Poor free-throw shooting dooms Tulsa in 56-47 loss to Cincinnati

Posted: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 10:30 am

By KELLY HINES World Sports Writer | 0 comments

The University of Tulsa's ongoing struggles at the free-throw line caught up with the Golden Hurricane during a pivotal game Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center.

In a 56-47 loss to Cincinnati that damages the team's NCAA Tournament chances, Tulsa missed nine of 13 free-throw attempts, including a pair from Shaquille Harrison with two and half minutes left that would have trimmed the deficit to three points. The Bearcats then drained a dagger 3-pointer on the other end.

"On the free-throw line, we missed opportunities," coach Frank Haith said. "When you have opportunities like that to score against a good defensive team, you need to score.”

A victory in the last home game of the year would have clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title, but Tulsa (21-8, 14-3) can still win it outright by beating SMU in the finale at 2 p.m. Sunday in Dallas.

"Our guys are really disappointed, and they should be; we lost a game," Haith said. "But we’ve put ourselves in a great position from where we were back in December. I have nothing but great pride of these guys and how hard they’ve worked.

"It feels like the world had come to an end right now. We still have another game to play against a great team, so you got a great opportunity. When you are playing good teams at the end of the year, that’s a positive.”

The cold-shooting Hurricane trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and by 11 in the second half while struggling offensively because of Cincinnati's effective zone and strong inside presence. Rashad Ray kept Tulsa in the game with 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, including a banked-in trey with eight minutes left, but the Bearcats' lead didn't shrink to fewer than three points.

"Credit to Cincinnati," Ray said. "They were tough down there (in the post) tonight. ... We just have to take our time and make the layups, just go up strong and play tough basketball. This was a tough and physical game tonight for us.”

Tulsa shot 34 percent from the field, 46.7 percent on 3-pointers and 30.8 percent from the free-throw line. Ray led the Hurricane with 15 points and James Woodard added 12.

Top scorers Woodard and Harrison, who was scoreless in the first half, combined to shoot 7-of-28 on field goals.

"I think in the second half, we got really good clean looks and we just didn’t finish," Haith said. "Against a team that plays like that, your post moves have to be physical, you can’t avoid contact because that’s when they affect your shot.

"You have to go right at them. To their credit, they were a good defensive team. When you play a team like that you can’t leave points out there. When you have an opportunity to score you have to score.”

Farad Cobb scored 22 points for third-place Cincinnati, which finished 3-0 against conference leaders Tulsa and SMU in the regular season. The Bearcats outrebounded the Hurricane 40-30 and shot 45.7 percent from the field.

"Coming on the road and beating them is huge because they’re a good team with good players," Cincinnati interim coach Larry Davis said. "The coaches do a great job with them. But this is a big win for us. We had to have this win if we wanted to have a real, real shot at playing in the tournament."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/tu...4fa66.html

UC basketball team faced weather, delay to reach Tulsa
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 3:54 p.m. EST March 4, 2015


Associate head coach Larry Davis and the Bearcats experienced a long travel delay before reaching Tulsa. (Photo: The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar)

TULSA, Oklahoma - The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team battled bad weather and a long travel delay before arriving here late Tuesday, in preparation for Wednesday night's game at Tulsa.

UC had a charter flight scheduled out of Cincinnati's Lunken Airport around 4 p.m. Tuesday. The flight first was pushed back to 5 p.m., but the plane was still grounded because of excessive water on the runway.

The next option was to fly out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, but visibility was too poor. Another option was to fly out of Dayton, Ohio, but by the time paperwork was ready for that, the visibility also was too poor.

Around 6:30 p.m., the decision was made to bus the team to Lexington, Kentucky, about a 90-minute trip. The original plane and crew from Lunken flew down to meet the team in Lexington. UC flew from there to Tulsa and landed around 11 p.m. ET, about four hours behind the original schedule. The UC team bus arrived at its Tulsa hotel around 11:45 p.m. ET Tuesday.

UC plays Tulsa on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. in an American Athletic Conference game.

Drew Seidenberger, UC director of basketball operations, said the late start of Wednesday's game (9 p.m. ET) should give UC ample time to prepare.

"We got delayed with the rain storms," Seidenberger said. "Basically it didn't really impact our schedule that much. I think the late game definitely gives us more time."

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Quote:UC at Tulsa

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network, 700-WLW

Records: UC 20-9 (11-5 AAC), Tulsa 21-7 (14-2 AAC)

Can I rewrite the headline to: Tulsa's Unusually Good 3 Point Prevents Blowout at the Hands of Cincinnati

(03-05-2015 12:46 AM)Overrated Wrote:  Can I rewrite the headline to: Tulsa's Unusually Good 3 Point Prevents Blowout at the Hands of Cincinnati

No doubt

Cobb leads UC past conference leader Tulsa
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 11:29 p.m. EST March 4, 2015


Cincinnati Bearcats guard Farad Cobb (21) hits a 3-point shot against South Florida in February. Cobb scored XX points in Wednesday night's game. (Photo: Enquirer file)

TULSA, Okla. – Junior guard Farad Cobb scored 22 points, and the University of Cincinnati took a huge step toward securing an NCAA tournament bid Wednesday night with a 56-47 victory at Tulsa.

UC (21-9, 12-5 American Athletic Conference) beat league leader Tulsa (21-8, 14-3 AAC) on its home floor, likely lifting the Bearcats off of the NCAA bubble.

