TicketsUpon hearing of their draw as the No. 6 seed on Sunday, the excitement of the moment set the tone for a week that will be all business for the Bearcats.
CINCINNATI - The last time the University of Cincinnati had a week off was back in early February before a game against Pittsburgh.
In the blur of the Big East blender there were rarely moments to reflect. Over the last three days, there have been no flights, no gameplans, no practices.
For Mick Cronin, the reprieve allowed time to think. He transformed Cincinnati from gutted to glory. Sunday, after 6 p.m., while sitting with his team the Montgomery Inn, the journey would be complete.
"I have thought about it," Cronin said. "It's a long grind. You feel like you've climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro."
Kilimajaro stands 19,238 feet and the scenic route takes approximately six or seven days to trek. Some said the Bearcats uphill climb could take 10 years. It was done in half that. Regardless of the time frame, the view from the top was glorious.
"You take a lot of pride in it," Cronin said. "You do something a lot of people say you weren't going to be able to do. Maybe not that Mick Cronin couldn't' do, but nobody would be able to do it."
As of Sunday night, it was done. But the moment the name Cincinnati flipped over on the CBS selection show, the time for reflection ended. Suddenly, the time off gave way to the most pressure packed week of work this program experienced in Cronin's era.
Sean Kilpatrick said he felt the excitement when he showed up to find out his team's fate, but when he finally saw the Bearcats name he wasn't dancing or putting on a wild celebration.
"I played it cool because there is still a lot of basketball to be played," Kilpatrick said.
Cronin said Missouri could be the only team he hasn't seen play this season. They are also a team who was ranked No. 22 in the country Feb. 28. They slipped back to an 11-seed after losing four of their last five.
Parity has been the catchphrase of the college basketball season and this 6-11 matchup defines that. Missouri's RPI is 37. UC sits one spot ahead at 36. The Bearcats own five wins over Top 50 RPI teams. Missouri has four with a classic overtime loss to Georgetown.
Very little separates the two teams, so when Cronin saw his draw for Washington D.C., he couldn't contemplated one initial thought.
"I thought, 'Wow, I can't believe Missouri is an 11,'" he said.
So it begins. While so much was built around making Sunday the destination for these Bearcats, those expectations changed as the season progressed. Cronin and his team's focus now shifts from returning to the tournament to making waves there.
The time for reflection ended Sunday night. Everything this team played for over the past five months gave way to one undeniable and fulfilling truth.
"We just love to be in the tournament and we have a chance," Cashmere Wright said. "That's the only thing that matters to me."