The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-17-2019 08:56 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(01-17-2019 08:23 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(01-17-2019 08:09 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  I'm not convinced that UC can't turn this around though and play better. If so, we'll look back and be pleased that the Bearcats were able to weather the storm against Tulsa, UCONN and USF before working out some defensive and offensive problems on the way to a regular season title. Surely the teams we saw pre-conference: Ole Miss, UCLA and X were about as good as the conference teams we saw the past week and a half and UC was able to control those games and win handily.

I'm wondering if our matchup zone defense is easier to attack for our conference opponents due to their familiarity with it. We were ranked I believe 15th in adjusted defense coming out of non-conference play and have dropped like a rock since. Last year I don't think it mattered because we had two elite defenders who were incredibly intelligent with their ability to make the right switches and also erase the mistakes of others. No one on this team is anywhere close to the ability of Gary or JE3 on the defensive end; thus why they both have guaranteed NBA contracts.

I think this may be part of it. This team hasn't adjusted to playing the matchup zones against teams that have some experience playing against it. Our rotations and communication hasn't been what it needs to be. This team needs to be a top 10-15 defense to reach its ceiling. I too think they can get it turned around and frankly, I still have more faith in them winning the league than anyone else.

Hopefully not the same faith you had in the Bengals reaching the playoffs