Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball

The Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked 25th in the country and are off to a great start this season. The Bearcats are 14-0, but their competition has been mediocre at best.

The Bearcats are a tough scrappy team and they have taken advantage of the junior varsity level schedule given to them in the early part of their long grueling season. Playing in the Big East is one of the toughest challenges in college basketball. The Bearcats run of dominance will be over in a matter of days. With seven other ranked teams in the conference it will be hard to grind out victories in the crucial part of the season.

Tonight the Bearcats face Xavier in the crosstown shootout. This will be a huge test for the Bearcats. No matter what the rankings are this game is always played with passion and grit. If the Bearcats come out on top it will be one of many obstacles that they will have to face this season.

The college basketball season is more of a marathon rather than a 100 meter dash. The Bearcats are at a full sprint now, but will they run out of gas?

As of now Mick Cronin is the toast of the town with the Bearcats playing lights out. Reality will strike and then there will be grumblings in the Queen City about getting rid of Mick Cronin.

The first half of the season is over with and the Bearcats passed with flying colors. The Bearcats have graduated to graduate school and they will have to keep up to pace with other Big East foes.

Will Mick Cronin and the Cincinnati Bearcats continue their stellar play or will they falter?

After a steady dose of eyelid-swelling uppercuts and jabs, including a career-high 23 points from Dion Dixon, the Cincinnati Bearcats pimp-strutted out of Millett Hall with a 64-48 victory over Miami (OH), the 11th of the season.  UC is one of nine unbeatens left in college basketball.

The only issue?  Cue Doug Gottlieb's broken record mantra: "Who have they beaten?"

As it stands today, Cincinnati's strength of schedule is ranked 334 out of 345 Division I teams.  It's not all UC's fault, though.  A Dec. 4 battle with No. 1 Duke in the Meadowlands was 86'ed after Lance Stephenson bolted early for the NBA. 

Dayton, last year's NIT champion, has struggled big-time early.  Oklahoma, two years removed from a Blake Griffin-led Elite 8 run, to be blunt, ain't got sh*t. 

Only two nonconference games remain—Thursday against St. Francis (PA) and Jan.6 vs despised crosstown rival Xavier. 

With virtually nothing proven (in the NCAA selection committee's eyes) in the non-conference, UC's chances to prove its worth will shrink.  If you take a look at the Big East slate, it's only seven games in which Cashmere Wright's crew can pick up a "signature win."  Combine those with the Xavier game, and you have eight big-time opportunities:

Xavier, @ Villanova, @ Syracuse, @ Notre Dame, @ Pitt, @ Georgetown, UConn, Georgetown.

You'd think UC would need to win at least three of those games, preferably a couple of road conquests included.  Of course, this is assuming at least 10-8 or 11-7 in Big East play. 

The question is, from what we've seen so far, can head coach Mick Cronin's troops persevere in the close games it squandered so often last season against those upper echelon teams? 

That remains to be seen.  But, while the 11-0 start hasn't come against the cream of the crop, Bearcat fans have got to be pleased with the fact that Darnell Wilks and the 'Cats:

1) Play smart, relentless full and halfcourt D for 40 min.
2) Share the ball (31st in the nation in assists per game).
3) Have clear, defined roles for each player (led by the seniors accepting theirs).
4) Are deep, experienced, long and athletic (wear teams down).
5) Have a giant monster, Yancy Gates, in the middle.

The one negative so far has been, of course, free throw shooting.  But, when hasn't that been an issue for Cincinnati?

If you ask Mick Cronin, he'll tell you this is his best team since he took over at Cincinnati.  Can he lead UC to the Promised Land in 2010-11?  Bearcat fans sure #$%@in' hope so!

After the Cincinnati Bearcats 66-56 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night, Ibrahima Thomas found himself talking about the many people that are skeptical of Cincinnati’s unblemished 10-0 record.

“We’ve got a lot of critics,” said the senior forward, “but we’re not listening to that. We’ve just got a schedule like everybody else and we’re going to play our schedule and try to win every game.”

