Bearcat vs UConn preview

It's going to be a long day.  I can hardly wait for tipoff, but as the last game of the day (9:40 pm)  it's going to be a long wait.  It's going to be a tough game, but I really like the Bearcats chances.  Cincinnati has not been getting a lot of attention, even after their big win over Missouri, and are once again the underdog.  That's fine with me.  Mick Cronin and the players will use it as additional motivation.  There's a great article about it on SI.com.

I'm curious to see how Cronin chooses to approach this game.  Will the Bearcats sit back in their half-court defense, or will they press?  Man-to-man or zone?  I can't wait to find out.  Here's some additional game previews to get you through the day from ESPN.  Try this one and this one.

Bearcats get a great win over Mizzou

What a great game!  I was worried about how Cincinnati would fare against Missouri's fast paced offense and full-court pressure, but they proved up to the task.  The Bearcats came out with great intensity and played awesome defense to hold the #9 scoring team in the nation 18 points below their average on under 40 percent shooting.  UC only turned the ball over 11 times against a press that forces an average of 18 a game.  Mick Conin had this team ready to play and it showed.  As the Bearcats gained control and then took the lead in the 1st half, some of the players looked possessed.  Missouri was not prepared for the Bearcats tenacious defense or their physical play and the Bearcats outmuscled them inside offensively and on the glass.  A great all around win.

Now UC faces UConn.  The advantages of this matchup is that Cincinnati knows their opponent well and has extra incentive to avenge a regular-season loss.  This disadvantage is that their opponent knows them.  I had hoped that UC would avoid facing a Big East team early on, because most teams aren't used to the physical style of play characteristic of the Big East.  UConn is hot right now and full of confidence.  Hopefully the mental and physical drain of playing 5 games in 5 days will start to catch up to them.  If UC comes out with the same intensity they showed last night, they can win.

Thoughts on UC as a 6 seed

When the brackets were announced on Sunday, I was happy and slightly surprised that UC got a 6 seed.  I think they deserve a 6, but thought the committee would give them a 7.  What I am not happy with is their matchup. 

Missouri is no 11 seed.  Their RPI isn't far behind the Bearcats and they went 0.500 in a major conference.  They are more like an 8 or 9 in my opinion.  The other 6 seeds are St. Johns, Georgetown, & Xavier, and they are matched up against Gonzaga, the USC/VCU play-in winner, & Marquette, repectively.  One could argue that Xavier's draw is as tought as UC's, but I think Cincinnati's is just a little tougher, while Georgetown got the easiest of the bunch.

If the Bearcats can get past the Tigers, UConn potentially awaits.  UConn beat UC this season at Fifth Third Arena and are red-hot and full of confidence coming off their Big East Tournament Championship.  Hopefully they will be out of gas as well.

It's a tough draw to be sure, but one that UC can win if they come out with intensity and play smart basketball.  In their first trip back to the dance since 2005, it sure would be nice to play two (or more).

Defensive Deficiency? I Disagree.

Alot has been made of the high score posted by Connecticut in Cincinnati's 47-45 win last Saturday. Varied sites are saying things like UConn "picked apart" the UC defense, and that the game "exposed the warts, moles and scar tissue on the Big East's beauty queen". It has led to one writer from Foxsports picking West Virginia as his "Upset pick of the week" at the end of this article.

I disagree.

The belief is that the large, physical UConn offensive line wore down the smaller, quicker UC defense with their grind-it-out style of play. That would probably mean a huge time of possession advantage for UConn (similar to the Fresno State game), right? Um no. Actually UC led time of possession 32:45 to 27:15. A few long, sustained UConn drives that wore down the defense? No again. Connecticut had only one scoring drive greater than 2 minutes in the 2nd half (6:42) and only 2 in the 1st half (4:36 & 4:25).

So what's the problem then? Very simply, UConn made some very big plays in the 2nd half. Jordan Todman had a 46-yd TD run, Robert McClain had an 87-yd TD punt return, and Zach Frazer completed a 52-yd pass to Khalif Moore that setup a 1-yd run by Todman. Those 3 drives took 0:41, 0:00, and 1:30, respectively. They accounted for 22 of UConn's 35 second half points. Without those big plays, UConn still might have scored, but it would have taken more time and prevented them from having the number of possessions needed to get back into the game.

