Bob Huggins

Not a thing came to light in yesterday's action, so I offer some unsolicited advice to those who fell by the wayside of steaming favorites.

Memo to Tony Bennett (Or to Whomever Coaches Wazzu Next Year)

The slowdown game has kept you in a lot of contests this year and I understand that four star recruits don't make their way to the Paloose unless by gunpoint or schedule. 

That being said, you have to find some guys who can run a fast break faster than a gasping tortoise.  Once North Carolina figured out how to be patient, it was all over for you.  And without a competent transition game you're not able to whittle down deficits.

Memo to NBA Scouts

This is short and sweet.  Pass on Tyrone Brazleton and Courtney Lee at your own risk. 

True, Lee shot an abysmal seven for 29 yesterday, but Brazleton nearly brought the 'Toppers back by himself against a UCLA squad I picked to win the whole shooting match.

I doubt that the 'Toppers will make Round Three appearances on a regular basis, but kudos to fellow Lexington boy Darrin Horn on a job well done.

Memo to Chris Lofton

I have really enjoyed watching you go off against Kentucky all these years.  Right.  Anyway, you have gotten the most out of what you have, but unfortunately this is where the tour ends.

Simply put, you don't have the athleticism to produce effectively at the next level.  But I'm sure you'll expend every ounce of energy proving us wrong.

If not, consider coaching.  I think you'd do well.

Memo to Bob Huggins

Joe Alexander is a poor man's Gugliotta.  Joe Mazzulla is one of the best sixth men in the country.  And while most of the nation realizes you're one of the prize boors of the NCAA, would it kill you to wear a shirt and tie under the sport coat?

Seriously, Jim Rome mined that fashion mistake long ago and saw the light.

While attending the West Virginia vs Duke game in the nation's capital, I witnessed Duke fans showing anything but honor and respect. So here is an article for all of the upset Duke fans.

The Duke fans were the most disrespectful fans that I have ever been around. HONESTLY. My wife and I sat down 30 minutes before tip off and Duke fans seemed to fill in everywhere behind us.

The most notable ones were a group of four thug kids and another group consisting of an 85-year-old diehard Duke fan and her four grandchildren. The rest of the section held Xavier fans, Purdue fans and the occasional Michigan State fan.

By the time the first half had ended I was wanting to watch the game from the TV's in the lobby. The old lady was the biggest smart mouth that I have ever heard. She would turn around every time that Duke would score and shake her fist in my face.

This was really getting to me near mid-first half. So, I had to walk off to get a breather.

My wife told me: 'Blow it off' and 'Let's go back and sit down.'

Well this was when WVU took total control of the game. Not due to officiating or the crowd but because of the great hustle it showed that day.

Well, not only did I not enjoy the Duke fans but apparently no one else in the section did either they all started telling the Duke fans how selfish, disrespectful and flat out obnoxious they were.

One guy even told the group in front of me that when he came in the door he was rooting for Duke but after he saw its fans attitudes that had changed by the half.

After the CONVINCING win we went to the lobby. Here is where we saw more, how can I say this, cry baby, pampered Duke fans. They were all giving excuses and reasons on why and how they "blew" not lost the game.

So, being the "MANIACS" that the Mountaineers fans are, they all started drowning the Dookie fans out with cheers of celebration. Before long the entire lobby of the Verizon Center was chanting and hollering for the Mountaineers.

I saw a Pitt fan stating that he was selling Duke apparel at 50 percent off.

Then to top it off, you had that one dumb drunk who was outside and was trying to get his butt whipped. He was wearing a Duke POLO and was staggering around saying, "That's why Xavier owns Bob Huggins, That's why Xavier owns Bub Huggins."

Was this guy serious? If Xavier owns Bob Huggins then why doesn't Duke?

He was saved by the cops before he was destroyed by the real men of West Virginia who undoubtably would have laid him out in a hurry. Yes, Xavier owns Bob Huggins with a total 9-8 record over him, but that's beside the point—they weren't playing Xaiver that day—they were beating Duke.

A lot of Duke fans got mad from a few things that were stated after the game but the players were just stating their opinions on the game. Huggins saw a weak offensive rebounding team during the first half, he came out made some adjustments, spoke of it during the post game and he is trashing Duke? Come on get real!

