Questions and Answers

Bearcats Blog apologizes for the lack of Memorable Bearcats and Games posts this week. We'll get back to that next week. Today, we'll do questions and answers, starring myself.

What Big East coach picked St John's to win the Big East?

Rick Pitino did. He said he would have picked UC to win, but didn't want to put that pressure on Mick. I don't know what's happened to Rick Pitino the past year. Well, we all know what's happened to Rick Pitino in the past year, but I meant more basketball wise. Louisville never seemed to get the right mix going last season, after the disappointing loss to Michigan State in the Elite 8. The Cards have a couple of big recruiting classes coming in the next few seasons, so we'll see if Pitino still has the magic.

What Bearcats Blog first team Big East player was booted from his team?

That would be Jamine Peterson of Providence. It hasn't been said what made Keno Davis boot him off the team, but the leading scorer and rebounder won't be back. I don't know if it's going to be such a terrible thing for the Friars. Peterson earned the nickname of Greedy from the Friar faithful. Maybe that's just a cool nickname, but it also means he was a black hole once he touched the ball. Peterson didn't care as much about defense as Friar fans would have liked, but who really played defense on Providence last season? I think the answer was no one. I like watching Providence play because their brand of basketball is exciting. I would rip my hair out if I were a Providence fan though. Especially after the disaster against South Florida. Looking back on it, both the South Florida games were disasters for Providence. The first meeting saw the Friars blow a 12 point lead with 2 minutes left and a 5 point lead with 11 seconds left. They would lose in OT. In the second meeting, they gave up a 7 point lead with 5 minutes left, took a late lead, but gave up a lay up to Dominque Jones, who was fouled by Curry, who got hit with a technical. Providence probably doesn't want to see them on the schedule twice next season.

I heard from Brian Bennett that Phil Steele's list of All America teams came out. Were any Big East players on it?

Yes. On the second team were Pitt Panther stars Dion Lewis, Jonathan Baldwin and Greg Romeus, and Mountaineer Robert Sands. The fourth team featured WVU back Noel Devine and UConn LB Lawrence Wilson.

What about Steele's Big East team?

What about it? Get off Phil Steele already. No one cares.

Is there talk of the Big East getting rid of the double bye in the Big East Tournament?

Yes there is. I'm a big fan of getting rid of the double bye. It was stupid from the get go. For one, it punished every team who had to play on Tuesday. It also punished the teams who received the double bye, not counting Louisville, who won the whole thing. The first year, Pitt and UConn lost. Last season, everyone lost but West Virginia, and they almost lost their first game. They are speculating about a pure 16 team bracket, with 4 games on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, and the quarter finals starting on Thursday. That seems about fair. I think the top 4 play on Tuesday. That seems to be the most fair way to do things. I mean, if you play well enough to earn a top 4 seed in the ridiculous Big East, than I think you deserve a day off in the tournament. And if you lose, you deserve the shame an extra day.

Let's get back to Brian Bennett. Would he like to see Cincinnati in a non-conference rivalry game every year?

Glad you asked. The answer is yes. He, like every Bearcat fan and none of the spineless Buckeye fans, would love to see Cincinnati and Ohio State play every season. Ohio State would much rather play Akron and Toledo and other MAC schools before playing the other major conference team from Ohio. That's because Ohio State is scared of losing Ohio. The teams play again in 2014. I'm predicting a Cincinnati victory on this date.

Is there a New Jersey blog Big East ranking for next season? I have a need to see one. It's my crack.

Great question, and yes there is. It's right here. Thank you New Jersey Hoops Haven for putting out such a list today. I'll run down the top 5 for you if you are too lazy to click. Villanova, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virgnia, Georgetown. That's rather vanilla. They pick Cincinnati 12. Shockingly, they have DePaul in last place.

Speaking of Big East talk, is it true that you are participating in something for the East Coast Bias in the next couple of weeks? 

Yes. I'll tell you when things get posted over there and you can check them out. It's a roundtable deal, with things from Orange 44, Voodoo 5, Eye of a Panther, The Nova Blog, Pitt Blather, and lots of other email address I don't recognize. Pretty much every blog listed is involved. It should be awesome.

NBE Basketball says in their latest Big East roundup that UC might be better with this roster. Thoughts?

I agree. The person who wrote that said that it was clear that the players hated each other last season, and it would be addition by subtraction. Believe me, there are a ton of people who think that UC was better off losing one player in particular this season. I think it should help UC. I've written about it this issue myself. What, with rumors that Bishop and Lance hated each other, Bishop hating Mick (getting kicked off the team didn't help that not be true), and Vaughn and Lance playing horribly along side each other all season. I think UC has a nucleus of players that genuinely like each other. At least they follow each other on twitter.

After that seemingly awkward answer, how does Brian Bennett rank the Big East running backs?

