---

If the Bearcats want to keep their conference and March Madness aspirations alive, Saturday at Fifth Third Arena needs to be their day, especially since they’ve had a week to prepare for the game.

Roughly two weeks ago, the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team had just defeated No.10 UConn to push its Big East record to 5-1 — second place behind only Syracuse at the time.

With a 3-point reliant offense, scrappy defense and sophomore Sean Kilpatrick’s picture plastered on the front page of ESPN.com, the Cats were the proverbial new team in town and looked like a squad destined for March Madness.

Unfortunately, NCAA basketball is a “what have you done for me lately” society; and lately, the
Cats have made mistakes that looked far more like the errors of a team that dropped early season games to lowly Presbyterian and Marshall.

After dropping three-straight Big East games — a controversial loss at West Virginia, a tough defeat at the hands of Syracuse, and an embarrassment last Saturday at Rutgers — The Bearcats (15-7, Big East 5-4) find themselves in an absolute must-win contest against the DePaul University Blue Demons (11-9, Big East 1-6).

With a full week to prepare for the Blue Demons, the Cats must find a way to limit turnovers like they did prior to their three-game losing stretch.

Before the West Virginia game, UC was ranked ninth in the nation in turnover margin; but double digit turnovers directly contributed to all three of the Cats’ recent defeats.

Despite DePaul’s lackluster record, they are not a team that is to be taken lightly. The Blue Demons boast one of the best players in the Big East in sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin, who is averaging 17 points and nearly seven rebounds per game.

Melvin is the defending Big East Conference Rookie of the Year, and he is complemented nicely by fellow sophomore guard Brandon Young (16 ppg.)

UC senior Yancy Gates has been playing his best basketball of the season despite the Cats’ recent woes, and he’ll look to shut down Melvin in the paint.

DePaul does not do any one thing particularly well, but they are exactly the type of team that can hang around in a game if given the opportunity to take advantage of turnovers and uninspired play.

The Blue Demons are also coming off a solid win against the same Rutgers squad that embarrassed UC just a few days ago.

In the Big East Conference, records and rankings are irrelevant — it’s an any-given-day league if there ever was one.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.