Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball

The Cincinnati Bearcats gave the home crowd something to cheer about on Senior Day en route to a 69-47 victory over the No. 17 Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday. 

The win marked the fifth of the season over a Top-25 RPI team for the Bearcats, and greatly helped their seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The win also gave Cincinnati a first round bye in the upcoming Big East Tournament. 

The Bearcats donned the blood red jerseys on Saturday.

Simply put, Cincinnati does not lose when they wear the blood red, and today was no different. The six seniors on the Bearcats roster were not going to lose their last home game—no matter who they were playing.  

They had all but clinched an NCAA Tournament berth after winning on the road against Marquette on Wednesday. This win was icing on the cake, and a culmination of five years of hard work by head coach Mick Cronin and this group of six seniors. 

Cincinnati honored those seniors—Rashad Bishop, Larry Davis, Darnell Wilks, Ibrahima Thomas, Anthony McClain, and Eddie Tyree. These seniors, particularly Bishop, Davis, Wilks, and McClain, have been at Cincinnati for the extent of the rebuilding process. 

They joined a team and a program that was gutted two years before—in the process of being rebuilt. They joined a team that was 11-19 the season before, and last in the Big East. They committed knowing that there would be many obstacles along the way, but dreaming that one day they would reach the Big Dance. 

That day is soon to arrive, and Saturday showed just what hard work, determination, and patience can bring.

While Cronin would gladly give all of the credit to his players, the job he has done over the past five seasons is nothing short of spectacular.

He has taken a team from 11 wins in his first season, to 13 in his second, and 18 in his third year. Last season the Bearcats won 19, and this year they already have 24 victories.

The turning point of this season came with the one-game suspension of star forward Yancy Gates. Gates was left home for the Pittsburgh game, and played sparingly in the next home game against St. John's. 

Gates was booed in that game, and after a serious discussion with Cronin the week following, Gates has made a complete 180—nearly averaging a double-double over the last six games. 

On Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, Gates left to a standing ovation—and not because he had a great game (he finished with 13 points and five rebounds), but because the effort he has displayed over the past three weeks has been superb. 

It is now time to transition into the post-season and the beast that is the Big East Tournament. 

Cincinnati will be seeded seventh in Madison Square Garden, and will only have to win four games to go through the gauntlet and win the tournament title. 

But before that, I would like to congratulate Mick Cronin and the rest of the Bearcats on their best season in nearly a decade. 

While there is much more work to be done in the coming weeks, there is no harm in sitting back and reflecting on a remarkable turnaround for a program left to die five years ago. 

I know I will. 

Cincinnati's quest to an NCAA tournament bid is considerably close in reach. After a 58-46 victory against Georgetown Wednesday night, the school locked its first road win over a Top 25 team in seven years.

Yancy Gates had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the nation's capital, and the Bearcats held the No. 11 Hoyas to 25 percent from the field, including four field goals in the second half.

Georgetown's worst shooting performance in 15 seasons ended Cincinnati's 20-game road losing streak against ranked teams, and the Bearcats (22-6, 9-6) advanced into a tie for seventh in the Big East standings.

Seventh place in the Big East would give Cincinnati a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Dion Dixon also had 17 points, Rashad Bishop added 12 and the Bearcats' cutthroat defense played exceptionally, holding the Hoyas to their worst shooting game since at least the 1996-97 season.

Georgetown (21-7, 10-6) lost its senior point guard Chris Wright with 15:54 remaining in the game to a broken hand. The injury could be a serious loss to the Hoyas' postseason expectations. Wright is second on the team behind Austin Freeman, averaging 13.1 points a contest.

However, with or without him, the Hoyas were hog-tied; a comeback was out of the question. 

"I just thought we were out of sync...I thought we went through a phase where we started feeling sorry for ourselves, which we don't need to do," said head coach John Thompson III.

Coming into the game, Georgetown was second in the nation in shooting percentage at 49.7.

They hadn't met Mick Cronin's defense yet.

The Bearcats entered the game leading the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 58.7 points per game, and holding Georgetown to 46 is only going to improve that statistic. The Hoyas shot 12-of-48 from the field, along with 5-of-23 from three-point range.

