Before I start this blog I’m by no means saying that this version of the Cincinnati Bearcats Men’s Basketball team is going to win the American Athletic Tournament. It would be nice for this young squad to play really well in Dallas because it will bode well for next season and the future of the program.
The Bearcats wrapped up the regular season with a solid 82-69 victory on the road in Greenville, N.C. where for whatever reason they seemed to struggle, but they were able to take care of the East Carolina Pirates on this first Sunday of March. UC ends this COVID-19 basketball season at 10-10 and 8-6 in conference play.
This coming Friday the Bearcats will be playing in the AAC Tournament where there will be the 5th seed and as of now there will be taking on the SMU Mustangs the 4th seed at 3 pm. The reason for the “as of now” typo is because SMU hasn’t played since February 8th as they are going through COVID issues around their program as well.
After being off for 25 days because of this pandemic the Bearcats were able to finish off really strong at a 7-3 record to end the season. They beat the teams there were supposed to beat and there were improvements we have seen from the team especially the emergence of the “Baby Bearcats” a lineup of the future.
I believe this conference tournament can pay dividends for this squad going forward if they put a good showing. The more realistic goal is to get through Friday and then hope for a competitive game on Saturday. If they can somehow get to Sunday then that will be such an incredible considering where there were in December.
It’s March Madness so anything can happen, but as fans, we should just be watching how this young team plays on a big stage because the conference tournament is new for some of them. The noise can be made, but it’s all about taking care of business on Friday.
