2011/2012 UC Basketball official thread

[Redlegs23]

I can't believe some people are still saying that UC isn't good because they have a bad schedule...since when does your schedule affect how good you are?? Would Duke be bad with our schedule???

It's not holding back people's opinion of Ohio State at all. They have played Florida and that is absolutely it. The rest of their schedule looks like ours so far. And even Florida is just a moderately good team IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I think Ohio State is very good, but I'm just throwing out an example of another team that has played a very poor non-conference schedule. I don't hear people saying that they need x number of Big Ten wins to make the tourney since they played a weak schedule.

And to put it in perspective a little, OSU has 5 games remaining against ranked teams, none of which are in the top 10. UC has 7 games remaining against ranked teams, 4 of which are in the top 10. On top of that UC also plays Marquette, Louisville, West Virginia and St. Johns twice. Just an absolutely brutal schedule from here on out, but apparently people are all worked up over UC non-conference schedule.

[joshnky]

Just an absolutely brutal schedule from here on out, but apparently people are all worked up over UC non-conference schedule.

I'm not worked up about UC's non-conference schedule, I just won't think much of them until they beat someone in the top 50 of the RPI (although the Dayton win is looking better). Like you said, the schedule will be there in the end but expect people to question your team when they play a schedule ranked 327th in the RPI. By comparison, Louisville gets a lot of the same schedule criticism from UK fans and their schedule is ranked 86th with two top 50 wins.

In a two weeks, this conversation will be totally different. Either UC will have proven legitimate by knocking off one of the big three Big East teams or the criticism will have some substance.

[paintmered]

The Shootout is always such a whistlefest. It's not the rivalry for you if you like pretty basketball.

[Caveat Emperor]

Yancey Gates just made one of those shots that you only see in old-school NES games when the computer is trying to catch up in the 2nd half.

[Brutus]

It's not holding back people's opinion of Ohio State at all. They have played Florida and that is absolutely it. The rest of their schedule looks like ours so far. And even Florida is just a moderately good team IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I think Ohio State is very good, but I'm just throwing out an example of another team that has played a very poor non-conference schedule. I don't hear people saying that they need x number of Big Ten wins to make the tourney since they played a weak schedule.

And to put it in perspective a little, OSU has 5 games remaining against ranked teams, none of which are in the top 10. UC has 7 games remaining against ranked teams, 4 of which are in the top 10. On top of that UC also plays Marquette, Louisville, West Virginia and St. Johns twice. Just an absolutely brutal schedule from here on out, but apparently people are all worked up over UC non-conference schedule.

I don't think you appreciate actually how much difference there is between even Ohio State's schedule and Cincinnati's schedule. Ohio State had the road game against Florida, which is a solid NCAA Tournament team.

For perspective (and I agree OSU's schedule isn't tough), Cincinnati has played one top-100 team in the RPI (Dayton), two road games (Miami and Toledo) and a neutral game (Oklahoma). The RPI, entering the week, of those teams were 49, 118, 269 and 201 respectively. On the average, Cincinnati's average opponent' win percentage is .328 (which is 328 out of 345 teams in the country).

Ohio State, since you brought them up, has played three top100 teams -- two of which were on the road. They've played four road games (Florida, Florida St., Indiana and Iowa) and the average opponent win percentage is .488 (No. 188 in the country).

So yes, Ohio State's schedule isn't very tough, but the difference even between they and Cincinnati is remarkable right now.

Now for me, I don't believe that because Cincinnati played an awful schedule that thereby they're not any good. I think that's a fallacious argument and I hate that many people in the sports universe actually use that. But I also think it's fair to withhold judgment until they do play someone of consequence (like tonight). I don't think whether Cincinnati tried to schedule anyone in the non-conference is too important, mostly because it's more about the merits of the actual schedule than who a team tried to play.

