UC Bearcats primed to challenge for AAC title
Jan. 15, 2014 4:12 PM


Sean Kilpatrick matched his season high with 23 points on Tuesday against Temple. / The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Written by
Bill Koch

Conference championships used to be commonplace for the University of Cincinnati basketball program.

The Bearcats won the Conference USA regular-season title every year from 1995-96 through 2001-02. They won two of the four titles in the short-lived Great Midwest Conference before that and won six in a row in the Missouri Valley Conference in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Overall, UC has won 25 conference championships, but none since 2003-04.

That might be about to change.

At 16-2 overall, the 19th-ranked Bearcats are 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference and all alone in first place. The last time they started 5-0 in conference play was 2002-03 when they went 6-0 in C-USA. With 13 league games remaining - including two against defending national champion Louisville - they still have a long way to go, but at this point they have to be considered one of the frontrunners after they were picked by the league’s coaches during the preseason to finish fourth.

UC coach Mick Cronin concedes that his team may not be the most talented in the league, but the Bearcats have a knack for finding a way to win even when they’re not at the top of their game, as they did Tuesday night when they made a late charge to defeat Temple, 69-58.

“We’re relying on our togetherness,” Cronin said, “playing with our heart, playing with our toughness. We’re small for a high-major team. Our scrap and our fight is the reason that we’re 16-2, but at times your energy level may be a little bit off.”

That was the case against Temple when the Bearcats got off to a sluggish start, rallied to make two major runs against the Owls only to watch Temple come back and take a 2-point lead with 6:43 to play. With the game on the line, the Bearcats did what they had to do to win, taking control down the stretch to nail down their ninth straight victory.

They did it by solving Temple’s troublesome zone defense just in time to open things up on the perimeter so that Sean Kilpatrick could drill three key 3-pointers with the game on the line.

“We got the ball inside against their zone and got their three interior baskets,’ Cronin said, “which is why he got open for the next three shots he made.”

Kilpatrick, who leads the American with 18.6 points per game, made 6 of 13 from long range after he had gone four-for-33 in his previous five games.

“It’s a good sign,” Cronin said. “But it doesn’t surprise me. The guy’s a great shooter. He’s watching film. He’s seeking advice from the coaching staff. There’s been a lot on his shoulders. As great a player as he is, there’s a lot of great players that go through tough patches in the season.”

Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

“We’ve played really hard to get where we’re at,” Cronin said. “That’s just who we are. We’re a team that relies on our toughness, our energy, our fight, like Titus. I told him at halftime that he’s just like the guys that build this program back from the drought from the NCAA Tournament. He plays with his heart and he competed harder than the guys on the other team. When he doesn’t do that, he’s just another guy and we’re just another team.”

Quote:No. 19 UC vs. SOUTH FLORIDA

When: 5 p.m. Saturday, Sun Dome, Tampa
TV: ESPNU
Radio: WLW-AM (700)
Records: UC, 16-2 overall, 5-0 AAC; USF 10-6, 1-2

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140...-AAC-title

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

I had to reread that one a couple of times when I saw it.

(01-15-2014 11:29 PM)Lush Wrote:  

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

Agreed, especially because Titus is one of the more important players on this team. He is not a scrub being asked to play a couple of minutes every game.

(01-16-2014 12:38 AM)subflea Wrote:  I had to reread that one a couple of times when I saw it.

Same here.

(01-15-2014 11:29 PM)Lush Wrote:  

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

Koch is a horrible journalist who hates his job...

(01-16-2014 06:19 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 11:29 PM)Lush Wrote:  

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

Koch is a horrible journalist who hates his job...

Funny, I hate his job too. Or at least that he's the one occupying it.

(01-15-2014 11:29 PM)Lush Wrote:  

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

That's what I call a back-handed compliment. Rubles will never be enshrined in the UC Hall of Fame; however, he is a key member of the team and Koch should have worded things better.

I think Bill was trying to say that UC has few superstars, but their work ethic has made them into winners.

"Unlike real newspaper sports writers, Koch will be forgotten the instant he's fired, but his work on keeping us all informed
on attendance, epitomized in every game story, will long be mocked."

(01-16-2014 08:29 AM)BearcatBeta Wrote:  "Unlike real newspaper sports writers, Koch will be forgotten the instant he's fired, but his work on keeping us all informed
on attendance, epitomized in every game story, will long be mocked."

Well done. Great minds think alike. I was in the process of writing a very similar comment when you beat me to it.

Journalists(?) like Koch have the knack of being dismissive of teams that succeed without a bunch of McDonald All-Americans, unless you're not UC.

(01-16-2014 07:42 AM)mac6115cd Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 11:29 PM)Lush Wrote:  

Quote:Unlike Kilpatrick, Rubles will not be remembered as one of UC’s great players, but his work in the second half Tuesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, epitomized the way this UC team competes.

that's the spirit! way to sow his destiny! i'm not a politically correct person, but there are hundreds of bearcats who aren't legends. but to call somebody out (probably without thought) and stating the obvious for no reason other than making a segue is poor journalism. i'm not going out of my way to criticize bill, i actually give him more credit than you folks do.

he could have said, so many other things to highlight titus' contributions

That's what I call a back-handed compliment. Rubles will never be enshrined in the UC Hall of Fame; however, he is a key member of the team and Koch should have worded things better.

I think Bill was trying to say that UC has few superstars, but their work ethic has made them into winners.

Cookie's job is to make sure we don't have to guess.

Anyone who follows college basketball or can just look at the standing and see UC at 5-0 and in first place. Set to challenge ? uh yeah . try front running favorite at this point.

I think Bill dumbs down his articles for the general Enquirer readership and aren't meant for us. at least I hope so.

I'm actually quite shocked that Koch didn't throw in this line somewhere:

"Meanwhile, across town XU is making a push to do something the Bearcats couldn't do....win the Big East."

That article or something simular is probably forthcoming.

(01-16-2014 11:20 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  I'm actually quite shocked that Koch didn't throw in this line somewhere:

"Meanwhile, across town XU is making a push to do something the Bearcats couldn't do....win the Big East."

That article or something simular is probably forthcoming.

I think I have already heard Lance McAlister say that on Sports Talk.

Mike DeCourcy actually has a great story posted @ The Sporting News how the "old" Big East teams could win three conferences this year--Syracuse or Pitt in the ACC; Louisville or Cincy in the AAC and Villanova in the new Big East. Speaks to the power of what was the greatest conference in the land...and is no more.

(01-16-2014 11:34 AM)indycat Wrote:  Mike DeCourcy actually has a great story posted @ The Sporting News how the "old" Big East teams could win three conferences this year--Syracuse or Pitt in the ACC; Louisville or Cincy in the AAC and Villanova in the new Big East. Speaks to the power of what was the greatest conference in the land...and is no more.

Great article. Remember when HE was the UC Bball beat writer? The good old days, I guess.

DeCourcy

(01-16-2014 11:20 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  I'm actually quite shocked that Koch didn't throw in this line somewhere:

"Meanwhile, across town XU is making a push to do something the Bearcats couldn't do....win the Big East."

That article or something simular is probably forthcoming.

LOL don't give the man any ideas....

So if UC wins on Saturday and UCONN beats Louisville, UC will have at least a two game lead on everyone else in the conference.

If we can win the ones we're supposed to win,through the duration of this soft part of our schedule, it's going to be hard for others to catch us IMO. While other teams may or may not have more talent, we have a lot of guys who can hold their own without being a detriment to the team. Having said that, I miss Lawrence.