As for the remarks from Joe Alexander after the game he was ONLY stating the TRUTH, saying that Duke was as talented as a five or a six seed in the Big East, which is understandable. He didn't say that this was the case every year, just this year. I mean give the guy some credit, he should know—he has played against all the competition NOT YOU.

As for the Greg Paulus question asking if he was the McDonald's All-American, this was a good question. Come on get off your Duke wagon real fast and tell me who is the most hated, cocky player in college basketball.

Yes, that's right it is Paulus.

He was slapping the floor, talking shit when he thought Duke was gonna blow West Virginia out in the first half. He was hollering up in the stands and at the players. So, don't give me this bad sportsmanship bullshit. Besides if he was the All-American he is claimed to be, he would have lead his to team to victory right?

Now, the question of whether to call a team a Cinderella is interesting. If Duke had its shit together they wouldn't have only beat Belmont, the real "Cinderella," by one. West Virginia is not a "Cinderella." Out of its last five NCAA tournaments, they have been to three Sweet 16's, one Elite Eight and an NIT championship.

Plus, they might add on to that total this year, changing one of those Sweet 16 appearances listed to an Elite Eight, or maybe even a Final Four. Who knows?

ESPN just showed some amazing statistics:

Memphis, UCLA, WVU, Kansas, and Villanova are the only schools in the country that have advanced to the Sweet 16 three times in the past four years.

That doesn't look like a Cinderella team to me.

Plus, name another school that was in a BCS game and in the Sweet 16 this year. Kansas and West Virginia are the only two, so their sports programs must be on the rise. 

DON'T HATE ON WEST VIRGINIA BECAUSE THEY WERE A BETTER TEAM AND YOU ARE LETTING YOUR EMOTIONS CONTROL YOUR ACTIONS AND THOUGHTS. GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. REMEMBER: WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WV BRINGS TO THE TABLE NEXT YEAR IT ONLY GETS BETTER FROM HERE. OH AND BY THE WAY WV NOW OWNS DUKE 1-0.

...And there you have it. 

As Jonnie West (yep, that's Jerry's kid) steps onto the court with about a minute remaining, the crowd, clad mostly in old gold and blue, was on its feet. 

Coach Bob Huggins had come home to Morgantown to beat Duke for the first time in WVU history and the first time in his career.  Thus, claiming the Mountaineers as one of the sweetest 16 teams in the country.

This being the day before (what many people incorrectly celebrate as a religious holiday) Easter Sunday, I was happy just be able to sit back and watch the whole first half of the game with no interruptions. 

It was a great day and I knew it would be a great game.  Until it started.  Yes, WVU scored the first four points in the game.  However, Duke went on a 12-0 run immediately after.

The day wasn't getting any better for fans of WVU.

As the game progressed, Duke would stay alive to conquer the first half.  With enormous help from the officiating crew, the Blue Devils would take a six point lead into the locker room at halftime.

As normal, my fiance would have something for me to do.  So, at halftime I completed my assigned tasks, just in time to catch the start of the second half, on the radio in my truck. 

While the start of the second half went much like the first, I was still hopeful of a WVU victory.

With Duke up by seven, I had to make a stop for some Peeps at the local Rite Aid.  I took my time and purchased a few other items of sweet and finally got back to the game.

Much to my stupefaction,  WVU was now up by two, and I had missed it all.

I continued my journey to a cookout/"Easter" egg hunt with a good presentiment about the outcome of this second round, tournament  match-up.  I arrived at the host's home and went straight to the television, not neglecting the brief handshakes and socializing on my way down the hall.

I was able to watch Joe Alexander have a tremendous second half and continue watching the explosive effort of Joe Mazzula.  In tandem, these two ball players showed the heart of a winner.

I was excited to see the WVU bench contribute so much to this victory.  Mazzula himself had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.  Not to mention the amazing performances by Jamie Smalligan, John Flowers and Cam Thoroughman, who has averaged 5.6 minutes of play for the entire season.

Therefore, the day that started as a good day, finally got better, as the Mountaineers went on to a 73-67 victory over the Duke Blue Devils and claimed a spot on the court in Phoenix for the "Sweet Sixteen" tournament.

A team once identified as a "Cinderella Team" has now proven that they have the right to be called, "The Contender".

