Cincinnati Adds Another Tough Schedule
5/1/2001
Cincinnati?s schedule should easily rank among the most challenging in the country. The Bearcats? non-conference opponents posted a .676 winning percentage, while C-USA teams which average four returning starters will attempt to keep UC from winning its third consecutive American Division crown.
Contests against three of last year?s final four teams dot the schedule, part of 11 matches Cincinnati will play against teams that earned bids to the NCAA Tournament last season. Seventeen matches against regionally-ranked opponents also make up UC?s schedule.
Of its 14 non-league matches, 10 will pit UC against regionally-ranked squads, seven are against NCAA teams and five opponents were nationally ranked in 2000.
Highlighting The 2001 Schedule . . .
The Bearcats open the 2001 season by participating in the Golden Gate Classic hosted by the University of San Francisco. UC will meet Wyoming (10-22) in the first round and either the host school (12-15) or Furman (18-17) on the final day.
Highlighting the non-conference schedule is the Aston Imua Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii. Cincinnati will face Final Four squads USC (29-3) and the host Rainbows (31-2), as well as a Top 25 squad from Utah State (22-10).
The Bearcats open the home schedule by hosting nationally-ranked Ohio State (26-7), marking the Buckeyes? first trip to the Shoemaker Center since 1992.
UC meets national runner-up Wisconsin (33-4) and NCAA qualifier Duke (21-13) at the University of Wisconsin tournament.
In all, Cincinnati will have faced opponents with a combined 162-39 record over 10 days while traveling from Hawaii to Cincinnati to Madison, Wis.
Western Kentucky (25-8), Wright State (11-17) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (23-5) will return trips to the Shoemaker Center after Cincinnati played each on the road in 2000.
UC ends its regular season at the Atlantic 10-Conference USA Challenge in Louisville, Ky., where it will square off with Dayton (18-11) and Xavier (23-8).
Cincinnati will attempt to capture its third straight American Division title against a league schedule that includes NCAA qualifiers Houston, Louisville and South Florida.
First-time meetings with new league members East Carolina and TCU also highlight league play.
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