I should link Brian at least once, so there that is. He, like everyone else with eyes, ranks Pittsburgh first, and West Virginia second. He has UC 4th, behind UConn. That seems about fair. He looks for big things from Isaiah Pead, and so do I. I'm really pumped about my boy Darrin Williams getting touches this year. I think he's going to be a home run threat on kick returns, and getting handoffs and screens.

Can we get one last reminder about UC baseball?

This weekend, UC plays host to Georgetown. The Bearcats need to win to guarantee they make the Big East tournament. Georgetown kinda sucks, 5 Big East wins, but spoilers are everywhere. Show up and root the Bearcats onward and upward.

St John's 52 Cincinnati 50

(New York Times, I think)

I have been a UC fan for as long as I can remember, and I don't recall more than 5 losses that stung as badly as the one the Cats were dealt Wednesday night. The Bearcats fell to 11-6, 2-3 in the Big East by giving away the game to the St John's Red Storm 11-5, 1-3. Style wise, this was one of the worst Cincinnati games I laid eyes on. Cincinnati turned the ball over 21 times, were 0-12 from 3, were 10-18 at the free throw line and shot 42% overall. St John's shot 35%, were 5-18 from 3, were 11-20 at the free throw line, and turned the ball over 11 times. There were only 2 players in double digits, Dwight Hardy of the Red Storm, and Yancy Gates for the Cats. Neither team got in any kind of rhythm, and played generally ugly basketball down to the wire. Unfortunately, the Bearcats played ugly basketball to the wire and it cost them greatly.

After forcing a St John's shot clock violation (another ugly example) the Bearcats called time out with the ball up 3 with 25 seconds left. The inbound play was either poorly drawn up, or poorly executed or both, because the ball ended up with Gates who was trapped. He flipped the ball to Rashad Bishop, who had it poked away. Dion Dixon recovered the ball and threw up a quick shot that was blocked by, I think, DJ Kennedy. The Storm drove down to the other end where Justin Brownlee was fouled by Rashad Bishop. Brownlee made 1 of the 2 to make it a 50-48 game. In a completely insane move, Bishop threw the inbound pass full court where St John's had Deonta Vaughn double teamed. Hardy drove into the lane where he was fouled. I have no idea what the hell Rashad Bishop was thinking. In that spot, you take a time out, you throw it off a defender, you do anything but throw the ball away. Hardy made both foul shots to tie the score. Mick Cronin decided to call timeout after the first free throw. I wrote interesting in my notes, and little did I know how interesting it would be. Then the play that made Bearcat fans everywhere sick. Lance Stephenson, who had a horrible game back in NYC proper, tried throwing the inbound pass to Dixon, but threw it right to Hardy, who was fouled. It looked like Lance was trying to throw it in to Dixon and get it back quickly, but he threw it right to Hardy. Not having a timeout here was gigantic. The team was in disarray, and no one knew what to do. I thought Mick called time to draw up an inbound play, and to say who to give the ball to on a miss by Hardy. Instead, no one had any idea of what the hell to do. That said, Lance Stephenson can not be so careless with the basketball. I don't really know what he or Bishop were thinking.  Deonta Vaughn used the last 7 seconds to drive to the 3 point line and miss. It was a gigantic tank job by the Bearcats down the stretch. This team has faded down the stretch before, like the UConn game, but not to this extent. Mick said this was the worst loss he has had. It was a terrible one to take because the Cats gave it away. The ultimate snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The loss to Seton Hall was bad, but this loss was much worse. Not just because of how it ended, but because of where it leaves UC. 2-3 in the Big East is not where you want to  be. Especially since the team could be 4-1 if breaks go right against Pitt and they close out tonight. Then again, they could have lost to UConn if that game went to OT and could be 1-4. Sorry, I had to play the opposite of the 'they could be this' game. This is the type of loss that puts teams in the NIT. This is the type of loss that makes you play 5 games in 5 days in the Big East tournament. And we all know how well that worked out last year when the Bearcats lost day 1 to winless DePaul. I'm not going to be so dramatic to say that this loss can ruin a season, but it really puts pressure on the Bearcats to beat Notre Dame. 2-4 is unacceptable. That 2 game ditch is a tough one to pull out of, and I don't know if the Bearcats can do it. The bar has been raised this season, and the fans have tournament expectations. Not CBI, or NIT. NCAA. It's been 6 years and Cat fans are getting restless. Emotions were riding high after the UConn win, and UC has failed to deliver on the high hopes. This loss is really hard to take. Is it a sign the team is falling apart? Is it a fluke? Is it a sign of coaching? Who's to say. We'll get answers though, starting Saturday. Let's look back at this one and find out how it ended like it ended.

