Kentucky turns up pressure, advances to face Utah

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Bob Huggins' replacement didn't even try to fill his chair.

In his first exhibition game as Cincinnati's interim coach, Andy Kennedy stood and watched the Bearcats struggle through a lethargic first half, then pull away to a 99-71 victory over Hillsdale College on Thursday night.

The uneven showing gave Kennedy his first read on how far the Bearcats have to go to get ready for their first season in the Big East.

"Well, it was a little better in the second half," Kennedy said. "We've got a lot of work to do. I haven't been a head coach for very long, but I could see that."

The first task is to get past the novelty of missing Huggins, who coached the Bearcats for the last 16 seasons. He was forced out in August by school president Nancy Zimpher, who didn't like the program's image.

Kennedy, his top assistant, got the job on an interim basis, taking over a team that returns four starters but has little Division I experience off the bench. It showed in a lot of ways.

Without Jason Maxiell controlling the middle -- he's now in the NBA -- power forward Eric Hicks was the only threat inside. The Bearcats scored only two baskets in the paint during the first 13 minutes, both by Hicks.

Instead, they pushed the ball in a more uptempo pace that Kennedy is installing, getting mixed results. They went 14-of-29 from behind the arc, but got outrebounded 37-36.

Hillsdale, a Division II school that went 15-14 last season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference, stayed close by hitting open 3-pointers against slow-to-react defenders. The Chargers led 30-26 with 6:20 to go, and kept it a game until halftime.

Kennedy was more animated at the start of the second half, screaming directions and pointing out mistakes while the Bearcats took control with a 24-10 spurt. Hicks, Jihad Muhammad and James White finished with 15 points each, leading a lineup that had six players in double figures.

The game drew only 6,163 fans, uncharacteristic for the Bearcats. Their two exhibitions last season attracted 9,950 and 10,326 fans, more typical of exhibitions during the Huggins era.

"Every year that all of us have been here, we'd come out and there's a lot of people there," said Hicks, a senior. "We were kind of shocked to see the empty seats."

Kennedy wore all black, like Huggins often did, but the resemblance ended there. He opened the game by sitting in a folding chair in the middle of the bench -- a place usually reserved for players -- while one of his assistants took Huggins' old spot in the first chair next to the scorer's table.

"We're going to do a lot of things a little differently," Kennedy said.

He didn't stomp his feet or erupt at the officials, two other Huggins hallmarks. Mostly, he stood with his hands on his hips or clasped behind his back during a lackluster first half that ended with Cincinnati ahead 49-40.

Instead of berating his team, Kennedy encouraged it. Asked if that felt different, senior guard Chadd Moore said, "For me it was, anyway. You don't hear that, 'Chadd! What are you doing?' We didn't hear too much of that tonight."

Things were more normal after halftime. Kennedy was quicker to yell instruction or correct a mistake, and the Bearcats played with some of their old swagger. Hicks shook the rim with a showy dunk that made it 87-58.

Even with his team pulling away, Kennedy never sat down.