The Hoyas didn't make a shot coming out of a halftime tie until there was 9:31 remaining. By then, the Bearcats had opened with a 43-28 lead.

Gates monstered his way into a three-point play that put the Bearcats ahead 48-35 with 4:43 left. A quick five-point spurt gave the Hoyas some life, but Bishop banked in a three-pointer to restore the double-digit lead with 3:13 to play. This seemed to have sucked the remaining breath out of the Georgetown players, and the game ended with the Bearcats on top, 58-46.

Cincinnati will look to continue improving its tournament resume on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 12:00 P.M. ET when Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies travel to the Bearcats Fifth Third Arena.

The Las Vegas lines had the Cincinnati Bearcats as two-point favorites in their game against the Louisville Cardinals.

They got one thing right: the Bearcats secured their second straight victory against Rick Pitino's squad. However, it was a nine-point, 63-54 win that took place against Louisville in Fifth Third Arena.

After dropping three of their last four games, head coach Mick Cronin needed to keep things positive for his Bearcats.

"I told them, 'We're 19-6, we need to be proud of it, need to act like it'...we don't need to let anybody define us individually or as a group that's outside of our locker room," Cronin said.

Cincinnati received the quality win they needed to build their tournament resume. 

Cashmere Wright scored 20 points, Sean Kilpatrick contributed 18 and Yancy Gates added eight points and six rebounds off the bench for the Bearcats (20-6, 7-6 Big East), who overwhelmed the Cardinals to reach the 20 wins for the first time since 2006.

Louisville (19-7, 8-5) was led by Terrence Jennings' 12 point performance, but Cincinnati's merciless defense forced 15 turnovers and kept the Cardinals out of rhythm. 

Even though Louisville shot 47 percent from the field, the Bearcats never let go of the lead and led by as many as 15 before the Cards made it a five point game with 13:15 to play.

The Cardinals were in comeback mode, which was a familiar position; an 18-point rally against Marquette earlier in the season is a highlight they were trying to re-enact. Cincinnati scored seven straight points to take control of the game, taking a 12-point lead. Louisville was out for the count.

This may be the ticket that Cincinnati needs to find themselves in their first NCAA Tournament since 2005, but the Bearcats still have work to do. Five regular-season games remain on the schedule. 

Pitino believes that the Bearcats belong in the postseason.

"They needed this win to get them in the NCAA and they certainly deserved it," he said.

Cincinnati will continue their journey against Providence (14-11, 3-9) on Saturday, February 19 at 7:00 P.M. ET.

Okay, okay, before you jump all over me for the headline of this article, let me submit to the record that it’s half-sarcasm and half-DePaul is due for a win.  Cincinnati (18-5, 5-5) is favored by 9.5 tonight as the Bearcats take the floor for the back half of the two-game Big East road trip.  Mick Cronin’s squad got dusted by Pitt on Saturday night, 71-59 (Pitt was up by 23 at one point in the 2nd half).  The Bearcats’ traveling point-a-minute show is not winning over any fans. 

Can UC score enough points tonight to win by double digits on the road against a desperate DePaul team—a DePaul team currently winless in the Big East?  The Bearcats shot a horrific 33 percent from the field at Pitt.  Can UC hit for at least 40 percent tonight?  Anyone think so?

Don’t forget, the Blue Demons took Louisville to the wire on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.  Also, these two teams have already played, with Cincinnati winning handily at home in the Big East season opener (translation: DePaul has already seen what UC tries to do).  Finally, DePaul is coached by Oliver Purnell.  Do you think a coach of Oliver Purnell’s caliber is gonna end up winless for the entire Big East slate?

The big story out of Clifton, OH is the suspension of junior “big man” Yancy Gates.  Gates, who was tossed out of practice last Friday, sat out against Pittsburgh.  Cronin hinted that Gates became frustrated and blew up at one of the assistant coaches.  Gates did seek Cronin out after the team returned from Pittsburgh, and the 6’9″ 265-pound power forward did practice yesterday.  Whether Gates plays tonight is still up in the air. 

