TicketsOct. 20, 2010
By Dave Malaska
GoBEARCATS.com
With a little more than a week left in the 2010 season, there's a clear line between the BIG EAST's haves and have-nots.
And the Bearcats are one of the haves.
Heading into Wednesday night's tilt with South Florida, Cincinnati (6-4-3 overall, 4-1-0 BIG EAST) was in second place in the conference's Red Division, poised for a return to postseason play and home field advantage for the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Just don't mention to UC head coach Hylton Dayes that his squad is a lock for the tournament just yet.
"No. Not at all. Not at all," he grimaces. "Not with last year so fresh in our minds."
Despite 12 points in the conference standings and remaining opponents like DePaul (3-7-4, 0-3-2) and Syracuse (2-6-5, 0-2-3), the coach isn't taking anything for granted a year after UC closed out their season with five straight losses, missing postseason play.
When that slide started in mid-October, UC was 8-5 and looking like a lock, too. Then, the Bearcat defense buckled -- they allowed 13 goals in their final five matches -- while goals of their own (three) came a lot harder.
"It's hard to get into the guys' heads, but last year's team was struggling physically as well as mentally. We were worn down," explains Dayes.
This year, he concedes, he'd be surprised if another collapse comes. The Bearcats are healthy and confident. Coming off a strong showing last week against No. 2-ranked Louisville, despite the loss, and a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Seton Hall on Saturday, Cincinnati's also playing well.
"This team is different," says Dayes. "The leadership component is a big thing. There are six seniors on this year's team and they know that by the end of next week they could be done. There's a sense of urgency. The mindset is different. They believe they can win, whereas last year I wasn't quite sure that feeling was there."
If the Bearcats do stave off another slide, they could be looking at one of the BIG EAST Tournament's top seeds. In the tournament, the top four finishers in each division earn home field advantage for their first games, while each division's top two earn first-round byes.
But is home-field advantage that much of an advantage?
Maybe, but again, there's that pesky "recent history."
Though the Bearcats hadn't been beaten at home in 13 matches before last week's loss to Louisville, Dayes points out that for his teams the home field advantage hasn't always been all it's cracked up to be. UC had it in 2005 and 2006, and lost both times. In 2007, though, they went on the road to Providence and came back with a 2-0 win over the Friars.
"So, you know, it's been a mixed bag for us," Dayes says. "We'd like to play at home, but first things first. We always preach 'one game at a time' to the guys, so first we have to get into the tournament. We've put ourselves in a pretty good position. Now we just have to finish strong."
That effort starts at noon Saturday at Villanova. And by the time UC celebrates Senior Night on Oct. 30 against Syracuse under Gettler Stadium's lights, we'll know if they've pulled it off.