK defensively, but they aren't great by any stretch of the imagination. The thing that jumps out to me is that they don't defend the three point line particularly well. Teams have shot 32.6 percent behind the line which is average, but what's not average is that teams score 32.7 of all their points from behind the arc, which ranks 290th in the nation. Sean Kilpatick, Dion Dixon and Cashmere Wright have all been on three point tears. That must continue.

Ge'Lawn Guyn and Jeremiah Davis

This promises to be a high scoring game. Both teams are going to try to push the tempo and play and up and down game. Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick are both reasonably well suited to grind out 30 or 35 minutes. Cashmere Wright is not. His effective minute ceiling is probably 30 minutes a game. Anything over that enters the land of magically diminishing returns. Guyn and Davis have to combine to give 15 productive minutes to keep Cash near 100 per cent in crunch time.