On the surface it seems ridiculous that one of the nine remaining undefeated teams left in D1 college basketball would be dealing with “a lot of critics.” When you analyze the schedule more closely though, you gain a better understanding of why many people are still questioning just how good the undefeated Bearcats really are. Cincinnati’s opponents have a combined record of 45-67 thus far and the Bearcats have only played one game outside of the state of Ohio.

Dayton and Oklahoma are the only two recognizable “name opponents” the team has faced thus far and there are questions surrounding the Flyers and Sooners as well. Oklahoma is only 5-6 this season, with one of their losses coming against D2 Chaminade University. Furthermore, the questionable early departures of Willie Warren, Tommy Mason-Griffin and Keith “Tiny” Gallon have left the Sooners without any elite playmakers.

Dayton, meanwhile, has a more impressive record at 8-3, but a pair of two point home victories against Savannah State and Central Connecticut State makes you wonder just how strong this team really is.

It shouldn't be that big of a surprise that people still doubt this Cincinnati team. To be honest nobody gave the Bearcats much of a chance to succeed going into the season. Cincinnati was projected to finish 12th in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll and the buzz surrounding the team was minimal to say the least.

Highly touted prep star Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson left the program after one year as did senior guard Deonta Vaughn who ended his Bearcat career as one of the programs all-time leading scorers. The general thinking was that when an NIT team loses their two best players they probably won’t be fighting for an NCAA bid on Selection Sunday next season.

With that being said, an unexpected result has come about from the loss of these two marquee players.

The departures of Stephenson and Vaughn have forced Cincinnati to adopt an offensive philosophy of team basketball and working for the best shot, compared to an offense last year that relied heavily on one-on-one dribble drives and isolation sets. Cincinnati’s 16.3 assists per game ranks 33rd nationally and is evidence of this new offensive philosophy.

Another catalyst for change has been the arrival of freshman forward Justin Jackson. Now unless you are a Cincinnati Bearcat fan or avidly follow high school recruiting you probably have never heard of this guy.  Justin wasn’t ranked in the Rivals top 150 prospects nor did he play in the McDonald’s All-American game. In addition, the freshman from Jacksonville has only averaged 1.9 points and 2.8 rebounds through ten games this season. In his limited time on the court, though, you will find Justin diving for loose balls and playing with an energy and enthusiasm that Bearcat fans have been longing to see.

In his short time with the team his infectious passion has already helped change the culture within the team and invigorate a Bearcats squad who had been criticized by fans in the past for playing with a lack of energy.

Now before I throw around anymore compliments it should be known that this team is definitely not the second coming of the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers and there are still many question marks regarding this squad.

One of my main concerns is the team’s three-point shooting, which has been inconsistent to say the least. The Bearcats torched the nets in a recent pair of games against Georgia Southern and Utah Valley State, making 20 of their 40 attempted three-pointers and shooting 50% from three-point range.

On the flip side, Cincinnati made only six of 34 three-pointers in two of their closer victories of the season against Oklahoma and IPFW. Consistent perimeter shooting will be a must if this team hopes to finish in the top half of the Big East standings and realize their dream of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

Another concern is that the team doesn't have one specific player that they can rely on when they absolutely need a basket. Yes, this team has taken great pride in their balanced scoring and the fact that four players average over ten points per game. Traditionally, though, teams that have finished in the upper half of the Big East standings have had an elite impact player that they can count on when the game gets dicey.

Cincinnati has a lot of good players, but I’m not sure that they have one outstanding player.  Yancy Gates is the closest player they have to this. At 6'8" 260 lbs, the junior forward has an NBA body and a solid skill set, yet he has a tendency to be passive in the post and has never been a truly dominant player.

Clearly the improved passing and energy are welcomed changes for this Cincinnati team, and while the aforementioned question marks are areas of concern we will still have to do some waiting before we truly find out whether this Cincinnati team is a legitimate contender or a pretender. The next four games on the schedule against Miami, OH, St. Francis (PA), DePaul and Seton Hall are all very manageable, but after that the schedule gets considerably more difficult.

