UC finale: Big chance to boost NCAA resume
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 8:32 p.m. EST March 5, 2016


Senior Day festivities will brighten the pre-game mood for the University of Cincinnati basketball team Sunday, but things quickly will turn serious with a game of major NCAA Tournament implications.

UC (21-9, 11-6 American Athletic Conference) will face No. 24 SMU (25-4, 13-4 AAC) in the regular season finale at noon Sunday, before a potential sellout crowd at Fifth Third Arena.

UC comes off of a 69-56 loss at Houston on Thursday, and the Bearcats need an attention-grabbing win to bolster their iffy NCAA Tournament resume. SMU offers that opportunity, with the Mustangs ranked No. 11 and UC No. 54 in the daily NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index).

UC will honor four seniors in pre-game: guard Farad Cobb, center Coreontae DeBerry, forward Octavius Ellis and forward Shaq Thomas.

The UC seniors have known nothing but NCAA Tournament appearances, with the Bearcats having made the last five tournaments. The 2016 seniors obviously do not want to be the class that stops the streak.

“We were in this position last year, so we know what we have to do,” Ellis said. “We’re looking for a nice finish. It hasn’t been perfect, but we’ve got to win this next game and go from there.”

Bracketologists including CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm and USA Today’s Shelby Mast have UC among the “first four out” in their latest NCAA forecasts. ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi has UC clinging to one of the “last four byes” as a potential No. 11 seed.

UC coach Mick Cronin said his players know what is at stake. Cronin again declined to address the big picture.

“They know,” Cronin said of his players. “I don’t even have to talk about it.”

SENIOR FAREWELL: Cobb (10.8 points per game), Ellis (9.9) and Thomas (6.4) have been starters most of the season. The fourth senior, DeBerry, averages 5.6 points off the bench.

Thomas is a fifth-year senior. Ellis was here in 2011-12, departed for a two-year junior college stint, then returned to UC last season.

“Octavius and Shaq have been Bearcats for five years,” Cronin said. “Te’ (Ellis) just went away to play for a few years, but his heart never left us. Corey and Farad have played major roles for our team, and Shaq is the senior member of the group. We will miss him.”

Cronin referred to a quote from Booker T. Washington to describe this year’s seniors:

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles he has overcome.”

Said Cronin, “That really describes all four of these guys perfectly. They are all going to graduate this spring, and we are very proud of them.”

STATUS UNKNOWN: Speaking of obstacles, Cobb (knee sprain) and Thomas (groin) again are questionable to play Sunday. Both have missed UC’s last two games, and Cronin said he cannot predict whether either player would play Sunday.

“We won’t know for sure until warm-ups,” Cronin said.

LOOKING BACK: SMU beat the Bearcats 59-57 in the teams’ first meeting this season, Jan. 7 in Dallas.

UC owns a 5-3 lead in its series against SMU, including 4-0 in games played in Cincinnati.

SCOUTING SMU: Senior guard Nic Moore (16.1 points per game, 5.3 assists) leads a balanced SMU team that has five players averaging above 10 points per game. Junior forward Ben Moore averages 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds. Senior forward Jordan Tolbert averages 11.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.

SMU does many things well, led by Naismith Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. The Mustangs rank No. 4 nationally in field goal shooting (50 percent), No. 4 in 3-point shooting (42.7 percent), No. 4 in rebound margin (plus-10.4 per game), No. 5 in in scoring margin (14.6) and No. 6 in assists per game (17.9).

AAC SEEDING: UC will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed for the AAC tournament March 10-13 in Orlando, Florida.

Entering this weekend, there were five different scenarios for either UC or Tulsa to be the No. 3 or 4 seed. The easiest way for UC to be the No. 3 seed was for Tulsa to lose its game Saturday (5 p.m. home game vs. USF) and for UC to beat SMU on Sunday.

Temple and Houston have secured the Nos. 1-2 AAC seeds, respectively. SMU, which would have contended for a high seed, is banned from all postseason play because of NCAA sanctions.

UC still could gain the AAC automatic berth by winning the conference tournament. The Bearcats could enhance their NCAA hopes by beating SMU and then making a long run, at least, in the AAC tourney.

STYLING: UC will wear its new postseason black Under Armour uniforms in Sunday’s game.

TICKETS: As of Saturday, a limited number of tickets remained for the game. For information visit GoBearcats.com or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.

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Quote:Cincinnati vs. SMU

When: Sunday, noon

Where: Fifth Third Arena (13,176)

TV/Radio: CBS/700 WLW-AM

Records: UC 21-9 (11-6 AAC), SMU 25-4 (13-4 AAC)

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../81368552/

The Enemy Approacheth:




Enter the Dragon:




Defend Your Name and Honor:

Well...it got a boost.

Done!