MORGANTOWN - When Bob Huggins first imparted the wisdom upon the subject, he was coaching the Cincinnati Bearcats and grooming a young assistant named Mick Cronin.

So many years later now, it's Cronin coaching at UC while Huggins is at West Virginia. As fate would have it, that advice is at the center of tonight's 7 p.m. ESPN2 game at the Coliseum.

It's the first time Cronin will go against Huggins and the first reunion of Huggins and UC, both of which made one another great.

"The one big thing he told me is you have to stay strong," Cronin said. "Ask him about that. He'll smile because he knows what it means. You've got to stay strong. It's tough, but the best ones can."

Perhaps Cronin does not know his mentor, of whom he says, "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him," so well. Huggins did not smile - and Cronin likely knew that - but did explain his philosophy and its importance.

"You have to do that," Huggins said. "You're going to have ups and downs throughout the course of the season and the people who deal with them the best are going to win the most. We all have down times, but you can't let the down times ruin the rest of your year."

Cincinnati (9-11, 4-4 Big East) has lived the ups and downs in Cronin's second season in charge. The Bearcats lost to Belmont and Bowling Green in non-conference play and to St. John's and Seton Hall within the Big East, but have beaten Miami (Ohio) out of conference and Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse and Villanova in the conference.

"We're still not very happy losing the last two games by a combined four points," Cronin said of the St. John's and Seton Hall losses. "Our guys right now are unhappy with what's going on because we haven't been able to get over the hump in the last two.

"We're still young and don't have the depth and the experience and the toughness of some of the teams that we'll probably see shake out at the top of the league at the end of the year."

The Mountaineers (15-5, 4-3) haven't been as volatile, but are at a critical point right now. Currently No. 34 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index, they lost to Georgetown Saturday when a potential game-winning layup was blocked at the buzzer. After tonight they play six of the final 10 games on the road, where they are 1-2 in Big East play this season.

"You have to look at the whole picture and where you're going," Huggins said.

"You don't win a race in the first 10 yards. You have to complete the race. It's a long season. We play 31 regular-season games. That's a lot of games so you have to try to maintain an even keel.

"You can't let them come out flat, but you really shouldn't come out so emotional that they're geeked up and can't respond the next game."

Emotion is a concern tonight because the onus upon the game is obvious.

Cronin got his first break when in 1996 Huggins hired the junior varsity head coach to be UC's video coordinator. A year later, Cronin was an assistant coach and ultimately in charge of recruiting. His respect for Huggins is unmistakable, so much so that he describes Huggins' forced departure from UC by saying Huggins "decided to take the year off and relax and go fishing."

Then there is Huggins, who is synonymous with Bearcats basketball. He won 399 games in 16 years at UC and led the team to the NCAA Tournament his final 14 years, including appearances in the Final Four once and the Elite Eight twice.

"Make no mistake about it," Cronin said.

"The vast majority of fans love him and appreciate everything he did for Cincinnati basketball and I'm one of them."

Tonight's game is an awkward situation for both.

"It's not fun," Cronin said. "I'd rather not play against him, to be real honest with you."

And yet both want to win.

"That," Cronin said, "would be an understatement."

"I'll feel miserable if we don't win," Huggins said, "but I'd feel miserable no matter who we're playing if we don't win."