Thankful for Cincinnati sports

As we gather around with friends and family this Thanksgiving, football isn't the only sport in Cincinnati to be excited about. Plenty of college basketball games tip off in the Tri-State, with enough holiday cheer to go around.

Miami RedHawks -- Basketball

11/21 @ William & Mary, 7:00 p.m.
11/24 vs. James Madison, 12:00 p.m.

Xavier Musketeers -- Basketball

11/22 vs. Pacific, 11:00 a.m. PT, in Anaheim, Cal. (DirectTV Classic)

UC Bearcats -- Basketball

11/23 vs. Iowa State, 6:30 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev. (Global Sports Invitational)

11/24 vs. Oregon or UNLV, TBA in Las Vegas, Nev. (Global Sports Invitational)

UC Bearcats -- Football

11/23 vs. South Florida, 7:00 p.m.

Miami RedHawks -- Football

11/23 vs. Ball State, 1:00 p.m.

Cincinnati Bengals

11/25 vs. Oakland Raiders, 1:00 p.m.

Weekend preview: 11/16-11/18

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UC Bearcats -- Football

Kickoff: 11/17, noon

UC: 7-2 (3-1 Big East), on a two-game winning streak

Rutgers: 8-1 (4-0 Big East), lost first game three weeks ago against Kent State

Game notes: With three Big East games left, Rutgers sits atop the conference and could be dethroned with a Cincinnati upset. The Bearcats currently sit in third place in the Big East behind 4-1 Louisville, who are on bye this week.

Robert Morris Colonials @ Xavier Musketeers -- Basketball

Tip-off: 11/17, 2 p.m.

Xavier: 2-0

Robert Morris: 1-2, big losses to the Rider Broncos on 11/9 and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Nov. 12, but defeated Fordham (an Atlantic 10 team, same conference as Xavier) 74-58 on 11/13.

Game notes: After handing it to Butler on Tuesday, most Muskie fans are probably overlooking this game. The Colonials got off to a rocky start, but a win against an A-10 team, even a basement A-10 team, tells Coach Chris Mack and Xavier that Robert Morris is quite capable of the upset.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

Kickoff: 11/18, 1 p.m.

Cincinnati: 4-5 (1-3 in AFC North, 3rd place)

Kansas City: 1-8 (0-6 in AFC West, last place)

Game notes: If ever there was a should, must, have-to-for-the-sake-of-our-dignity win for Cincinnati, it's against the Chiefs this weekend. Don't get too cocky, though, as the Chiefs almost pulled off the upset against the Steelers at Heinz Field last week, showing they're a team desperate for a win. The Chiefs turn the ball over like crazy, so look for the Bengals' defense to make some big plays with Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel under center.

North Carolina A&T Aggies @ #24 UC Bearcats -- Basketball

Tip-off: 11/18, 2 p.m.

UC: 2-0

North Carolina A&T: 1-1, plays Wright State on 11/16, lost 64-55 to Utah Valley on 11/12

Game notes: Another "tune-up game" for the Bearcats, UC shouldn't struggle much against a team who lost by nine to the mighty Wolverines--the Utah Valley Wolverines, that is.

Miami RedHawks @ #2 Louisville Cardinals -- Basketball

Tip-off: 11/18, 4 p.m.

Miami: 1-1, lost to #6 North Carolina State on 11/9, then defeated Grambling State 80-54 on 11/13.

Game notes: Should be a blowout in the 'Ville, but you never know. May just be worth a watch.

Two-minute drill

Ah, November. College basketball began this week, and football is well under way. Here is the two-minute recap of sports action in the Queen City this weekend.

UC Bearcats -- Football

Cincinnati 34, Temple 10

The Bearcats travelled to Philadelphia and destroy the Owls, with red-shirt senior quarterback Brandon Kay making his first career start. Kay went 13-21 passing with 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Miami RedHawks -- Football

Kent State 48, Miami 32

Oxford experienced its first home loss of the season, but experienced Zach Dysert's 455-performance moved him to 26th on the NCAA all-time passing yards list.

Xavier Musketeers -- Basketball

Xavier 117, Farleigh Dickinson 75

The Musketeers hosted the Knights in their season opener, with sophomore guard Dee Davis setting career highs in points (22) and assists (15). Seven Xavier players finished with double-digit points.

Miami RedHawks -- Basketball

N.C. State 97, Miami 59

Traveling to Raleigh for the first game of the John Cooper era, the RedHawks fell to #6 N.C. State. Junior guard Allen Roberts led Miami in scoring with 16. 

UC Bearcats -- Basketball

Cincinnati 80, Tennessee-Martin 57

Senior guard Cashmere Wright led the Bearcats in the season opener with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati 31, New York Giants 13

In quite possibly the biggest shock of the Sunday, the Bengals took down the world champion Giants a week after Pittsburgh did the same. Andy Dalton threw four touchdown passes with 199 yards, while Eli Manning threw for no touchdowns and 215 yards. The Bengals are now 4-5 and remain in third place in the AFC North.