UC entered with a No. 49 ranking in the daily NCAA RPI, with Tulsa at No. 31.

UC already had been projected to reach the NCAA field by forecasters including CBS Sports (No. 10 seed), ESPN (11 seed) and USA Today (11 seed).

There was a sense entering the game that if UC beat Tulsa, that might cinch an NCAA bid for the Bearcats. UC finishes the regular season at home Sunday against Memphis (noon), followed by the AAC tournament March 12-15 in Hartford, Conn.

Entering Wednesday, Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com listed UC among teams that are, "In for now."

Palm said UC should be OK if it splits its last two regular season games.

"Cincinnati took care of business against Tulane (last Saturday)," Palm wrote in his latest analysis. "With their good wins, the Bearcats are close to getting off this (bubble) page."

Wednesday is as good a win as UC has had this season.

For UC, Cobb's 22 points were two behind his UC career high. Troy Caupain added 11 points for UC, while Octavius Ellis had seven points and 13 rebounds.

The Bearcats entered Wednesday also hopeful of landing as high as a No. 3 seed for the AAC tournament. The win over Tulsa clinched a first round AAC tournament bye for UC.

If UC wins its last two games (mission accomplished at Tulsa, then home against Memphis on Sunday) it will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. If loses Sunday, its AAC seed may depend on how other teams in their AAC standings vicinity fare.

UC has now won four straight game overall, and broke a four-game Tulsa winning streak.

Tulsa would have clinched a share of the AAC title by beating UC.

Entering Wednesday, the top of the AAC standings showed Tulsa (14-2), SMU (14-3), UC (11-5), Temple (11-5), UConn (10-6) and Memphis (9-7).

NICE HALF: UC led 27-20 at halftime, after leading by as much as 12 points before the break (25-13).

The Bearcats were led by Cobb and Kevin Johnson with seven points each in the first half.

The Bearcats shot well in the first half at 50 percent, holding Tulsa to 29 percent. Tulsa fans complained loudly about the officiating, yet UC did not attempt a foul shot in the first half while the Golden Hurricane were going 1-for-5 at the line.

DOWN THE STRETCH: UC pushed its lead out to 33-22 early in the second half, and led 35-25 with 13:50 to go. Cobb hit six straight UC points at one juncture to get UC that far ahead.

Tulsa answered with a 6-0 run to come within 35-31 moments later. The Golden Hurricane crowd suddenly was back in it, after sitting on their hands much of the first half.

Cobb banged in consecutive 3-pointers to lift UC to a 43-36 lead with 8:15 left. Tulsa got as close as three points with 6:10 left but could draw no closer.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../24407395/

UC's Cronin: Pizza coming for RallyCats
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 3:50 p.m. EST March 4, 2015


Mick Cronin hopes to see the RallyCats on other upcoming UC trips.(Photo: The Enquirer/Meg Vogel)

Mick Cronin fully intends to buy that pizza.

University of Cincinnati head basketball coach Cronin was thrilled by the turnout of 100-plus UC student "RallyCats" boosters who bused to New Orleans for last Saturday's 63-47 Bearcats win over Tulane.

Cronin, still sidelined from games for medical reasons, watched on TV as the RallyCats essentially took over Tulane's Devlin Fieldhouse. UC fans cheered from start to finish and easily drowned out the sparse Tulane crowd (total attendance 2,430).

During the game, Cronin tweeted:

Quote:Mick CroninVerified account ‏@CoachCroninUC

Rallycats making a huge difference. Best thing I have seen as the Cincinnati coach. Pizza on me when you get home!!!

Cronin said he intends to follow through on that promise.

"I just have to find them," Cronin said. "I'll let you know how we're going to get that done. I want to look into how we can get them to some more road games."

It is not feasible for the RallyCats to make every road trip, but New Orleans was attractive as a destination city. After last Saturday's win, UC players went over and thanked the RallyCats before leaving the court. Several players spoke of how the crowd had lifted them.

"I think it was a huge boost for our guys," Cronin said. "I actually met with somebody already, making sure there's a way we can get them there on their spring break, whether it's the conference tournament or NCAA tournament. How can we get them there?"

Meanwhile, pizza awaits.

"Money well spent," Cronin said.

NCAA WATCH: UC at this juncture is projected to make the NCAA tournament by many forecasters.

Among them is Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com who, entering Wednesday, listed UC among teams that are, "In for now."

Palm said UC should be OK if it splits its last two regular season games.

"Cincinnati took care of business against Tulane (last Saturday)," Palm wrote in his latest analysis. "With their good wins, the Bearcats are close to getting off this (bubble) page."

AAC WATCH: The Bearcats (20-9, 11-5 AAC entering Wednesday) went into Wednesday night's game still hopeful of landing as high as a No. 3 seed for the AAC tournament March 12-15 in Hartford, Connecticut.

If UC wins its last two games (at Tulsa, then home against Memphis on Sunday) it will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. If UC loses twice, there is a scenario that puts them as No. 6 seed. If UC goes 1-1, it depends on which team they beat and how other teams in their AAC standings vicinity fare.

A Tulsa win against UC on Wednesday would give the Golden Hurricane a share of the AAC title and would allow Tulsa (21-7, 14-2 AAC entering Wednesday) to claim the outright championship Sunday against SMU.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../24385779/