Tough Stretch

[UCBearcats]

We've been playing great bball as of late. The GTown and Villanova wins were very impressive and this team is playing with a ton of heart and intensity. I wasn't even all that upset with the SJU loss. We played about as bad as we can play in that game and still had a chance to win it at the end.

Now comes the toughest 3 game stretch this team is going to see this season. Playing @UConn and @WVU then home against Cuse all in less than a week. It's why I love the Big East, such an exciting and challenging league game in and game out.

I hope Syracuse doesn't lose this week before we get to them on Big Monday. They play Pitt at home and then ND on the road. Having them come in ranked #1 and undefeated will create a great atmosphere at the Shoe. I'm really looking forward to it.

As for the games themselves I really have no idea what to expect. The Big East is so hard to try to predict. We could lose all 3 of these games even if we play well and we could win all 3. I'd be ecstatic to win 2 of the 3.

Anyone have any insight on any of the 3 games and how we match up? I really haven't seen too many college games this year outside of the games we've played so I don't know what to expect from UConn or WVU. I guess WVU still has Truck Bryant on their team? Is he an 11th year senior or something?

We're about to run straight into a buzzsaw, lately we've looked like the top 25 team we all thought we would be before the season started. We're a dangerous team if we're making buckets so hopefully we'll stay hot these next 3 games and by next Tuesday we'll be celebrating our 5 game winning streak.

GO CATS!

 

[the_one_32]

IMO we match up well with WVU better than UCONN or Syracuse but wouldnt be surprised if we win 2 of 3

 

[bearcat jeff]

UC plays the 3 top teams in the ESPN Big East power rankings over the next three games. Because you are playing 2 on the road and the number 1 team in the country; winning 1 or 2 of these would be good. I am worried about rebounding in these games. That will be the emphasis this week in practice.

 

[ralph1950]

Winning 1 out of 3 will be okay by me. The Big East is incredibly tough.

 

[UCBearcats]

Winning 1 out of 3 will be okay by me. The Big East is incredibly tough.

1 of 3 would still be fine, just depends on how we look in the two games we lose. Don't want to get blown away in two and steal a win in one.

We're playing great ball, we've got a great chance to turn some heads. Can we get to that next level? I think 2 of 3 puts us back in the top 25.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Jeff, this is definitely a crucial 3 game stretch. Cats will be facing arguably the two top teams in BE in UCONN, SYR and WV is starting to play its best basketball of the year. We'll need to continue to hit our shots and improve our D and rebounding to have a shot in any of these games. Our bigs will really have to step up for us to win. Yancy will need help from Modj and Jackson. Its games like these that make joining the BE such a great move for the city of Cincinnati basketball fans. It would be nice to get a occasional game against UK,OSU or a Duke but the conference schedule the BE's supplies is second to none. Hope the Cats are up for the challenge.

 

[bearcat jeff]

1 of 3 would still be fine, just depends on how we look in the two games we lose. Don't want to get blown away in two and steal a win in one.

We're playing great ball, we've got a great chance to turn some heads. Can we get to that next level? I think 2 of 3 puts us back in the top 25.

I'll be interested to see what the pollsters say this week as far as the top 25 goes.

The Bearcats will need to play solid all around games but need to be especially tough defensively and on the boards. I like the match ups with UConn and WVU on the road but you can't get killed on the boards or you'll lose. The Huskies average 14 assist a game and WVU over 15. Syracuse is even better at over 17.

Syracuse has 7 guys with 20 or more offensive rebounds. Jones averages like 4.5 (82 on the season) offensive boards a game for WVU. To put that in perspective Olander and Drummond have 91 between them for UConn.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Jeff your right on point. D and Rebounding will have to improve. Huggy has got WV playing well right now. Jones has been a beast lately. 3 great challenges for the cats.

 

[JasonS]

The one thing that kills a zone more than anything else is penetration. Cash getting into the lane and kicking for an open three or pulling up for a little floater will be huge against Syracuse. I think UC has as a good a chance as anyone knocking off Syracuse in the BEAST this year because of their ability to shoot and get hot. It seems like once one guy starts hitting some shots, the basket gets big for everyone. And at least we don't have to play in the Carrier Dome at noon like we seemingly have had to do every year since joining the Big East. That place is brutal to shoot in anyway, throw in noon with that white roof, and it is downright nasty.

I think we match up well with both UCONN and WVU. I expect to win both of those games though I would be ok with 1-1.

 

[UCBearcats]

The one thing that kills a zone more than anything else is penetration. Cash getting into the lane and kicking for an open three or pulling up for a little floater will be huge against Syracuse. I think UC has as a good a chance as anyone knocking off Syracuse in the BEAST this year because of their ability to shoot and get hot. It seems like once one guy starts hitting some shots, the basket gets big for everyone. And at least we don't have to play in the Carrier Dome at noon like we seemingly have had to do every year since joining the Big East. That place is brutal to shoot in anyway, throw in noon with that white roof, and it is downright nasty.

