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Watching the end of WSU v. Temple, I couldn't decide whether I wanted the Shockers to win or lose. By the end, I was glad they lost as it clears UC's pathway to a regular season conference championship in the AAC. And while regular season conference championships have largely been rendered meaningless in this era of conference tournaments, it's still a point of pride our fans have been longing for. As I recall, UC has had one this past decade plus.

That's not to suggest the race is over. The schedule is backloaded with the top tier and three losses the rest of the way isn't out of the question. But I like UC's chances.

So this team is fun to watch and right on track to meet or exceed my personal expectations from the pre-season: stay ranked, win the conference regular season and/or the conference tournament and advance past the first weekend in the NCAA Tourney. I had those same expectations last season. Other than being ranked, UC failed to achieve any of those. But this year's team seems superior to last year's by all measures. I'm optimistic for a season that reinforces Cincinnati's historically elite profile and gets fans (and recruits) viewing this program as among the best in the nation.