UC Basketball right around the corner!

[Bip Roberts]

Resurrecting Kstate while having a year of no NCAA recruiting rules to follow.

I wonder how Indiana feels about the Big East.

[Roy Tucker]

Watched the UC game yesterday (actually, I flipped between the UC and XU games).

They've made huge strides since last year and even early this season. Their biggest problem (IMO) is that Vaughn is the only true scorer they have. Their best play is a clear-out for Vaughn. I feel like I'm watching Lebron and the Cavs. *Somebody* has to step up when Vaughn is in a dry stretch.

That and they haven't gotten respect from Big East refs yet. UC consistently doesn't get good calls from the refs. It will come with time, but its a little hard to watch now.

[SeeinRed]

Where is all the talk about the WVU game and how impressive that win was? I was ready to think that the amazing ride was ending and this team was coming back to reality before the game. Now I think this team is better than I gave them credit for.

[rotnoid]

They might not have the talent or size, but they won't get out hustled. There's something to be said for that. The Shoe's becoming a tough place to play again. It's good to see this soon. I never would have expected it before next year or the year after. Further proof that Mick was a good hire.

[Redlegs23]

Where is all the talk about the WVU game and how impressive that win was? I was ready to think that the amazing ride was ending and this team was coming back to reality before the game. Now I think this team is better than I gave them credit for.

There's a two or three page thread on the WVU game.

Big game again today for the Cats. Apparently since it's a Ring of Red game Mick says he has a little surprise with his wardrobe. Think he will pull off the red suit?

[GoReds33]

There's a two or three page thread on the WVU game.

Big game again today for the Cats. Apparently since it's a Ring of Red game Mick says he has a little surprise with his wardrobe. Think he will pull off the red suit?

I'd like to see red and black with a red UC tie.

[GoReds33]

Huge win in OT tonight by the Cats! McClain stepped up big, Vaughn played well when it counted, and Adam finally made a layup! That's 3 for 3 right there.

[BearcatShane]

Big Game tonight vs St. Johns at The Shoe. With a win their 7-5 in the Big East. Not Bad. Not bad at all.

[SeeinRed]

Josh Katzowitz asks a good question on his blog over at BearcatLair. He asks if you think that the Cats tend to play to the level of the opponent.

From the outside, that looks like what the Bearcats have done much of the time in conference play, and considering two of the weaker conference teams will be in town the next week or so (St. John's on Wednesday and South Florida on Feb. 20), now's a good time to discuss.

Let's take a look at some of the games I'm talking about:

--at Louisville: UC played up, beating the Cardinals in Louisville.
--at St. John's: UC played down, particularly disappointing because of what happened at Louisville.
--vs. Villanova: UC played up, the Wildcats were ranked No. 19 and lost.
--vs. Pitt, UC played up, the Panthers were No. 15 and lost to a UC team that suddenly was a force at home.
--at Rutgers, UC played down, performing poorly for most of the game but still managing to pull out the victory.

So, I asked John Williamson and Deonta Vaughn for their thoughts. And both agreed that the team tends to play up or down to its competition level.

"In a way, you can see that happening," Vaughn said. "We've played against good teams and when we play against good teams, our game gets raised. When we play the teams that are low in the Big East, we play to their level. We can't do that. We have to play to our level, like the high major team that we are. You have to make an impact as soon as the ball is thrown in the air."

The easy answer, of course, is that UC should be aware of this tendency and stop doing it. After all, there's no reason the Bearcats should struggle so much with a team like Rutgers after they played so well against Villanova and Pitt.

But to Williamson, it's not necessarily that simple.

"There's no easy wins here in the Big East," he said. "It's going to be a drag whoever you play. It just happens. They have a gameplan, too. If their gameplan works, that's what it's going to look like, like we're playing into their hands."

OK, so far this theory was holding strong. UC has a tendency to play well when it's facing a top team and a tendency to play crappy when it's playing a crap team. But then I asked Mick about it.

He didn't exactly agree with my theory.

"You're going to have good nights and bad," Mick said. "Your talent is going to dictate how well you play. We're not talented enough ... people say, 'You could be 8-3' but we could be 4-7. Water finds its level. I don't think it's realistic enough for us to sit here and say we should be any better than 6-5 with the kind of talent we have. The season is long, and you're going to have times when you play well and you're going to have times when you make shots. It all evens out. You say, 'You should have won vs. UConn, you could have won at Seton Hall.' Yeah, well, we could have lost at Louisville on the last play. We could have lost the Villanova or Pitt game at the end. We're probably about right where we should be."

Still, I countered, it's telling that UC didn't play well at Seton Hall and at Rutgers. Yes, I realize they were both road games, but still ...

"I don't look at it that way," Mick said. "We’re not the most talented offensive team in the conference. The way it breaks down in the Big East, if you look at our record in games decided by 15 or more, we have no games like that. We don't have explosiveness. You can look at it and say, 'Well, they play to the level of their competition,' but we're doing as good as we can. We haven't put the type of offense in to blow a team out. To blow somebody out, you have to score a lot of points, unless you hold somebody to 10 percent shooting."

Like West Virginia, only UC's second 15-plus point victory of the season (the Bearcats have lost three games by 15 or more).

"That's the answer ? look at our blowout win," Mick said. "We scored 62 points. That's the final statement."

Given all that, what do you think? You think UC's play is dictated on who it's playing, or do you agree with Mick in that the Bearcats are right where they should be, in terms of record?

I tend to think the Bearcats may play above their ability agianst better teams, or maybe the better teams play down to them. In reality, its probably a mix of things. Josh goes on to make a great point later in response to a reply from another poster who thinks the energy level tells the story. The poster thinks that the energy level against the lesser teams just isn't there.

Plus, to expand on Chris' point about the team's energy level, it was surprising to see the team play so flat (at least from where I was sitting on the couch) against Rutgers. UC had a week between games, so that helped lead to that theory about it playing to its opponents level.

Interesting topic to say the least.

[BearcatShane]

60-43 over the Red Storm. 7-5 in the Big East. Nice.

[Bip Roberts]

Wish I was able to watch the game tonight :o

[GoReds33]

I like this game. They need to learn how to compensate. Williamson, and Davis both stepped up great. Even Darnell Wilks saw a couple minutes! Vaughn needs some time off.

[GoReds33]

Huge must win game tonight versus USF. If they win it clinches a .500 record or better in the Big East.

BTW, they're 12-12 now. I hope my .500 or over prediction holds true.

[Cyclone792]

And UC escapes with a win, despite Adam Hrycaniuk trying to lose it first by a ridiculous turnover and then by missing the front end of a one-and-one ...

I hate to be mean, but Hrycaniuk is awful. He has some of the worst hands and one of the weakest inside offensive games I've ever seen, and he pretty much plays like a walking turnover and a walking missed layup. He's probably the most frustrating player I've seen since Jihad a few years back when all he did was heave up off-balance prayers.

[Matt700wlw]

Wasn't pretty....but it doesn't have to be.

Win 'em how you have to.