I think we match up well with both UCONN and WVU. I expect to win both of those games though I would be ok with 1-1.

Couldn't agree more about the SU game....granted I haven't seen them play and I'm sure they are far superior in terms of talent and depth. If they're still playing the same zone D they've been playing for the last 35 years then I expect our offense to give them a lot of trouble if we're hitting our shots.

If you want to beat the Cuse you're probably going to have to focus more on outscoring them than trying to shut them down on D or on the boards. If we can make shots and score in the 80's we've got a chance to win that game. UC, maybe more than anyone else in the league, has a shot to be the team to hang 80 on Syracuse.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Couldn't agree more about the SU game....granted I haven't seen them play and I'm sure they are far superior in terms of talent and depth. If they're still playing the same zone D they've been playing for the last 35 years then I expect our offense to give them a lot of trouble if we're hitting our shots.

If you want to beat the Cuse you're probably going to have to focus more on outscoring them than trying to shut them down on D or on the boards. If we can make shots and score in the 80's we've got a chance to win that game. UC, maybe more than anyone else in the league, has a shot to be the team to hang 80 on Syracuse.

The length of 'Cuse will make that difficult. You have to play strong D and not let them get points off the break.

 

[UCBearcats]

Just saw the new polls, we're ranked 32nd in the AP with 17 votes, sandwiched between Harvard at 31 and Stanford at 33. Still no votes in the ESPN/Coaches.

That's about what I expected for the AP, kind of shocked we got shut out in the coaches again.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

If the Bearcats can win 1 of these 3 then they'll be in good shape. After this stretch comes some winnable games like at home against Providence, DePaul, @Rutgers, home against Seton Hall and Louisville, etc.

 

[Bearcat04]

Oddly enough the games that scare me the most are the four road games that you "should win."

@ Rutgers
@ St. John's
@ USF
@ Nova

I'm confident that the team will show up in the big games and win their fair share, but it's these type of games I believe will determine just how good we'll feel on Selection Sunday.

 

[waterhead]

I haven't read the whole thread but...


I look at the next three games and can see us winning 0 of 3 (worst case). Even the next 6 games and can see us winning 1 of 6...worst case. But the last 6 games I can see us winning 6 of 6 or 5 of 6. That puts us at 11-7 or 10-8 which I think will get us in...with a win or two in conference tourney. This is worst case IMO.

The way we are playing right now...I cannot see a worse case scenario developing. At minimum I think we are bubble and at max we could be as high as a 2-4 seed. I think we can go as high as 13 and 5 and as low as 10 and 8. Each of those offers us the opportunity to dance...with a little help.

 

[waterhead]

The length of 'Cuse will make that difficult. You have to play strong D and not let them get points off the break.

Agreed! But we have to deal with a lot of tough games in the next 7.

After that things get much easier and we should be favored.

I thought the gauntlet was going to be early in the season. It turns out it looks like this...

@Uconn
@WV
Syr
@Rutgers
Depaul
@STJ
@Marq

That is tough!! Giving us 1 out of those games would be expected. Any more than that would be great. One winnable home game and 6 loseable games is a bit scary. Thankfully all 6 games after that are winnable.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Agreed! But we have to deal with a lot of tough games in the next 7.

After that things get much easier and we should be favored.

I thought the gauntlet was going to be early in the season. It turns out it looks like this...

@Uconn
@WV
Syr
@Rutgers
Depaul
@STJ
@Marq

That is tough!! Giving us 1 out of those games would be expected. Any more than that would be great. One winnable home game and 6 loseable games is a bit scary. Thankfully all 6 games after that are winnable.

the Depaul game should be a given. They'll be jacked for St. Johns. You say others are losable, I say they're just as winnable. That said I would be happy with 4-3 with 4 of those 7 on the road.

 

[Thegreatone]

Oddly enough the games that scare me the most are the four road games that you "should win."

@ Rutgers
@ St. John's
@ USF
@ Nova

I'm confident that the team will show up in the big games and win their fair share, but it's these type of games I believe will determine just how good we'll feel on Selection Sunday.

Great point.

 

[Bearcat04]

Oddly enough the games that scare me the most are the four road games that you "should win."

@ Rutgers
@ St. John's
@ USF
@ Nova

I'm confident that the team will show up in the big games and win their fair share, but it's these type of games I believe will determine just how good we'll feel on Selection Sunday.

0-1 in the games that I was most concerned about. They better win the other three because it's going to take a 7-2 finish to make the tournament. I don't see any way that 11-7 gets them in with the bad losses pilling up.