CINCINNATI - Finally, it starts to get interesting for the unbeaten Bearcats.

No. 11 Cincinnati has gotten off to its best start in five years by dominating overmatched teams with its bruising full-court press. A better matchup is up next.

As soon as they finished a 90-65 victory over DePaul on Saturday, the Bearcats (11-0, 2-0 Conference USA) started thinking about a game with much more significance.

They play at No. 23 Marquette on Wednesday, a trip they can't wait to make. The Golden Eagles ended Cincinnati's streak of seven straight regular-season titles last year.

''We're going to go up there and make a statement that Cincinnati is back, that we're a Top 10 team and we're going to bring a championship back to Cincinnati,'' said Jason Maxiell, who had 18 points and blocked four shots.

Eleven lopsided wins have given the Bearcats back their swagger. They've won by an average of 26 points, the best mark in Division I.

Their closest call? A 19-point win over Valparaiso. No one has come close to giving them a stressful ending.

''The only way it comes down to the wire is if we lose focus,'' said Tony Bobbitt, who had a team-high 19 points. Marquette has the best chance so far of providing an interesting finish. The Golden Eagles have one of the nation's top point guards in Travis Diener, which means they have a chance to handle Cincinnati's press.

''He's one of the best in the country,'' Bobbitt said. ''He also knows that he'll get 10 crazy Bearcats coming after him hard.''

That's been the reason for the Bearcats' success - there's a lot of them, and they keep coming.

Ten players are averaging at least 13 minutes per game, giving coach Bob Huggins the option of substituting freely to keep his full-court press at full strength. It worked again Saturday, forcing DePaul (7-6, 0-2) into a season-high 24 turnovers.

Last season, the Bearcats lost 12 games and had several players temporarily quit the team. This season, coach Bob Huggins has a lot of options and a roster full of players accepting their limited roles to make the defense work.

''The good thing about this group is that coach Huggins has retaken the rein fully,'' DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. ''I don't know if everybody bought in (last season). They're so deep, quick and strong. He's got them on a short leash because if they don't buy in, somebody else is coming in.''

Their press took DePaul completely out of its offense in the first half, when the Blue Demons had 15 turnovers and only 16 shots. The lead got up to 21 points.

Cincinnati's only glaring weakness showed up again in the second half. The Bearcats tend to ease up when they figure the game is in hand, a bad thing for a team that depends on an energetic press.