With this situation, the best case scenario is that Gates comes back fired up and displays emotion and leadership to his teammates.  Worst case scenario is the seemingly-inevitable implosion of UC down the stretch.

So, I suppose I’ll suffer through this ugly, low-scoring shit-fest tonight.  Hopefully UC wins by at least one point.

Mick Cronin's Cincinnati Bearcats (18-5, 5-5 Big East) started the season off hot by winning their first 15 games in a row by an average margin of 20.7 points. The Bearcats did not allow over 72 points during this span and held the opposing team to under 60 points 12 times in those 15 opportunities.

To this point, these teams have a combined 157 wins and 194 losses.

Since then, the Bearcats are 3-5, while having lost two straight. Cincinnati ranks 240th in the nation in field goal percentage at 42.6 percent, so it's no doubt that their Big East leading defense has carried them so far.

In their five losses this season, Cincinnati hasn't once had the lead at halftime, and have scored only 57 points per game. Leading scorer Dion Dixon has been held to 30.1 percent shooting and 9.0 points on average throughout this duration.

It seems that the Bearcats have no trouble scoring against smaller, less-competitive teams, putting up 75.7 points versus teams with losing records. However, when facing opponents with more wins than losses, they struggle to average 64.9 points.

Cincinnati has eight games left on their regular season schedule, and all but one include a team with a winning record. Four of these conference match ups are against ranked teams.

I still believe that the Bearcats are a legitimate contender to make the NCAA Tournament, but only because of their robust defensive play.

On the other hand, a sluggish Bearcat offense needs to be revived if they want any chance of making a strong run come tournament time. Yancy Gates, Cincinnati's 6'9" forward, has to get more involved; in his last six games, he's only shot an average of 8.5 times and has scored just 9.3 points.

The Bearcats will look to rebound against DePaul tonight at 7:00 P.M. ET.

The Blue Demons have lost 23 straight Big East games.

It's getting harder and harder to watch the Cincinnati Bearcats play basketball without a cold beer in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other and a punching bag in the room. 

Seriously, what is with this horrible, limp offense?  I'd rather watch Roseanne Barr try on thongs than sit through much more of this embarrassing sh*t. 

Do you know what the definition of insanity is?  It's doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.  In my opinion, that is what defines Mick Cronin's stubbornness to stay with his current offensive scheme. 

Seriously, how many times do you have to stand there on the sideline and watch your team struggle, scratch and claw just to score f***in' fifty points before you make a change?  Apparently, the answer is until infinity.  The Bearcats shot a laughable, ugly 33 percent from the field last night against Pittsburgh.  Yes, I know the game was at Pitt against a great defensive squad, but 33 percent?  What is this, 3rd grade instructional league?  

Among the 42 missed shots by Cincinnati, you had: a blown dunk by Ibrahima Thomas, a short-armed three-foot bank shot by Rashad Bishop, a wide open 3 missed by Sean Kilpatrick and five good looks from 3 by Larry Davis.  

So you could say that the offense works, because the 'Cats do get some open looks.  OK, let's assume that to be the case.  Then explain to me how these so-called "shooters," guys who lay brick after punch-me-in-the-face brick, continue to fire away instead of being instructed to drive hard to the rim -- you know, to either get a closer look or God forbid get to the foul line, maybe?    

Optimists would look at UC's body of work and say, "They're 18-5 with no bad losses.  They can still get to the NCAA Tournament."  Yeah, well, have you watched this team?  Does it look like an NCAA Tournament team to you, really?  Cincinnati has no point guard, nobody that can beat their man off the dribble, nobody that can finish strong inside, and nobody that can consistently knock down open shots.  The defense is above average, but there are too many players (Darnell Wilks, Justin Jackson, Ibrahima Thomas) who pick up fouls faster than Travis Henry picks up paternity suits. 

All I know is this.  UC fans are seriously questioning their collective ability to sit through any more of Cincinnati's games this season.  It's no fun right now.  Nobody wants to watch a team score a point a minute.  That doesn't bode well for attendance at Fifth 3rd Arena.  UC still has Louisville, Georgetown, and UConn at home.  Winning two out of three is a must.  Anybody have confidence that will happen?