For the folks at Bleacherreport.com, I'll take my t-shirt in a double XL.

Last year's NIT Champions don't have anything to prove.  The West Virginia Mountaineers haven't come very far since last season, only because they didn't have to. 

The Mounties barely missed the "big dance" last year and had to settle for a hoe-down. 

The poor decision by the NCAA selection committee didn't seem to bother WVU or the great state of West Virginia and it's Mountaineer faithful. 

You see, those of us who hail from WV (W.Va for outsiders) take pride in our team, no matter what happens.  We are proud to follow the boys and/or girls where ever they may lead us. 

We have been to the NCAA tourney 21 times and visited the NIT 15 times.  We have entered the Sweet Sixteen.  We have seen ourselves in the Elite Eight and have surpassed the Final Four (as it is known today) to compete in three National Championships.

You may recall a fella' by the name Jerry West, who just happened to be the star of the 1959 NCAA Championship game.  Or, you may have heard the name 'Hot Rod' Hundley a time or two, who helped the WVU Basketball program emerge from the shadows.

The list goes on: Rod Thorn, Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle, Alex Ruoff, Joe Alexander, Frank Young, etc...

I don't wanna brag but, I have no doubts that this year's WVU Men's Basketball team will make it to the Sweet Sixteen once again.  If they make it further, ok.  If not, ok.  I mean, c'mon, the team had to take on a coaching change, which comes along with a new game plan.  I will gladly give them a pat on the back just for making as far as they have already.

So, to sum things up.  The boys were good last year and just as good this year.  They are part of a dynasty that has been around for years.  Win or lose they have fans who will support them. 

I ask you, why settle for a slipper, a kiss and a ride in a pumpkin, when you have reason to be called the King?

When i first saw that West Virginia got a seven seed i was thinking "what an upset in the making". West Virginia is a battle-tested team in and out of Conference; with a respectable RPI of 29, SOS of 45 and a record of 5-5 against RPI top 50.they finished the season 24-10 and 5th in the Big East. WVU played Tennessee and lost by 2. They also played Winthrop,Oklahoma, and at Auburn. West Virginia has great guard play from Senior Darris Nichols who has averaged 10-3-3 this season. Also G Alex Ruoff makes 3 threes a game and shoots 46 percent from the floor. They also have 4 players averaging double figures in scoring. Theirs two things needed to make a tourney run; A pair of guards who can control the game and a great scorer WVU has both.

WVU will play the #10 Arizona Wildcats in the first round. Arizona did have the #1 toughest schedule but they lost 14 games, they should not be in the tourney. Arizona the last two years has showed me nothing. It seems that all they are thinking about is getting Lute Olsen back next year. PF Joe Alexander is shooting like another big man i have seen Larry Johnson. Alexander is averaging 17 points and shooting 47 percent from the floor. But in the Big East tournament he averaged 22 and lost in the 3rd round to Georgetown. Arizona's big man does not want to come outside the paint to play defense. Joe will put on a clinic in this game with his mid range jumper.

WVU's potential opponent in the 2nd round will be the winner of Duke vs Belmont. I'm from Nashville so i have seen Belmont play they are a very good perimeter team. I expect them to give a good game to Duke but will not win. WVU will give Duke all it wants on the defensive end. West Virginia plays great perimeter D and we all know Duke lives and dies by the three. Again Duke doesnt have a good enough big defender to slow down Joe Alexander. JOE will carry WVU on his back to the SWEET 16!

This is not the first tournament for coach Bob Huggins. While with Cincinnati and Kansas State Bob lead his teams to 14 of the last 15 NCAA tournaments. He took Cincy to the Final Four in his 3rd year as coach in 1991-92. Then later took them to the Elite 8 twice once in 93 then later in 96. This is Bob Huggins first year with WVU and you can see the toughness he brings to the team. Bob is a very experienced coach and will lead the Mountaineers to the Sweet 16 and who knows maybe further on... 

"It's a great day to be a Mountaineer, wherever you may be!"  Tony Caridi's words have become familiar to the West Virginia faithful, and are especially meaningful come March.

This is West Virginia's fourth NCAA tournament visit in 10 years, and don't be surprised if the defending NIT champions make a run with the big boys this year.

The past three trips have come with excitement and over-achievement, as the men from the mountains have reached at least the Sweet 16 in each appearance.  With each visit, the Mountaineers have been a six seed or worse. 