All that said, I think this Cincinnati team is legit when it comes to hard-nosed defense. They defend on the ball extremely well and help of even better. While there aren't a ton of true scoring threats offensively, IMHO, I'm impressed with the spacing, ball movement and lack of wasted dribbling that plagues a lot of teams. UC will have to earn the wins against teams like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Georgetown and Louisville, but as long as they play hard and play smart, they're capable of it.

[WMR]

I would love to see the Bearcats thump Louisville.

[paintmered]

Larry Davis - a complete failure of a player. Can't score, can't guard. I don't know how he gets as minutes as he does. Yet, Cronin keeps throwing him in there to disastrous results.

I don't know what happened over the off-season, but Larry Davis has gone from the quoted to an asset. I'll gladly eat my shorts for him proving everyone wrong and not mailing in his senior season.

[SeeinRed]

I don't know what happened over the off-season, but Larry Davis has gone from the quoted to an asset. I'll gladly eat my shorts for him proving everyone wrong and not mailing in his senior season.

Impossible! I didn't think anyone could improve while Cronin was coach. GASP!

How about Gates tonight also. Boy, it'd be great to see that during conference play.

[NorrisHopper30]

Beautiful.

[Reds4Life]

Well, first loss of the year.

The officiating in this game was horrendous. Between the two teams, there were 58 free throws attempt. 58! 20 of those were by Nova in the first half alone. We did make it interesting in the second half at least, they didn't laydown and quit. At one point 4 of the 5 starters for Nova had 4 fouls each.

The game would have been a lot more fun if it wasn't for the awful officiating.

[paintmered]

At least UC won't face any better guard play than they saw today.

[SeeinRed]

Well, first loss of the year.

The officiating in this game was horrendous. Between the two teams, there were 58 free throws attempt. 58! 20 of those were by Nova in the first half alone. We did make it interesting in the second half at least, they didn't laydown and quit. At one point 4 of the 5 starters for Nova had 4 fouls each.

The game would have been a lot more fun if it wasn't for the awful officiating.

I don't like complaining about officiating, but it was horrible. UC lost the game because they weren't as sharp as they should have been, so its not like the officials cost them the game IMO, but it was really bad. It made me think that some calls weren't made just because Mick said something that got to the officials. I'm obviously biased, but it seemed most of the bad calls cost UC. Even the announcer, who was a Nova player, made a couple comments on some of the calls/no calls.

I also though the whistle was really quick on Thomas' technical. I don't know what he said, but that kind of reaction is not exactly uncommon on a foul call. Either way, Thomas really needed to keep his cool.

The biggest thing that stood out to me today were the wasted offensive possesions and missed free throws. The first half could not have gone worse for UC. Even though they fell behind by 20, they kept fighting and made it a game in the second half. It was very good to see UC fight like that. No shame in losing to Nova on their court. I'm sure there are plenty of people pointing to this game and saying that it proves UC isn't for real. I'm glad, it seems like the team need that chip on its sholder right now.

[BearcatShane]

Eh. UC wasn't going undefeated obviously. Nova's now won 45 straight games on that court and they are very good so no shame in losing today. They battled but they just weren't going to win that game. Now Cronins job is to make sure they guys don't get down on thereselves and they win the game vs South Florida Wednesday

[SeeinRed]

Eh. UC wasn't going undefeated obviously. Nova's now won 45 straight games on that court and they are very good so no shame in losing today. They battled but they just weren't going to win that game. Now Cronins job is to make sure they guys don't get down on thereselves and they win the game vs South Florida Wednesday

UC held together and beat South Florida. I think a lot of people looked at South Florida and thought they would be an easy win, but they have played tough against pretty much everyone this season. Next up, Syracuse. I am excited to see how UC responds. They've gotten a taste of tough BE competition with Nova and shouldn't be suprised with the physical play. I think UC matches up well with Syracuse. It will be tough, but it should be a good game.

[paintmered]

UC off to a horrible start against Syracuse. Down 12 after 6 minutes. UC is 1-7 shooting so far. Make that 1-8 now.