This is a memo directly to the Cincinnati Bearcats, from top to bottom:

You want to get to the NCAA Tournament this season, right?  You don't want to be studying film on College of Charleston for your first round NIT home game, do you?

Then get tough.  Get mean.  These other Big East teams are trying to keep you out of the NCAA Tournament. 

Don't f***in' let 'em!

This fadeaway, shy-away-from-contact stuff ain't gonna cut it.  This is the Big East.  This is a grown ass man's league.  You get the ball five feet from the rim, you take a power dribble and you go up like you are trying to shatter the g**damn backboard!  Make the defender have to foul you to hold you down. 

Floaters and fadeaways take the pressure off the defender.  When you don't go up strong, you just made his job easier than Tara Reid after one Natty Light.  

I hate to single out one player, but I have a quick message for 6'9", 265-pound Yancy Gates: Dunks are legal, ya know.  And I'm not talkin' about the wide open, nobody-within-10-feet slams you get against Georgia Southern.  I'm talkin' about the facials you provide when a smaller guy saddled with two fouls (Notre Dame's Tyrone Nash last night) tries to check you without a double-team. 

Turn, face, fake right, and then take a power dribble, go right through his left shoulder and go up and thunder that sh*t!  Yes, this is legal.  And, if the guy draws a charge on you, make it hurt!  Dunk on him anyway. 

The bottom line is this, guys: Nobody is going to hand you that tournament bid on a silver platter with a side of Elisha Cuthbert in The Girl Next Door.  You want that bid?  You've gotta TAKE that bid.  Snatch that bid.  Grab that bid, growl, and then bite a giant piece out of it! 

Get tough!  Get pissed off.  That's your bid!

Not sure how to elevate into "Mean Mug Bearcat Mode?"  Ask your coach to show you tape of Eric Hicks, Jason Maxiell, Kenyon Martin, and then more Eric Hicks.  That's how you intimidate.  That's how you take it strong to the rack with no regard for human life. 

That's how you get to the NCAA Tournament. 

This Bearcat team is definitely intriguing.  On the one hand, they have absolutely thrashed the f*ck out of some people so far.  On the other hand, how good are those people that they thrashed the f*ck out of?

Let's break the No. 25 Bearcats down at this point in the season:

DION DIXON

Junior guard Dion Dixon has been a smooth operator all season.  Anybody talkin' about Dion on ESPN or any of the other media deals that cover college hoops?  Nope.  Let me explain something to the people out there who don't know who Dion Dixon is: He's Dwyane Francis.  Part Dwyane Wade and part Steve Francis. 

Of course he's nowhere near on the level that Dwyane Wade is, but he does a lot of the same nasty stuff that Dwyane does.  He's a "beginner Dwyane Wade" right now.  If this was one of those video games you kids play today, and the object of the game was to get as good as Dwyane Wade, he'd be on about Level 2 out of 5.  But if you watch Dixon play, you can see similarities between he and the Heat all-star guard.

Dion now looks to drive to the basket every chance he gets.  He has finished well, especially with the left hand.  He has shot a ton more free throws this season, a big reason he leads UC in scoring at 12.7 ppg.  His outside shot needs work, but he's shown flashes he can develop into a consistent stroker.  Kind of like Wade in college. 

And, Dixon can dunk the mulesh** out of the ball like Stevie Franchise did at Maryland.  He has shown the ability to elevate up into the clouds off of just one step, getting way above the rim with two hands at only about 6'3". He's exciting. 

DEFENSE

Mick Cronin's Bearcats have played 1985 Chicago Bears level-defense this season.  They give up about 56 points per game.  If you give up 56 points, you're gonna win most of the time (even with Ibrahima Thomas still inexplicably being allowed to shoot threes).

The stat of the decade for UC is that in the three area rivalry games, versus Dayton, Miami (OH) and Xavier, Darnell Wilks and the Bearcats only gave up 42.7 ppg.  42!  They absolutely dismantled those teams.  (Which was nice, because Dayton and Xavier both beat UC last year.) 