In 1998 they reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 10.  The trip in '98 was at the mercy of Bob Huggins' Cincinnati Bearcats.  A three-point buzzer beater by Mountaineer legend Jerrod West (no, not Jerry West) lifted the Mountaineers past the Bearcats. 

With Huggins now coaching the Mountaineers, a deep run could easily be possible.

Huggins has brought a new style of basketball to West Virginia, taking John Beilein's 1-3-1 defense and three-point barrage/backdoor cut offense to mold it into what many would recognize from his days at Cincinnati. 

The players have embraced this transition, attacking teams with a scrappy, in-your-face defense.  The players have beefed up and the team, who once seldom could win the rebounding margin under Beilein, now is expected to out-rebound opponents.  

Another Sweet 16 performance or better will be dependent upon the performance of Joe Alexander.  Alexander's recent outburst of mid-range scoring supremacy over opponents has made him nearly impossible to guard. 

His off-the-dribble, jump shot from all over the floor is driving opponents mad. 

Alexander was recently named to the First Team All-Big East and to the Big East All-Tournament Team.

His recent scoring outbursts have come with success for the Mountaineers, helping the team to advanced to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament with victories over Providence and Connecticut.

Alexander's supporting cast will be crucial in ensuring another Mountaineer upset or two in the tournament. 

In addition, senior point guard Darris Nichols must continue to lead the team with his reliable ball handling and accurate long range shooting.  Da'Sean Butler will be expected to drive on opponents with authority, while Alex Ruoff must be lethal from three-point range. 

Support from the bench will be a must for the Mountaineers, as their pesky defense can get them into foul trouble at times.

First off the bench will be Wellington Smith, who can muscle around down low and block shots on defense.  The likes of John Flowers, Joe Mazzula, and Cam Thoroughman will be needed to step in for key minutes to keep the Mountaineers from slipping away in games.  

This year, there's no reason why more Mountaineer Magic can't be possible. 

All of the pieces are in place to pull off a few upsets and bust the experts' brackets once again.

If it all comes together, don't be surprised if a few couches in Morgantown, WV are burned before the tournament is over. 

(And this follows a “stellar” season of football officiating for the Big East…Uconn scores on phantom fair catch no-call anyone?)

The problem is, these aren’t difficult calls they are missing. These are either easy calls, or they are making inconceivable calls that shouldn’t have even been considered, let alone acted upon, in the first place.

1) WVU gets jobbed after Ewing “blocks” the last second shot by Da’sean Butler.  It’s clearly goaltending, but the refs hesitate and then decide not to make the call.

Instead, they run off the court as Huggins desperately tries to chase them down. Although it was a tough call to make, and can’t be reviewed after the fact, the review showed that the ball was CLEARLY on it’s way down, and it’s a play refs should be able to call even in a tough situation.

I might be able to concede not intervening on the final play if this were a Hoya homegame, but to make that call at WVU is a smack in the face. Worst of all, you can see from the pic that the ref's in perfect position to make the right call: right underneath the basket!

IMHO, if it comes down to that game deciding whether the Mountaineers make the tournament, the committee should consider this game a win. It probably would have been the signature win that a bubble team like WVU will need to make the tournament at-large.

2) WVU again get’s massively screwed when the refs decide that a shooter who already made both his free throws wasn’t the one who was fouled. From the AP:

“When the Mountaineers finally made two free throws, by Alexander with slightly more than 4 minutes remaining, they were wiped off -- the officials reviewed the game tape and decided Thoroughman should have been on the line instead. He went to the line and missed the front end of the 1-and-1."

"I've never been involved in anything like that," Huggins said.

The Pirates went on to win the game by one point on a last second Ronald Ramon three point shot. Now this is less a clear cut screwing because who knows how those two points would have changed the game in the course of events.

But, the call itself is retarded. How can you possibly take the points back after the free throws have already been shot? To make matters worse, both players were fouled on the play (from what I could see) so instead of correcting an obvious mistake, the refs took away points because they changed their minds on a judgement call.

I would be the first to advocate for a more complete system of challenges and reviews in basketball (I even think coaches should be given a couple challenges to keep at the ready in cases where a big foul call drastically changes the course of a game).

