TicketsUSF (12-4, 2-2 AAC) at CINCINNATI (14-3, 3-1)
SERIES INFO: 41st meeting; Cincinnati leads 32-8 overall;
Cincinnati leads 18-1 at home;
Cincinnati also leads 12-6 in Tampa and 2-1 at neutral sites
LAST SEASON'S MEETING: Cincinnati won 78-55 at the USF Sun Dome
in Tampa on Jan. 13, 2018
STREAK: Cincinnati - 9
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (282-143);
16th season overall (351-167)
Brian Gregory is in his second season at USF (22-26); 15th season overall (270-205)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 14): Cincinnati (RV/--); USF (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPNews; Jon Meterparel provides play-by-play with color analyst Sean Harrington
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – If you didn't know better, you'd have thought the University of Cincinnati Bearcats had lost to Connecticut on Saturday night as you listened to UC coach Mick Cronin after the game.
He called his team's performance in a 74-72 overtime win "embarrassing" and reeled off a litany of mistakes his players had made throughout the game. He lamented their lack of toughness and their inability to follow instructions.
"We have a listening problem," he said.
And yet, as the Bearcats prepare to face South Florida on Tuesday night at 7 at Fifth Third Arena, UC is 14-3 overall, 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference, just a half-game between conference leader UCF. They were ranked No. 35 in the NCAA's NET rankings Monday, putting them on target to make their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
USF is 12-4 overall, 2-2 in the league, and coming off an 82-80 overtime loss at Temple. The Bulls are in their second year under Brian Gregory, the former head coach at Dayton and Georgia Tech. UC leads the all-time series with the Bulls 32-8, including 18-1 in Cincinnati.
Despite the Bearcats' impressive record, Cronin knows they're fortunate to be 3-1 in the league. They just as easily could be 1-3. They had to overcome a six-point deficit with 1:16 left in regulation to force overtime and win at Tulsa. Then they squandered an 11-point lead with 12:44 left in regulation before holding off UConn in overtime, managing only one field goal in the final 9:49 of regulation.
Tulsa shot 41.3 percent from the field and made 14 of 23 from three-point range. UConn shot 41.4 percent from the field and made 11 of 27 from long range. Both teams were granted an abundance of open looks on the perimeter by the UC defense.
But what really bothered Cronin is that the Bearcats were out-rebounded in both games.
"Offense isn't our problem," Cronin told reporters after the game, "which I told you in here two months ago. We shoot over 40 percent every game. We've got work to do in the department of how hard you have to compete. (Traditionally) we hold teams under 40 and we out-rebound teams. It's been going on here for a long time."
USF shoots 44.3 percent from the field as a team and 33.1 percent from three-point range. The Bulls have out-rebounded their opponents by an average margin of 8.2. They're last in the league in free throw shooting, making only 60.9 percent, but have three double-figure scorers – David Collins (14.6), Laquincy Rideau (13.9) and Alexis Yetna (12.8). Yetna leads the league with 10.8 rebounds per game.
The Bearcats have won their last nine games against the Bulls, but the way they've started conference play, the defending league champs can't afford to take anybody for granted.
This has been a strange season so far for UC. The Bearcats opened with a sobering loss to Ohio State at home before reeling off nine straight wins. The winning streak came to an end at Mississippi State. Then they won three straight before losing at East Carolina. They've recovered to win their last two, but neither win was the sort that inspired confidence from their coach, who's still trying to get his players to understand how difficult conference play is.
"Toughness is relative," Cronin said. "It's like boxing. You can carry a guy and get him to 20-0. Eventually he's got to fight somebody who's tough. Conference play is a war."
It certainly has been so far this season for the Bearcats, who still lead the league in scoring defense (60.3) and are third in field goal percentage defense at 39.5. But they're 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to make 36 percent of three-point shots, and have slipped to fourth in rebounding margin (plus 5.6).
A lot of the teams in the American – or any other league, for that matter – would love to have some of those numbers, but they're not good enough for Cronin, who has seen the Bearcats win 75 games in the last two and half seasons playing his style, which relies on stifling defense and ferocious rebounding. He's not interested in relaxing his standards in those areas.
"You can call it whatever you want to call it," Cronin said. "Bearcat basketball is how it's been around here."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at the Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.
