TicketsNo. 7 Seed CINCINNATI (28-6) vs.
No. 10 Seed IOWA (22-11)
2019 NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, March 22 // 12:15 p.m. (ET)
Nationwide Arena // Columbus, Ohio
IOWA SERIES INFO: Ninth meeting; Cincinnati leads 6-2 overall;
Cincinnati leads 3-2 at neutral sites,
Cincinnati leads 1-0 in Cincinnati; Cincinnati leads 2-0 in Iowa City
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 76-64 on March 17, 2005 in the NCAA Tournament First Round in Indianapolis, Ind.
Fran McCaffery is in his ninth season at Iowa (173-131); 23rd season overall (423-308)
Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (296-146); 16th season overall (365-170)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (MARCH 18): Cincinnati (22/24); Iowa (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS; Brian Anderson provides play-by-play with color analyst Chris Webber. Allie LaForce reports.
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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Junior forward Trevon Scott said he doesn't think about it anymore. Or maybe he does, at least now and then.
"I've got a lot of mixed emotions with it," Scott said. "It just goes to tell us that in the NCAA Tournament the game is not over until the game is over. Don't second-guess anyone. Play a full game. Get the job done. Don't let up."
Scott was talking about the University of Cincinnati's meltdown against Nevada in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament in Nashville, in which UC squandered a 22-point lead in the final 11 minutes and absorbed a 75-73 loss.
Whether the current Bearcats like it or not, that debacle hovers over UC like a grey cloud as they begin play a year later in their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 33rd overall. Only 11 schools have played in more.
They'll begin play at 12:15 p.m. Friday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus against Iowa in the South Region. No. 22 UC (28-6) is the region's No. 7 seed. Iowa (22-11) is the No. 10 seed.
Even UC head coach Mick Cronin, who generally does a good job putting the past behind him, couldn't avoid a reference to the Nevada game when he was asked how telling it is during the first five minutes of a game if the Bearcats come out making shots.
"Sometimes the worst thing that can happen is in the first five or six minutes you make every shot," Cronin said. "We know what I'm talking about. It doesn't continue over 40 minutes. Sometimes let's save some of those makes for the second half."
Ultimately, though, this is a new season and another chance for the Bearcats to get past the first weekend of the tournament as they seek to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012 and the second time in Cronin's 13 years as the Bearcats' head coach.
UC enters the tournament having swept through the American Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend, capping it off with an upset win over regular-season champion Houston to capture its second straight conference tournament.
Iowa, coached by Fran McCaffery, seems headed in the opposite direction after losing five of its last six games, including a 74-53 loss to Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
But Cronin cautions that the Hawkeyes are a formidable foe with plenty of firepower on offense.
"Their team was ranked in the Top 25 a lot more than we were," Cronin said.
Iowa was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for 12 weeks, reaching as high as No. 14 way back on Nov. 26. It was not ranked in this week's final poll. UC finished at No. 22 this week and has been ranked only five times all season.
The Hawkeyes average 78.3 points per game, but will be facing a UC defense that has allowed an average of 62.2 points, which ranks 12th in the country
"Any team that can score in multiple ways gives a coach a lot to think about," Cronin said. "They've got two low-post scorers, they've got shooting on the perimeter, and they pass the ball extremely well. Whenever you pass the ball well and you have talent you're going to have a good offensive team. They've made more free throws on the season (593) than their opponents have even attempted (569.) That's the mark of a really good offensive team."
Tyler Cook, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound junior forward, leads the Hawkeyes in scoring with 14.9 points per game and in rebounding with 7.9. Luke Garza, a 6-foot-11 sophomore center, averages 12.9 and 4.4. Junior point guard Jordan Bohannon averages 11.3 points. Freshman guard Joe Weiskamp averages 10.8 points and shoots 42.2 percent from three-point range.
On offense, the Bearcats will attempt to take advantage of an Iowa defense that has allowed 73.6 points per game.
"Getting hot and making shots is a requirement because in the tournament you're playing good teams," Cronin said. "And it's not baseball. You can't win 1-0. So you're going to have to score some points. That's the most important thing. You can hang in there through tough times, but at some point the ball's going to have to go in."
For what it's worth, UC and Iowa have faced two common opponents. Iowa beat Connecticut 91-72 at home. The Bearcats topped the Huskies twice – 74-72 in overtime at home and 64-60 at UConn. UC lost to Ohio State 64-56 in its season opener at home. The Hawkeyes beat Ohio State 72-62 at home and lost to the Buckeyes 90-70 in Columbus.
Cronin and his players hope to take advantage of the fact that the Bearcats are playing a mere 100 miles from home, making for an easy trip for their fans.
"It's going to be huge for us to be playing the tournament in Columbus," Scott said. "It should be a home court advantage for us. I just hope everyone shows up and that they'll be there cheering loud to support us because we feed off our fans. Everybody here wants to get back to where we got last year and get farther. Our goal is to get past where we were last year and make a deeper run."
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.