UC/St. Johns Rd 2 game Thread

[ervins84]

Who's going? Sitting where? Ill be in 112 Row 9 behind the basket. idk what seat #s we have though.

Everyone try to get as many friends/family members to go. This is a huge game and the louder the crowd the better. Plus college kids tend to not function so well at a 12pm game start time, so the crowd being amped may help a lot. Need to sell out!!!


What has to happen to win? Really think as long as UC doesnt turn the ball over like the last game @ St Johns, that they'll be able to score on them. St Johns defense is actually pretty mediocre over the course of the year but is an elite team at forcing turnovers. If UC keeps it to 13 TOs or less, i think they win close to 100% of the time.

Predictions?

Cincy 68- St Johns 59

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

St. Johns pressure guards really hard on the perimeter, they make it extremely hard to get clean entry passes. This one is on Cash...if he plays well we win, if not it will be a dog fight to the last possession.

UC 59
SJU 55

 

[BearcatAlum1]

I'll be there with one other.........seats TBD.

 

[JasonS]

St. Johns pressure guards really hard on the perimeter, they make it extremely hard to get clean entry passes. This one is on Cash...if he plays well we win, if not it will be a dog fight to the last possession.

UC 59
SJU 55

Pretty good analysis. I agree that Cash is the key. BTW, I'll take a 4 point win.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Cash, Bishops defense, and Gates are my keys. You'd think at some point outside shots will start falling. If for no other reason the law of averages.

 

[psax889906]

I want to see SK continue to attack the basket the way he did during the DePaul game. He has moments here and there where he can get a bit out of control but for the most part good things happen not just for him but for the entire team when he attacks the basket. And I want to see Ibrahima play the way he did Tuesday as well. Don't tell me he can't transition that from a poor DePaul team to an above average St. John's team. All I want from him is rebounding and cleaning up any garbage at the bucket. If he does that he'll end up with solid numbers, 10/7 or in that ballpark.

I'm not sure if I'm going yet or not. I'll know by Friday.

 

[Bearcat04]

A win is going to take the best effort of the year. SJU almost has to win this game to keep at-large hopes alive. They can't get swept by another bubble team and get in, unless they take two of three Vs UConn, Vs Pitt, and @ Nova. Not likely.

I'm 50/50 on this game. Playing with a sense of urgency is not our strong suit.

 

[UCBearcats]

If we can get the ball down low to Gates/Thomas on a consistent basis and attack the rim and get to the foul line we should be able to win this game without a problem.

I'm pretty sure that what we'll wind up doing is jacking up a bunch of 3's and standing around on offense. If we do that and try to turn this game into a defensive battle I think SJU gets their revenge.

SJU - 64
UC - 56

 

[bearcat jeff]

I think this game is hard to call because these teams remind me so much of each other. One thing is certain, St. Johns will play hard and UC has to match their intensity. If Thomas gives us a similiar effort and Gates shows up, UC has a nice advantage inside. "If" he says.

 

[Little Danny]

Coming off his suspension, I really expected Gates to put in an effort like he did against Xavier (only to falter after that but that is another story). Maybe this is the game where he teases once again he is capable of putting up 20/10 every night.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Coming off his suspension, I really expected Gates to put in an effort like he did against Xavier (only to falter after that but that is another story). Maybe this is the game where he teases once again he is capable of putting up 20/10 every night.

I don't believe Yancy has 20/10 talent. I do believe he is capable of 14-15 ppg and 8-9 rpg but he has to fashion his play around his physical abilities. He simply seems unwilling to do that.

 

[rallie25]

Do you think Mick's coaching style makes his players lose confidence in theirselves? Are do think it's just the caliber players we have right now?

 

[JasonS]

Do you think Mick's coaching style makes his players lose confidence in theirselves? Are do think it's just the caliber players we have right now?

I think if this program was where it is now, 4 or 5 years ago, some of these seniors would not be here. Unfortunately, Mick didn't have that luxury back then.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Do you think Mick's coaching style makes his players lose confidence in theirselves? Are do think it's just the caliber players we have right now?

One thing people ignore is that these seniors are Mick's first real recruiting class and what he was recruiting to. The impression of Cincy was horrible at that time. Cincinnati isn't the easiest place to recruit to, especially when the administration tells you who you can and can't recruit. This was particularly stringent at the beginning of Micks tenure. He also was in a position where he needed to recruit 4 year players to bring some continuity to the program. Larry Davis suffered a knee injury his senior year in high school. Biggie's physical issues are well documented and obviously limited his growth. I'm sure when Darnell was recruited there was a belief that the strength program would help him. Nobody can blame Mick for not redshirting him when player loss made the frontline so thin. That aside, his strength is still far below what a high D1 athlete's needs to be. Rashad has been his own worst enemy but in spite of how many feel about him, Big East coaches say they'd love to have him on their team. The difference is they have the depth where he wouldn't have to be a primary player. He would have been a glue player off the bench.

I do think Mick's style of play and his constant line up changes hurt as well. It kept players from finding a defined role. As the season wears on you typically shorten your bench. Bob Huggins has said he knew he wouldn't be able to recruit the best players to come play at Cincinnati so his approach was to recruit as many good players as possible and wear other teams down. Rick Pitino also employs a style that rotates many players in and out. As an assistant to both these guys it only stands to reason that Mick would mimic this. The other part of the equation is that Mick has had to grow as a head coach in such a league as the Big East. Keno Davis has also had to do this. It simply isn't the same as coaching in a mid-major conference where talent is thinner and frankly the opposing coaches are hall of famers on a nightly basis. Jim Calhoun, Jim Boehim, Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins, Jamie Dixon, Mike Brey and Jay Wright are all pretty good coaches.

 

[rallie25]

Thanks! The reason why i asked is i see guys playing passive! We see Silva and Hansbrough split double teams and i wonder why Cash doesn't do it! I see guys like Freeman attack the rim and Dixon doesn't! I want the cats just play with that swagger they had with Lance in the Beast tourney! I believe the guys Mick has coming in next year will be great players for UC!

 

[bearcat jeff]

Thanks! The reason why i asked is i see guys playing passive! We see Silva and Hansbrough split double teams and i wonder why Cash doesn't do it! I see guys like Freeman attack the rim and Dixon doesn't! I want the cats just play with that swagger they had with Lance in the Beast tourney! I believe the guys Mick has coming in next year will be great players for UC!

Dixon is a far better player when he attacks. I think for Cash it's still a strength issue. If he can't get past guys he has problems getting thru them. Cash also starts the offense way to far out on the perimeter, which gives defenses time to rotate over if he tries to drive. It essentially negates his quickness.

 

[bearcat jeff]

St. Johns has looked very good the last couple games. They're doing a number on UConn. UC better come to play. They've learned to attack and shoot 3's selectively.

 

[JeromyM]

Yancy does not have 20 and 10 talent. He is a 10 pt 5 reb a game player. He will never be more. He has identical stats every year. I believe he was best as a freshman. Maybe after he's gone we can get someone who plays tough and tries every night. One good game a year is not enough.

 

[swg]

St Johns wacked UConn. Hoping UC fans (especially students) take note of the atmosphere at Duke recently and for St Johns.

 

[cincinnati insanity]

Yancey is a coaches worst nightmare.. the only reason that he had a good game vs X is because his 20 ft fadeaways were falling. He needs to not worry about scoring, he still does not understand that he is capable of getting the position he wants, he just has to want it.. UC gets overwhelmed with better opponents and they dont play with the same intensity vs top 25 as they do teams that they think they can beat... I will say that i really believe they will make the tournament and if they actually play 40 minutes and play both sides of the ball, they will be hard to beat....