The bottom line is UC has a damn good defense.  With a veteran team including five seniors, Mick can finally tell these guys how to guard folks, and they actually listen and do it.  I'm sure he thoroughly enjoys that. 

ASSISTS AND TURNOVERS

The Bearcats are routinely coming up with more assists than turnovers while forcing their opponent to commit more turnovers than assists.  Basically, the complete opposite of the last couple of years. 

That is what wins games.  These guys know that now.  Only SEVEN turnovers tonight against USF.  The Bulls had 18. 

This is such a huge factor, when a lot of the time your offense looks like everybody's really drunk. 

To summarize for you laymen out there, these are the three reasons UC should win or be in most games from here on out:

1) Stingy defense (especially when UC shuts down the other team's best player)
2) Not turning the ball over (only about 11 per game)
3) Forcing the other team to f*** up a lot

From there it's up to offensive execution and hitting free throws down the stretch. 

The point I'm trying to make here is that I like UC's chances in tough games because they do the things you need to do to hang around even when they aren't making outside shots. 

MURDEROUS ROAD TRIP

OK.  So, UC is now 16-1 after a let's-just-get-this-over-with 74-66 win at home tonight over South Florida.

Now on to the Carrier Dome to face No. 4 Syracuse.  UC played up there two years ago and lost by about 600.  Syracuse is tall.  Really tall.  They just throw a bunch of quick, really tall guys out there and play 2-3 zone.  So basically, you can't ever drive, and even if you do, you'll get your shot thrown into the upperdeck.  The Orange force you to shoot threes, and we've all seen how UC shoots on the road.

Yeah, should be a fun game.

Next, the Bearcats will fly to South Bend to play the Fighting Irish.  Oh, and the Irish at home pretty much smoke everybody like a Black 'N' Mild.  UC played there a couple years ago, too.  What'd they lose by, 20?  25?  Who knows.  All I know is I couldn't watch the whole game. 

Notre Dame, at home, just comes down and f***in' fires the ball around crisply and magic-trickedly until somebody is wide open and then that guy shoots it and swishes it.  

That's all they keep doing.  And nobody can stop it.  I hate it.  

I hate when UC has to play there.  It sucks a big bucket of poison.  

Finally, next Saturday, UC will conclude this three-game miracle-needer of a road trip against St. John's in their sh*tty little dumb ass gym on campus.  I hate that gym.  It sucks to have to play there.  But, the Bearcats did win there two years ago when Mike Williams was leading the way.  

Either way, tough three-game trip.  I'll take a 1-2, how 'bout you?   

After a five-year absence, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball is finally back in the Queen City. 

The dominance that the Bearcats displayed for nearly two decades under Bob Huggins was back on display in last night's dismantling of crosstown rival Xavier. 

Head coach Mick Cronin, a Huggins protege, has his team off to a 15-0 start, their best in 12 years. 

While Cincinnati has not played the toughest non-conference schedule, the Bearcats are 15-0 and the toughness and heart they display each and every game brings back visions of the past. 

This team is eerily reminiscent of many of Huggins' past squads who bullied and powered their way to multiple conference championships. 

The Bearcats defense was at its best last night, holding the Musketeers to 39 percent shooting while forcing 13 turnovers. Xavier totaled only four assists the entire night and leading scorer Tu Holloway was 2-for-13 from the field for only five points. 

The only thing Holloway could hit all night was Bearcat center Ibrahima Thomas in the face with a cheap punch that resulted in a technical foul. 

While there were many naysayers who doubted the Bearcats heading into last night's matchup, the Bearcats certainly made believers out of some of them. 

The sheer tenacity and toughness they displayed was witnessed by a national audience last night. Cincinnati was first to all the loose balls and made smart decisions throughout the entire game. Just ask Bobby Knight.

The Bearcats out-hustled, out-played and out-coached the Musketeers en route to their most impressive win of the season. 

At the halfway point of the season, Cincinnati has done everything right. While they will certainly not go 31-0 and probably not even 26-5, this team is talented enough to get into the NCAA Tournament and even win a few games. 

The Big East will be challenging, but this team is as tough both mentally and physically as anybody in the conference, and is ready for any challenge the Big East will throw its way.