Taking away points already earned because the refs reviewed the tape and decided the other guy might have been fouled a split-second earlier is idiotic and should not be part of review.

If they can’t review a goaltending call after the fact, they sure as hell shouldn’t be able to change foul shooters in a highly subjective foul situation.

3) Which brings us to tonight’s grand finale of terrible Big East calls.  This one, by far, takes the cake.

Basically, the refs GAVE another win by calling a phantom foul (one that would have been questionable even in the middle of the game) with .1 seconds left. The call was made (get this) 80+ feet from the basket.

Obviously, with that little time on the clock, even if the tiny hip bump did send the player out of bounds, no advantage is gained or lost by being bumped with so little time left.

Georgetown’s John Wallace, who sunk both free throws to win the game, wouldn’t have gotten a shot off anyway. Nor could Villanova, if given the ball out of bounds, have gotten a shot off. The game should have gone to overtime. Period.

What made the call even worse was that Scottie Reynolds took more contact, himself, on his way to the rim on the possession which led to the final call and received no such ticky-tack game changing foul call.

Obviously, Jay Wright was incensed and just stood there slack-jawed, staring at the ref, motioning from the Reynolds' no-call to the Wallace foul and back again. Perhaps even a more defining image, though, was John Thompson III slightly shaking his head as he approached to shake hands as if to say, “Sorry, you really got screwed there.”

This one doesn’t require any further debate. It was plainly a bad call. All the announcers agreed. The question is, why was it allowed to happen?

Yes, the ref should have swallowed his whistle, but can’t the other refs come in after the fact and correct him? Can’t they at least determine that the game clock expired before the foul?

Call it an inadvertent whistle.  Give Georgeown the ball out of bounds with .1 seconds left.  Who cares, but don’t throw the entire game away because a ref made an awful split-second decision in the heat of the moment.

This is the kind of play where a coach's challenge (two or three per game tops and bad challenges cost a timeout) on important foul calls could be helpful. Just because it’s a subjective call doesn’t mean that there isn’t a right and a wrong call (same thing with pass interference in football, which will hopefully be changed next season).

For the time being, somebody in the Big East should apologize to Villanova and maybe Bob Huggins while they’re at it. Nobody’s face should get that red…not even Bobby Knight’s.

The thing with law school, they say, is that they spend the first year breaking you down, making you feel like a worthless insect.

The next two years they build you back up again from nothing, which partly explains why there are so many arrogant young lawyers: Had you survived such a process, you might think highly of yourself, as well.

It looks to me like WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins is doing the same thing to his team this year.

Over the past few games, WVU has lost the one thing it could always do—shoot. The loss to Cincinnati was one of historic proportion. WVU shot 20 percent from the field, its all-time lowest.

Always a reliable free-throw shooting team, the Mountaineers’s touch from 15 feet, unguarded, has abandoned them, costing them wins against Pitt and Georgetown.

Aside from blaming Huggins’s sartorial choices—me and my buddies like to call his look “Clarksburg mafia,” or “hillbilly Soprano”—I think Huggins is physically breaking down his team.

Which may not be a bad thing.

John Beilein built this team to shoot and shoot well in open space. He yielded rebounds, and the physical pounding they cause, for a barrage of three-pointers. When his team was on, opponents got killed, and swiftly, sometimes finding themselves suddenly down by 15 within the span of a few minutes.

And I won’t question their toughness—I’d take Mike Gansey or J.D. Collins in a scrap anytime, but Huggins built his teams at Cincinnati to be 35-game brawlers; it is why they looked the way they did.

He sent these Mountaineers to the weight room as soon as he got to WVU last year. He told them to crash the boards. He makes them jump onto a running treadmill if they screw up in practice. (No lie. Talk about slapstick moments. And subdural hematomas. But that will be an issue down the road for the civil courts.)

And they were strong out of the gates, but in the past few games, the fatigue is on full display, and most evidently at the free-throw line.

Think about how hard it is, after running the floor Huggins-style for 30 minutes, having just gotten hacked for trying to execute a play you were not born to make, and then to stand still at the line and, flatfoot, with shaky legs, trying sink a shot.

A more physical WVU team will emerge from the other side of this process, but it will not be produced this season.