A 13-day stretch between January 6th and January 19th that includes a home game against cross-town rival Xavier and road games against Syracuse, Villanova and Notre Dame will be a sink or swim stretch for the team.

Many have pointed to the lack of high-caliber players the Bearcats have faced thus far as a reason for their skepticism of the 10-0 start and it’s safe to say that Xavier, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Villanova have no shortage of high caliber players. Until that point though, the jury is still out regarding whether this will be the team to put Cincinnati back in the NCAA Tournament.

So the cap finally has been put on the 2009-2010 UC women's basketball season, with last Sunday's team dinner and awards ceremony on March 28.

Those of you who have followed UC's women's basketball team know that it's been a while since there's been a post-season ceremony honoring the team, so it was good to have that tradition return.

For the record, honors went to Kahla Roudebush, most valuable player; Michelle Jones, most improved player; Shareese Ulis, unsung hero award; and Carla Jacobs, defensive player of the year.

All awards were very well deserved, and the Bearcat program will miss Kahla, Michelle and Carla, along with the rest of the seniors, who are moving on 'to find their life's work,' as Paul Brown would say.

But you know who deserves their own award? Their own standing ovation? The parents, the friends, and the family members who were at that dinner and were at countless games, cheering these young women on.

I've talked before about the support these families give the student-athletes, but sometimes we forget that it means driving long hours in bad weather to watch a basketball game, it means lost sleep getting back home late, and it means short weekends after a game.

At Sunday's dinner I saw parents, grandparents, friends, and family. They were all there to honor these women who are the first, the foundation, of the Jamelle Elliott era. And let's face it, the student-athlete gets all of the awards, the applause, the accolades, but let's save some of that applause for the families who give up a lot so that their daughters can enjoy the opportunities to play a game they love.

It means a lot for these young women to be able to look up in the stands and see their families cheering them on—not just in basketball, but in life. We say goodbye to these players, but we know that, with the support of their friends and families, they'll be just as successful off the court as on. Best of luck.

As the final horn sounded last night on the Cincinnati Bearcats' second round NIT loss to the Dayton Flyers, Deonta Vaughn saw his career as a Cincinnati basketball player come to an end. 

Playing in what turned out to be his final game at Fifth Third Arena, Vaughn dazzled the home crowd with 28 points, including clutch three-pointers to keep Cincinnati in the game.

For a player who never had the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, Vaughn had one of the more distinguished careers of any player ever to take the court for this storied program. 

He will leave Cincinnati third all-time in scoring at 1,885 points, trailing only Steve Logan and the great Oscar Robertson. He is also the all-time leader in assists at Cincinnati and the leader in three-pointers made. Vaughn is one of only two players to score 400 points in four straight seasons as a Bearcat.

Deonta Vaughn has been the face of the Cincinnati program through some of the roughest years in its history. He single handedly kept Cincinnati afloat in the years following the Bob Huggins debacle. 

Some may argue that Vaughn is not one of the best players in UC history, that he was just on such a bad team. While that may be partially true, think where this program would be without a guy like Deonta Vaughn—without a guy who can give you 25 points if called on to do so.

Vaughn has been more instrumental to the Cincinnati program over the last four years than almost anybody ever to come through Clifton. 

Without a talent like Vaughn, there is no way players like Yancy Gates and Lance Stephenson would ever have considered coming to a bottom dweller like Cincinnati. Vaughn helped give Cincinnati that opportunity, and for that I am thankful. 

His absence next season will be realized when there is nobody to turn to to hit a clutch three-pointer. We will have to wait and see if somebody steps up to fill the huge void he will leave. 

Granted, the Bearcats may be better next year, but they will be better because of Deonta Vaughn. He gave Cincinnati basketball the opportunity to be successful, and for that I am grateful.

In my book he will go down as one of the greats in the history of Cincinnati basketball. Very few people were able to accomplish what Vaughn did, considering the circumstances. He will be missed next year and in years to come. The impact he had on the team may not be fully realized until he is gone. 

That is what he now is—just another name in the record books. A name that will never be forgotten. 

