University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
#1 Cincinnati
Men's Hoops Falls To No. 1 Cincinnati, 75-55
Jan 19, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2000
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) - Kenyon Martin has never been better. Martin scored a career-high 28 points, had 13 rebounds and tied the school record with 10 blocks Wednesday, steadying top-ranked Cincinnati to a 75-55 victory over Memphis on an otherwise off-night for the Bearcats.
"Kenyon Martin may be the best player in the country," said Memphis coach Johnny Jones, who had set his game plan to try and contain the 6-foot-9 center. "I'll tell you, he gets my vote."
He was Cincinnati's most valuable player - and only consistent player - in a game that didn't open up until the final minutes.
Martin scored seven consecutive points late in the game, allowing Cincinnati (17-1, 5-0 Conference USA) to finally shake free of the Tigers. Cincinnati turned a close game into a blowout with a closing 21-9 run as Memphis (8-9, 1-3) pressed in desperation.
Afterward, the only question was whether anyone else in the country is better than Cincinnati's senior center.
"I don't know who has more of an effect on a game," coach Bob Huggins said. "Some may score more, but they don't play the tough defense like him, they don't block shots and get the tough rebounds like him."
It was a one-man show at the outset. Memphis opened the game in a staggering shooting slump - the Tigers went just 1-for-20, and that basket came on a goaltending call against Martin.
"We kept trying to pound it inside and they did a great job defending the goal with blocked shots," said Keiron Shine, who led Memphis with 20 points. "We decided we were going to have to shoot from the outside for a while."
That's how much of an impact Martin had on the game: He blocked six of the Tigers' first 20 shots over en eight-minute spurt.
"It ain't never went like that," Martin said. "They just kept coming. I guess they just had to learn."
Instead of putting the Tigers away, Cincinnati struggled because it couldn't make many shots, either. The Bearcats missed their first nine 3-point attempts and led only 54-46 with 7:53 left when Martin took control.
He scored on a pull-up jumper, a free throw, an alley-oop dunk and a dunk off a rebound, pushing the lead to 13 points and starting the closing spurt.
Martin became the 38th Cincinnati player to reach 1,000 career points and once again matched the team record for blocked shots. Martin also blocked 10 DePaul shots in 1998, gaining a share of the record with Rick Roberson and Jim Ard.
Asked whether the points or the blocks give him more pleasure, Martin said, "Blocking shots, any day."
Cincinnati stretched its home winning streak to 40 games, third-longest in the nation, despite going only 3-of-18 on 3-point attempts and struggling to keep up with Memphis on the boards.
Memphis tried to play Cincinnati man-to-man at the outset - a very bad move. Martin took advantage of sophomore center Kelly Wise, scoring on a layup, a one-hand turnaround bank shot and a jumper in an opening 8-0 run.
At that point, Memphis went to a zone and Cincinnati bogged down, allowing the Tigers to cut it to 19-17 on Marcus Moody's bank shot with 4:38 left.
Pete Mickeal's dunk off a drive ended a 4-for-16 shooting slump by Cincinnati and enraged Jones, who was assessed a technical foul which turned out to be pivotal. Steve Logan hit the two free throws, Cincinnati kept the ball and Mickeal's follow-up basket rebuilt the lead to 25-17. Memphis never got within two points again.
"Unfortunately, I picked up the technical right there when we were down two," Jones said. "They got to make the two free throws and the shot afterward."
Cincinnati's front line rejected one inside shot after another - the Bearcats had 10 blocks in the first half, seven by Martin. But the rejections came at a price: Memphis was in better positions for rebounds and had a 27-22 edge at halftime.
The lead fluctuated between four and 10 points until Martin took over. Once they fell behind by double digits, the Tigers tried to press in the closing minutes and gave up easy baskets, making the final score lopsided.
