TicketsUC was built to win games like last night. At least, the rebuilt version of UC is.
No, not because of the advantage of a guy like Yancy Gates going for a career high 25 points or USF's history of losing.
When Mick Cronin built this team and dedicated it to depth and defense, you rarely lose to teams you are supposed to beat. As long as the effort is there -- and it has been for six of the last seven now -- that will be enough. With this many players who can put up points, the percentage chance you endure a night going ice cold from the floor and open the door to an upset are remarkablly slim.
Almost certainly, somebody will be hitting shots. And even if they don't, the depth and fresh energy level of the defense can be enough to pull the Bearcats through.
It is no fluke UC doesn't own a loss outside the Top 35 RPI this year. It is no fluke they are now 8-0 against the bottom five seeds of this tournament with five wins by double digits.
It's how they are built.
Let's eat...
--- Lots of postgame interviews to sift through. That is the beauty of the BE tournament's media bonanza. We will start off with the GoBearcats.com video express:
Here is UC's postgame presser with Cronin, Gates and Dion Dixon.
Here are Dan Hoard and Chuck Machock talking about the USF game and looking ahead to ND.
Here are t he game highlights in case you missed it.
--- The no-respect card comes to a head tonight against Notre Dame. UC's lack of it and search for it have been the driving force behind the program all season. Gates, Dixon and Cronin all continued to admit as much Wednesday after the game.
The Chicago Tribune documented it here.
Notre Dame has won 9 of 10 and is in the conversation with Duke and North Carolina for a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. A win against ND at 7 p.m. on ESPN in the quarters of the Big East tournament would turn some heads -- including those of the selection committee.
A win Thursday would be worth at least one seed line.
--- Prime example of no-respect from the media. ESPN New York giving UC the "Thanks for playing" tag and ranked them below 13-17 Seton Hall for chances they could win the tourney.
--- You know we here at the Breakfast love excellent nuggets and here's one for you courtesy Amanda Balionis (via Tommy G): All eight teams playing today have at least 20 wins.
--- Also, UC posted its highest regulation point total of Big East play with 87 points. They scored 93 with the OT period against Providence.
--- Thanks to Dan Hoard for pointing out this story on UC recruit Jermaine Sanders in the New York Post.
--- Notre Dame is trying to recreate its tournament victory at the Old Spice Classic, according to Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune.
--- The New York Post went with the standard story about Gates thriving after his suspension.
--- I missed this in yesterday's Breakfast, but Bill Koch had a nice piece with Cronin talking about attendance and the difference supporting the program in the seats can make.
--- The Jim Calhoun comments were mentioned here yesterday. Cronin responded with a comment of his own when asked about it.
--- As for the St. John's-Rutgers mess, you can find plenty of opinions on it -- including the head of NCAA officials calling it unacceptable -- so I won't offer another one here.
I will only say this: Mike Rice is a great coach and class act and showed why throughout the whole process.
In his postgame he said that the officials of the game have an impeccable record.
You know how high of a road you have to take to say Tim Higgins and Jim Burr have impeccable records?
Snoop Dogg thinks that's really high.
--- The combo of Sean McDonough, Twitter's-own Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery doing these games makes it so much easier to watch on TV. Chuck Machock's streak of games without an ejection even entered the conversation of Wednesday's blowout.
But the Raftery explosions far and away make my day. Matt Norlander posted a 60-second best of Raftery experience worth listening to.
We even got some "Gather the puppies!" during last night's UC broadcast.
--- March is the month of Gus. Here's an interview with him, cackle-free, unfortunately.
--- A perfect day of predictions for me last night from the Big East tournament. Happy with picking the Marquette upset, though, I probably didn't deserve to be correct with the St. John's pick. So, now 5-2 thus far with Villanova's choke job really wearing on my record.
Let's move on, here is today's schedule
All games on ESPN/ESPN3D
Noon: No. 9 UConn vs No. 1 Pitt
2 p.m.: No. 5 St. John's vs No. 4 Syracuse
7 p.m.: No. 7 Cincinnati vs No. 2 Notre Dame
9 p.m.: No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 3 Louisville
Predictions:
First prediction is that his will be far and away the best day of basketball the Big East experienced all year. I'll say no game is decided by more than seven points with at least two by one possession.
Pittsburgh: The top defensive teams in the league have done a great job of taking away Kemba Walker all season. Here are his point totals: WVU 22 (8 of 23 shooting), UC 16, Syracuse 8, U of L 16. Even though he posted 31 in the first meeting against Pitt, Walker needed 27 shots to do it and only made 10.
I think Pitt keeps Walker from being the primary factor and wins by the largest margin of the day at MSG.
Syracuse: St. John's played tight in its opener against Rutgers. Maybe some of the pressure of having the tourney at the Garden got to them and they aren't letting it rip. Who knows, but there won't be much pressure affecting the Cuse who are favorites here every year and playing well of late. Buzzer-beater type finish.
Again, no prediction on UC games from me for conflict of interest.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles are rolling and feeling as confident as they have in a while after the win against WVU. U of L struggled away from home all season and I think they come out sluggish with Marquette in rythym from its third game in three days.
On to some randomness...
--- I have friends who have been trying to argue this point for years.
--- A 60-year old man slugged University of Minnesota mascot Goldy the Gopher twice in the face at a gymnastics meet. (All the aggression and testosterone of gymnastics must have overflowed into the crowd) I personally love this quote from a bystander in the story.
"It was just two people fighting, but if one of them is dressed up as a 7-foot gopher, then it's pretty amusing."
--- DVR alert: Zach Galifianakis hosts SNL Saturday night. The promo reel is strong to quite strong.
--- If you are a Reds fan and don't visit Jamie Ramsey's Better Off Red blog, that's a you problem, not a Jamie problem. The blog was ranked No. 1 MLB pro blog for February.
Sidenote: Great tweet from Jamie this morning regarding the rise of the Ohio River -- Your attention please. If you parked your car on the public landing, it's now in Louisville
--- Jeff Pearlman set out to find the Worst Song/Video Combo Ever. The top five list is truly fantastic/atrocious, including a Joey Lawrence sighting. But the No. 1 is to videos what Tim Higgins is to officiating.