Congratulations, Deonta, on a terrific career.

In the days of Bob Huggins, trips to the NIT were non-existent. The Cincinnati program was as dominant as nearly anybody in the country and was in the midst of 16 straight NCAA Tournament appearances when Huggins resigned. Well, times have changed. 

After missing out on the NCAA Tournament the past four seasons under new head coach Mick Cronin, the Cincinnati Bearcats have finally reached meaningful postseason play, in the form of the NIT.

After opening Wednesday with an impressive victory over Weber St., the Bearcats take to the floor again tonight when they take on the Dayton Flyers at Fifth Third Arena. For a team with only two seniors, this is a time to build for next year, a season that will hopefully end with a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

After an impressive showing in the Big East Tournament, the Bearcats have some momentum heading into tonight's game. Confidence is building for this young team.

The suspension of junior forward Rashad Bishop figured to have a negative affect on the team, but a few players have emerged including junior Darnell Wilks who has been instant energy off the bench over the past two weeks with his high flying throw downs. 

Cincinnati is clearly coming into their own and perhaps signaling the end of the rebuilding project that was Cincinnati basketball for the past four years.

Freshman phenom Lance Stephenson has announced that he will be coming back for his sophomore year, news fans couldn't be happier about. Fellow freshman guards Jacquon Parker and Cashmere Wright are coming into their own after struggling for most of the early part of the season.

That trio will form an exciting backcourt for years to come, especially if Stephenson decides to stick around.

Sophomore big man Yancy Gates is still inconsistent at times, but has all the tools to be a dominant post player in the Big East. 

For senior Deonta Vaughn, one of the best careers in Cincinnati basketball history is about to come to an end. More than likely he will be playing in his final home game and going out with a win would be a great way to end an impressive career.

Last week Vaughn became Cincinnati's all-time leader in three pointers and assists. He currently ranks fourth in scoring only 26 points behind Danny Fortson. Vaughn would love nothing more than to bring home a victory in his last game at 'The Shoe'

The Bearcats are looking for their first 20-win season under Mick Cronin and more importantly looking to get back to Madison Square Garden.

They have some unfinished business to attend to. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats run at a Big East Tournament Championship came to an abrupt end last night and once again it happened in all too familiar fashion.  

West Virginia star De'Sean Butler banked in a deep three pointer over the hand of Lance Stephenson propelling the Mountaineers to a 54-51 victory in the Big East quarterfinals. For the Bearcats it was a disappointing way to end a surprisingly successful trip to New York.

For a team that had lost five of their last six and eight of their last eleven, Cincinnati came into the tournament not having won a game in March since 2006. For perhaps the first time since November in Maui, the Bearcats played like they were supposed to all season. For a few days in March, Bearcat basketball returned to its old form. 

The Bearcats played as hard as they have played in head coach Mick Cronin's four seasons, out hustling and out rebounding their opponents. For three games at Madison Square Garden, the Cincinnati Bearcats offered fans a glimpse from the past and possibly a glimpse of the future.

Freshman Lance Stephenson came back to his hometown and showed why he is such a special player, dazzling the crowd with his acrobatic spin moves into the lane and his clutch shots down the stretch.  

The Bearcats were physical, mean, and aggressive, and while at times over-matched in talent, they made up for it with their scrappy play.  

For a team that is one of the worst shooting in the country, Cincinnati did everything else right in wins over Rutgers and Louisville. They were doing everything else right against West Virginia and had the ball with the score tied at 51 and only 6 seconds remaining. They had a shot to win the game and beat the number six team in the country, until an all too familiar ending occurred for the Bearcats.  

Bearcat fans certainly remember Miles Simon's 75-foot prayer to beat the Bearcats in the late 90s or even the West Virginia three point bomb to knock Cincinnati out of the NCAA Tournament in 1998. Didn't Ruben Patterson tip that ball?    

But, with six seconds to go the Bearcats inbounded to guard Dion Dixon who never really got a good handle on the ball before dribbling it out of bounds with three seconds to go. As West Virginia called their final timeout, I could not help but think back to a similar Cincinnati ending some 15 years ago.