This may be the beginning of a bad slide for the Mountaineers; it seems unlikely they will make the NCAA tournament at this point, unless they make a deep run in the Big East tournament.

By then, however, the Mountaineers may be limping along on legs like a boxer’s in the 15th round.

During a matchup against the school he took to the Final Four—the first since being forced out in 2005—Bob Huggins, wearing a mustard colored suit and matching shoes, witnessed a game like none he has coached.

Mick Cronin’s Bearcats, who just suffered two losses by a combined four points, came right out and punched Huggins' “not tough enough” Mountaineers in the face.

Led by the team’s only double figure scorer, sophomore guard/fullback Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati (10-11, 5-4) jumped out to a 21-7 lead and never looked back.

Two stats from Wednesday’s game in Morgantown leap out and slap you in the face.  First, West Virginia (15-6, 4-4) shot 10-50 from the floor. The 20 percent field goal shooting is the worst performance in school history.

Ten field goals. For an entire game...Yikes.

The other statistic that will shock the hell out of you—especially if you’re at all familiar with Bob Huggins’ coaching style—the Bearcats snatched 21 more rebounds than the Mountaineers.

Twenty-one more. The ESPN box score gives UC a 15-rebound advantage, but no matter what, that is seriously alarming. It was alarming to Huggins especially.

“It was like men playing against boys out there,” he said.

The final result was an embarrassing 62-39 beat down for the rattled Mountaineers, suffered in their home arena.

This is the same arena in which West Virginia had won 15 straight games before a controversial one-point loss to No. 6 Georgetown over the weekend.

For Cincinnati, it was another benchmark victory in what has become an astonishingly entertaining season.

For Cronin, it was another road win against another mentor. UC upset Rick Pitino and Louisville 58-57 on New Year’s Day. (Strangely enough, those are Cronin's only two Big East road victories since taking over at Cincinnati.)

Halfway through the Big East slate, the Bearcats are tied for the second most wins in conference play. Amazing, if not stunning, for a team that finished dead last at 2-14 last season.

To add to Cronin’s impressive accomplishments—and most Big East coaches say he is the current front-runner for Big East Coach of the Year—consider this:

1) Every team in the Big East, besides St. John’s and Cincinnati, has at least three players averaging double figures. St John’s has two, and is in dead last. UC only has ONE and is a half game out of third!

2) The Bearcats have been without the services of former McDonald’s All-American forward Mike Williams, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during preseason conditioning. Cronin calls him his best player.

3) Nobody on the current roster has been in the program for more than two years.

I think it’s safe to say Cronin has this program headed in the right direction. It should be interesting down the stretch, as UC will play five of the bottom six teams in the league (four at home).

Will Cronin shock the world and lead Cincinnati to the postseason?

Stay tuned.

In a night reserved for a record in futility, the West Virginia Mountaineers lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats Wednesday night 62-39 in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers (15-6), who had their worst shooting night since 1951, converted just 10 of 50 field goals, to shoot twenty percent from the floor.

The much anticipated showdown against a Bearcats team which Huggins coached for 16 years never materialized, as Cincinnati got off to an early lead and were never challenged.

The Bearcats were content to pack in a zone, allowing WVU to shoot mid-range jumpers the entire evening.  The usually potent WVU three-point attack was anemic, hitting just 1-for-22, a Darris Nichols jumper from the top of the arc, midway through the second half. 

Due to West Virginia's inability to convert, the Bearcats manhandled the Mountaineers on the boards, out rebounding WVU by a 47-26 margin.

Nichols led WVU with 17 points, helped by a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.  It was the ineffectiveness of the other starters which was the story. 

Joe Alexander, bothered by a groin injury, was 0-for-10 from the field.  The usually reliable Alex Ruoff was 1-for-12, and Da'Sean Butler shot 4-for-15. 

It appeared the Mountaineers were suffering from a hangover from last Saturday's two-point loss to Georgetown and did not have an answer for Cincinnati's energy and athleticism.

The two consecutive losses at home may jeopardize West Virginia's bid to make the NCAA tournament.  With a good portion of the Big East schedule to be played, the Mountaineers have time to right their ship. 

However, things do not get easier as they must travel to play Providence on Saturday.

Cincinnati (10-11), which has begun to make noise in the conference with recent wins against Villanova and Louisville, was led by Deonta Vaughn's 18 points.