The Cincinnati defense made mistakes, but it is not a hidden flaw that has been exposed. It's a few missed assignments that gave way to the big play and a couple of big plays often result in an upset. "Everything that happened can be fixed. It was just one guy out of position here, two guys out of position there." Bearcats linebacker Marcus Waugh said. The UC defense has generally not been burned by big plays prior to the UConn game. I am sure that the defense and special teams had a good week of practice and are eager to prove that last week's game was a fluke.

While a big, physical offensive attack isn't an ideal matchup for the Bearcats defense, they proved against Fresno State that they can win against it. This week's matchup against West Virginia features an offense that relies more on speed than power, which should be a more favorable matchup for UC.

Cincinnati 47 Connecticut 45 Highlights

Some extended highlights from the #5 Bearcat's win Saturday night at Nippert.

Too close for comfort

UC escaped with a wild 47-45 win versus Connecticut on Saturday. In a weekend that saw #4 Iowa and #8 Oregon lose, Cincinnati was fortunate to get a win.

The atmosphere at Nippert stadium was excellent. As always, fans were asked to "come early, be loud, wear black" and they did all of those things. Playing in primetime on ABC made for an electric environment. However, as the game wore on and Connecticut kept coming up with big plays in the 2nd half, you could feel the energy ebb as fans grew nervous. After the game, it was reported, that Brian Kelly had to give his players a pep talk to remind them that they had won and should celebrate. Maybe the fans need a pep talk too. I've never seen a crowd depart a stadium in such a sullen mood after a win. Everyone has become so used to the Bearcats cruising to victory, that we weren't ready to enjoy a hard-fought win.

The UC offense was spectacular with 711 yards of total offense and no turnovers. Zach Collaros had a brilliant performance. Mardy Gilyard was unstoppable and Armon Binns continues to make teams pay for covering him one-on-one. Credit also has to go to Jake Rogers, who has been shaky at times. He was perfect and accounted for 17 points on 4 field goals and 5 extra points, some in pressure situations.

The defense looked good for a half, but Connecticut beat them up in the 2nd half. You have to give UConn credit--even down 20 in the 2nd half they never quit. This is a good team that has now lost 5 games by a combined 15 points. The Huskies have a huge offensive line--their smallest starter is 315 pounds--and a bruising fullback that wore down the smaller quicker Bearcats defense. Even from my seats in the upper deck I could tell that some of the Connecticut lineman were the size of a small mountain.

Even championship teams have some close games, and winning those games makes you better. "It was actually good for our guys," Kelly said. "Because we hadn't been in this kind of adversity all year." So now the players, and fans, have a short week to prepare for West Virginia on Friday, which struggled to get their offense going in a win over Louisville this weekend. I imagine it will be a spirited week of practice for the Bearcats. The close game against UConn should refocus the team and coaches, especially on defense, going into the final three games. It couldn't have come at a better time.

ABC Coverage Map for Connecticut @ Cincinnati

It seems that ABC is making UConn @ UC their top game Saturday night.  They are sending their #1 broadcast team of Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, & Lisa Salters to Nippert to cover the game. 

Here is the coverage map for the game. 

While it seems the UC game is being shown to a small percentage of the country geographically, on a population basis, 46% of the country will get UConn @ Cincy, 35% will see Oklahoma @ Nebraska, and 19% will get USC @ Arizona State.  Not bad, but I would like for more voters and fans in SEC and Big 10 country to see the UC game.  UC needs a strong performance on a national stage to overcome the bias in the polls.

Cincinnati Football Tickets available

The UConn @ Cincinnati game this Saturday at 8pm was originally listed as a sellout, but UConn has returned their allotment, so tickets are now available.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.CATSTIX.com, by phone at 1-877-CATS-TIX, or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office in the Richard E. Lindner Athletics Center in Varsity Village. It's going to be a beautiful night for football. Let's sell this out for the national TV audience.

In addition, UC has received their allotment of tickets for the final game of the season at Pitt. This game may decide the Big East championship and possibly UC's undefeated season. These tickets may be ordered by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. Tickets are only $30 and its only a 4.5 hour drive (287 miles) from the UC campus to Heinz field in Pittsburgh. If you don't want to drive, UC is offering two bus trips through Provident travel. One is an overnighter, the other is not. Details are here.

I already have my tickets and would love to see Bearcat fans buy the entire allotment we've been given and more. Additional tickets are still available for $30 through the Pitt website. Let's make this a home game!!