The first half was poorly played. The UC highlight was an alley oop from Deonta Vaughn to Yancy Gates right on Dele Coker's head. That would be the only 2 for Gates in the half, as he would get in foul trouble. Ibrahima Thomas was unusually aggressive getting most of his 5 shots and 6 free throws in the half. Lance Stephenson wasn't comfortable and turned the ball over 3 times in the half. He would turn the ball over 3 times in the second half for 6 total. He only had 7-5-3 assists. The Cats had an early lead, but a 7-0 St John's run gave them a lead with about 5 minutes to go in the half. Jaquon Parker got 3 minutes and had 3 boards and 2 points. The points came on free throws that gave UC a 24-23 lead with 3 minutes left in the half that would extend to the break. Rashad Bishop, Lance Stephenson, Steve Toyloy and Ibrahima Thomas all had 4 for UC, with Ibby chipping in 6 boards. Justin Brownlee had 7 and DJ Kennedy had 6 for St John's. UC was 9-27, 0-9, and 6-11 at the stripe. St John's was 10-24, 2-8, and 1-6. Horrible.

The second half started off Yancy Gates returning from foul trouble and scoring 4 quick. A Lance Stephenson  lay up gave UC a 30-26 lead. Dwight Hardy hit a pair of 3s to tie the score at 32. UC took a lead off a Cashmere Wright jumper, but turned the ball over 3 times in a row to give it up on a Malik Stith jumper. UC tied the score on a Gates dunk, and built a 3 point lead. Deonta Vaughn made his only field goal after St John's pulled within 1. UC would throw the ball away after a rebound, and Lance would travel, leading to a Hardy 3 to give the Storm the lead 43-41 with 5:25 left. The lead would turn back UC's way when a Rashad Bishop shot was goaltended by Coker. Bishop made 1 of 2 free throws with 2:10 left to give UC a 48-45 lead. After a Justin Burrell hook shot, Yancy Gates would score UC's last basket after a great pass by Steve Toyloy out of a double team with 1:13 on the clock. Toyloy played great. He had 8 points and 7 rebounds, 4 offensive. That lead to the shot clock violation and everything you read above.

The big question is where does UC go from here? The game Saturday afternoon vs. Notre Dame is huge for the Bearcats. It's early to say games are big, but this one is. It's important for UC to not get too down, and to make things happen. It's also important to stop being so fucking terrible on offense. The offensive woes are pathetic this late in the year. The Cats didn't make a 3 for the first time since 2002. The defense was stellar, but that won't win games if you are anemic on offense. Deonta Vaughn was 1-7, and had 2 free throws. My best friend Dion Dixon was 0-5. Stephenson was 3-9. Thomas 1-5. Gotta get it together boys, we don't have much choice not to.

Bearcats give away win to St John's in horrible fashion

(enquirer)

In one of the worst losses I've witnessed as a Cincinnati Bearcats fan, the Bearcats choked away the game tonight against St John's. The Bearcats lead 50-47 with 24 seconds left before they self destructed. With 11 seconds on the shot clock, the Bearcats inbounded the ball to Yancy Gates, who was quickly double teamed. Gates passed to Rashad Bishop who had the ball poked away and Dion Dixon's shot was blocked. St John's ended up getting a breakaway in which Bishop fouled Justin Brownlee with 14.5 seconds left. Brownlee made 1 of 2. Rashad Bishop stupidly threw a full court pass towards a double teamed Deonta Vaughn, and of course it was stolen. Dwight Harvey, the star of the game, ended up being fouled with 8.3 seconds left. Harvey made both to tie the score. Mick Cronin called UC's last time out after the first free throw, which would be very important. Lance Stephenson, in a hurry to get the ball in and get it back, threw the inbounds pass right to Harvey, who was fouled. Harvey drilled both for the lead. Deonta Vaughn would miss a 3 as time ran out. The Bearcats drop to a disappointing 11-6, 2-3 in the Big East. St John's gets their first conference win, 1-3, and improves to 11-5. A horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, terrible fucking defeat tonight. You can not lose these types of games. The Bearcats shot a horrible 0-12 from 3 and 10-18 from the free throw line, and shot 42.8% overall. Just horrible. More tomorrow.

Know Your Opponent: St John's Red Storm edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats hit the last stop of the 'Lance Stephenson New York City Reunion: Regular Season' as they head to Madison Square Garden to play the St John's Red Storm. For the second time in a row, the Bearcats play a team on the road that's 0-3 in the Big East. Like Seton Hall, the Red Storm have lost to the upper tier of the conference. And Providence. The Red Storm have beaten Temple, while losing to Cornell, so we know they are an up and down team. The Red Storm received a boost in their last game as 38th year senior Anthony Mason Jr returned to the line up. He posted 5-1-1 against Louisville. This is a game that the Bearcats really need if they are going to put themselves in the upper half of the league. This 4 game stretch is sweepable, and it starts tonight. Let's see how the Bearcats and Storm match up.