Previews in the paint: Miami

It's the dream of every retiring coach to go out on a high note.

For Charlie Coles, the 2011-2012 was more about injuries than wins, a finish no coach dreams of. The RedHawks went a dismal 9-21 in Coles' 16th season as Miami's coach, the school's worst single-season win percentage since 1969-70. 

Despite the brutal record, Coles, 70 years old, still left a winner.  He finished as Miami's all-time leader in wins with 263, as well as the MAC's all-time victory leader with 218, some of that time spent at Central Michigan.

With Coles enjoying retirement, John Cooper will lead the RedHawks after leading a program revival at Tennessee State University, ending the school's streak of 15 straight losing seasons.  Coopers' Tiger squad was the only team to beat Murray State in the regular season and lost by just two points in the Ohio Valley championship game.

Cooper inherits an interesting squad, to say the least.  Last season's All-MAC forward Julian Mavunga, who led the RedHawks in every statistical category except 3-pointers and steals, has graduated.  The second-leading scorer, then freshman guard Brian Sullivan, transferred to Davidson following Cooper's arrival in Oxford.

That leaves an obvious hole in the Miami offense, but some veterans are ready to fill them.  Bill Edwards, who was injured last season, should be good to go.  He started strong last season with a 14 point, 10 rebound game against Dayton and a 21 point, eight rebound game against Xavier.  After seven games though, he underwent season-ending surgery on his wrist.  The RedHawks will rely on his health for their front-court game this season.

Also a 2011-2012 injured player, redshirt junior guard Allen Roberts will return to the RedHawks' lineup.  In his sophomore season, Roberts averaged 7.9 points in 24 minutes per game.

Charlie Coles' influence will remain at Miami in several ways, especially in the scheduling. Loving to prepare for the MAC season with a loaded non-conference schedule, the RedHawks will meet #3 Louisville, #6 NC State, and Dayton. While that may not help a coach in his inaugural season, Miami could prove to be a surprise in the MAC. In the MAC East Division preseason poll, though, the RedHawks are predicted to finish last.

Building supply brawls

With the Bengals on bye this week, the Queen City will turn to the collegiate landscape to get its football fix. A pair of rivalry games should make things interesting.

Cincinnati Bearcats @ #16 Louisville Cardinals

In the 52nd Battle of the Keg of Nails (although I'm not sure why anyone would want a keg of nails), the Big East standings could finally get some clarification. The Cardinals (2-0 in Big East play) are currently in second place behind #15 Rutgers (4-0 Big East record), while Cincinnati (1-0 Big East record) rounds out the third spot. UC leads the all-time series between the schools 29-21-1, with the Bearcats winning the last four meetings. Cincinnati also holds a 13-9-1 advantage in games played at Louisville and has a two-game winning streak at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

At times, the Cincinnati offense has been of quality caliber, with running back George Winn averaging 101 yards per game, and quarterback Munchie Leguax averaging 283 total offensive yards. The defense has allowed only 16.8 points per game, along with racking up the tackles for loss. The front of their schedule is loaded with cupcake teams (Delaware State, Fordham), and their only big win has been on opening night against Pittsburgh. To be fair, though, the 'Cats showed up when their Big East record was on the line.

The Cardinals have stumbled over an easy non-conference schedule, looking much more unimpressive than their ranking and 7-0 overall record would suggest. Quarterback Terry Bridgewater has lived up to expectations with a 73 percent completion rate and 11 touchdowns, but the rest of the team has been average to above average at everything. That's what happens when you beat UNC, South Florida, Florida International, and Southern Mississippi by a combined 18 points.

As you can see, both teams are largely untested in big games, and the winner of this matchup will likely contest Rutgers for the conference title.

#24 Ohio Bobcats @ Miami RedHawks

The Battle of the Bricks (seriously, what's up with fighting over construction supplies?) finds itself in Oxford on Saturday as the Bobcats travel to Yager Stadium.

Ohio hit the national spotlight in Week 1 with a win over Penn State, but haven't faced any real competition since that game. Their 3-0 conference record puts them at second in the MAC-East division, but those three wins came against UMass, Akron and Buffalo--arguably the three worst MAC teams. The RedHawks, too, have posted wins against UMass and Akron, but fell to Bowling Green and third place in the MAC-East standings. Miami (2-1 MAC record) could lock a spot in the conference championship game by winning their five remaining MAC games.

The biggest statistical story to watch during this game is that of RedHawk quarterback Zac Dysert, a member of the NCAA's exclusive 10.00 yard club. Dysert currently is in 61st place with 10,444 career passing yards. A 17th career passing effort could move Dysert past Boston College's Dough Flutie (1,579), USC's Matt Leinart (10,693) and Marshall's Chad Pennington (10,698).