I distinctly remember Charles Williams dribbling off himself with the game tied in the final seconds of the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier, giving Xavier the ball back and allowing Lenny Brown a shot to knock off the number one team in the country.

During the timeout Dion Dixon sat in disgust, praying WVU didn't break the Bearcats heart again. As the inbounds pass went to Butler, Stephenson was right on him. He had no choice but to raise up and bank in a three pointer as the final horn sounded. Goodnight New York for the Bearcats.   

Another disappointing ending to an otherwise good showing on college basketball's premier stage.

As selection Sunday approaches, Cincinnati certainly has no shot for an at large bid, but the effort and hustle shown by this team has me excited for an NIT birth. If Cincinnati can build on the showing at Madison Square heading into the NIT, there is certainly a chance for a return visit to New York for the NIT Final Four.

Maybe this time the Bearcats can leave with a different result.   

Those pesky Cincinnati Bearcats won their second game in two nights late Wednesday, and their reward is a quarterfinal game against old friend Bob Huggins and the Big East Tournament's third-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (9 p.m., ESPN).

One night after trying to give away an eventual win over Rutgers, UC was again at times brutal to watch in a 69-66 defeat of Louisville, whose second late-season defeat of conference champ Syracuse last week seemed to cement the Cardinals' NCAA Tournament invitation.

The Bearcats are a bad offensive team, worse from the foul line, and still make mental mistakes at critical junctures the way they did even in the fat 1990s when Huggins was racking up 25 wins a year in Cincinnati.

Led by Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson, however, they held on against Rick Pitino's Cardinals under the bright lights of midtown Manhattan's Madison Square Garden. Fellow New Yorker Edgar Sosa scored a career-high 28 points in a losing effort for Louisville.

It was only four years ago when Gerry McNamara led Syracuse to four wins in four days in this very tournament. And now with the expanded tournament, Cincinnati has the opportunity—or tall task, depending how you look at it—to rattle off an unprecedented five in five.

Two down and three to go; here's how they can do it:

• Continue to attack the offensive glass against West Virginia. Huggins' Mounties are strong, active and physical, just as the Bearcats were under his watch. They've got many New York connections and will treat the tradition-steeped MSG floor as if it's their own. But Cincinnati's best wins this year (Maryland, Vanderbilt) were away from home, so it just needs to focus on what it's good at—crashing the glass and collecting their many misses.

• Shoot the ball well in the semifinal round against Notre Dame, which I think will upset Pittsburgh Thursday night. Asking Cincinnati to shoot well is like coaxing Charlize Theron to meet me for drinks, but with their interior beef, the Bearcats are more than capable of slowing down gimpy Irish banger Luke Harangody. The star forward lit up UC for 37 in one meeting, but was held to 14 on 5-of-20 shooting in the other. I think Cincinnati keeps him in check and Stephenson controls the pace the way he did in the second half against Louisville.

• Blow up whichever hotel Syracuse is bunking in. Otherwise, I don't think the Bearcats would have much of a chance in Saturday's title game. The Orange are an NCAA No. 1 seed and play outstanding zone defense, precisely the recipe to keep a poor-shooting team like Cincinnati on the dim side of the scoreboard.

When the Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, they will do so in a game that has huge stakes for both teams.

For the Bearcats, they will be looking for their first NCAA Tournament bid since current West Virginia head coach John Beilein led them to the second round in 2005. 

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the Bearcats as one of the last four teams in, and a win over the Mountaineers would certainly boost their resume.

For the Mountaineers, they are playing for seeding in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.  They are currently tied for third in the Big East with Pitt, and have games left with No. 11 Georgetown and No. 7 Villanova. 

With only a one game lead in the standings over Georgetown, Marquette and Louisville, losing to the Bearcats would make it difficult for the Mountaineers to finish fourth and get a double-bye in the Big East Tournament.  It would also hurt the Mountaineers chances of getting a top three seed in NCAA Tournament.