SERIES INFO: 41st meeting; Cincinnati leads 32-8 overall;
Cincinnati leads 18-1 at home;
Cincinnati also leads 12-6 in Tampa and 2-1 at neutral sites
LAST SEASON'S MEETING: Cincinnati won 78-55 at the USF Sun Dome
in Tampa on Jan. 13, 2018
STREAK: Cincinnati - 9
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (282-143);
16th season overall (351-167)
Brian Gregory is in his second season at USF (22-26); 15th season overall (270-205)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (JAN. 14): Cincinnati (RV/--); USF (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPNews; Jon Meterparel provides play-by-play with color analyst Sean Harrington
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – If you didn't know better, you'd have thought the University of Cincinnati Bearcats had lost to Connecticut on Saturday night as you listened to UC coach Mick Cronin after the game.
He called his team's performance in a 74-72 overtime win "embarrassing" and reeled off a litany of mistakes his players had made throughout the game. He lamented their lack of toughness and their inability to follow instructions.
"We have a listening problem," he said.
And yet, as the Bearcats prepare to face South Florida on Tuesday night at 7 at Fifth Third Arena, UC is 14-3 overall, 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference, just a half-game between conference leader UCF. They were ranked No. 35 in the NCAA's NET rankings Monday, putting them on target to make their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
USF is 12-4 overall, 2-2 in the league, and coming off an 82-80 overtime loss at Temple. The Bulls are in their second year under Brian Gregory, the former head coach at Dayton and Georgia Tech. UC leads the all-time series with the Bulls 32-8, including 18-1 in Cincinnati.
Despite the Bearcats' impressive record, Cronin knows they're fortunate to be 3-1 in the league. They just as easily could be 1-3. They had to overcome a six-point deficit with 1:16 left in regulation to force overtime and win at Tulsa. Then they squandered an 11-point lead with 12:44 left in regulation before holding off UConn in overtime, managing only one field goal in the final 9:49 of regulation.
Tulsa shot 41.3 percent from the field and made 14 of 23 from three-point range. UConn shot 41.4 percent from the field and made 11 of 27 from long range. Both teams were granted an abundance of open looks on the perimeter by the UC defense.
But what really bothered Cronin is that the Bearcats were out-rebounded in both games.
"Offense isn't our problem," Cronin told reporters after the game, "which I told you in here two months ago. We shoot over 40 percent every game. We've got work to do in the department of how hard you have to compete. (Traditionally) we hold teams under 40 and we out-rebound teams. It's been going on here for a long time."
USF shoots 44.3 percent from the field as a team and 33.1 percent from three-point range. The Bulls have out-rebounded their opponents by an average margin of 8.2. They're last in the league in free throw shooting, making only 60.9 percent, but have three double-figure scorers – David Collins (14.6), Laquincy Rideau (13.9) and Alexis Yetna (12.8). Yetna leads the league with 10.8 rebounds per game.
The Bearcats have won their last nine games against the Bulls, but the way they've started conference play, the defending league champs can't afford to take anybody for granted.
This has been a strange season so far for UC. The Bearcats opened with a sobering loss to Ohio State at home before reeling off nine straight wins. The winning streak came to an end at Mississippi State. Then they won three straight before losing at East Carolina. They've recovered to win their last two, but neither win was the sort that inspired confidence from their coach, who's still trying to get his players to understand how difficult conference play is.
"Toughness is relative," Cronin said. "It's like boxing. You can carry a guy and get him to 20-0. Eventually he's got to fight somebody who's tough. Conference play is a war."
It certainly has been so far this season for the Bearcats, who still lead the league in scoring defense (60.3) and are third in field goal percentage defense at 39.5. But they're 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to make 36 percent of three-point shots, and have slipped to fourth in rebounding margin (plus 5.6).
A lot of the teams in the American – or any other league, for that matter – would love to have some of those numbers, but they're not good enough for Cronin, who has seen the Bearcats win 75 games in the last two and half seasons playing his style, which relies on stifling defense and ferocious rebounding. He's not interested in relaxing his standards in those areas.
"You can call it whatever you want to call it," Cronin said. "Bearcat basketball is how it's been around here."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at the Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.