[NorrisHopper30]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

The last 5 years have seen an interesting shift.

Before UC went down, XU had just gotten to the elite 8. However, soon XU lost Matta, then Miller was slow to get the 2005 squad going. It was bad timing, it turns out.

In 2006 they had to win 4 games in 4 days to even make the tourney.

Meanwhile, UC was beginning to flounder very badly. Even Huggins last year was tumultuous.

So, there was still this residual feeling that UC held the upper hand in 2005-06 because XU kind of slumped as well.

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 were all XU from a local and national standpoint, though, and many began doubting UC would ever be able to return to where it was.

During this 4 year time period, the debate has been pretty well settled that XU is the better program. Enter the 2011 Bearcats...

Next year is going to be a battle royal for the Shootout crown. XU will be loaded and UC still formidable, it would seem.

I don't think it will go back to the big brother, little brother dichotomy any time soon, however. Not like it was. UC fell back, and XU surged forward.

Personally, I think XU could crack the top 10 or even top 5 next year with a good start because I feel they will be ranked top 20 to begin the year. If they get to January with only 1 loss, it could be a special year.

I know XU teams always start slow, but this one has the chance to avoid that with so much experience and high end talent coming back.

Just my opinion.

It's definitely been an interesting history, and I think next year will be crazy. Both teams should be pre-season top 25 (UC returns top 4 scorers and top 20 rec class) and the shootout will be wild.