The key for the Bearcats is to stop senior WVU forward Da'Sean Butler.  When Butler struggles, so do the Mountaineers.  In three of WVU's six losses, he has failed to reach his season average in points (17.2 ppg), and rebounds (6.1 rpg). 

However, sophomore forward Devin Ebanks has been stepping up lately, averaging 16 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 turnovers accounted for (blocks + steals) over his last 6 games.

The key for the Mountaineers will be to stop freshman guard Lance Stephenson. While he has struggled lately, he is still capable of going for 20 points on a given night.  Expect the Mountaineers best defender, Devin Ebanks, to be on him when the Mountaineers are in man defense.

The Bearcats come in struggling, losing five of their last eight games.  However, they have beaten former coach Huggins in their only two meetings against him.  WVU has also struggled, dropping three of their last five, with two tough games to close out the season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. et at the WVU Coliseum.  The game can be seen on ESPN360.

Patience is a virtue—except when it comes to sports. 

I want to win now—none of that "wait till next year" crap.

Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coach Mick Cronin has worn out his welcome after a slipper-shattering 79-76 OT loss at home against the Marquette Golden Eagles.

It doesn't matter any longer if he inherited a program that was wiped clean after the ugly divorce with Cincinnati icon Bob Huggins five years ago. Using the "it's-so-tough-in-the-Big-East" excuse is just as lame. The top tier of the Big East shifts from year to year—except for the consistently mediocre Bearcats.

This is Cronin's fourth year as head coach. He is an excellent recruiter who has been able to haul in the likes of Yancey Gates and Cashmere Wright, and he also took a huge chance with Lance Stephenson.

But the facts are facts.

The 'Cats sit at 15-11 and 6-8 in conference play after a sizzling start to the season. After wins over Maryland and Vanderbilt, expectations grew quickly. A 10-3 start had fans thinking about a possible deep run in the tourney. The sky was the limit.

Freshman Stephenson was looking like the next big thing, with only greatness to follow. Sophomore Gates was punishing weaker opponents in the paint with his bulk, strength, and excellent rebounding.

Not happening.

The players haven't made enough progress during the season. The supposed freshman sensation Stephenson—a.k.a. "Born Ready"—has regressed. He seems uncertain of his role. 

Cronin yanks around his minutes to the point that Stephenson only was on the floor for 11 of the team's 45 in the OT loss.

Gates, who had 14 points in the 22 minutes he played Sunday, sat with 7:07 to go in regulation and never returned. He sat the final 12:07 of the game—which amounted to 48 real-time minutes. The Golden Eagles played down the stretch with nobody taller than 6'6". Gates is 6'8" and 260 pounds.

So Cronin sat his top two players for the vast majority of the game, including crunch time. The Bearcats are a poor shooting team—from the field, three-point territory, and the free-throw line. The offense lacks movement. And the players lack hustle.

The most startling stat a coach can have: Cronin has never won a game in March (0-10).

Check out UC down the stretch under Mick:

'06-07: 1-11 in last 12.
'07-08: 0-7 in last seven, including CBI loss.
'08-09: 1-6 in last seven, including losing final four games.
'09-10: have lost five of seven, and seven of 11.

Preaching patience worked the first three years. This year's underachieving team has no excuses. Cronin simply lacks the "Xs and Os" knowledge necessary to coach in the Big East. He consistently gets outcoached, and his philosophy on substitutions is insane.

The 'Cats have 10 players that average at least 10 minutes a game. The lack of a consistent rotation is wearing on the players—and the blame goes straight to the coach.

Another fizzling ending can not be tolerated, and Cronin should be fired. He might have four more years remaining on his deal, but the team needs a better leader. They clearly are not the most self-motivated bunch. 

The 'Cats need a guy that will get in their faces and demand results. That isn't Cronin's style. He's simply too nice a guy.

UC's athletic director needs to revitalize the program and generate some actual excitement. The foundation of Gates and Wright will be around for two more years. The Stephenson experiment will likely be over at the end of this year. 

Hire a new coach that is recognizable and willing to not settle for average.

Status quo is not good enough.