The Bearcats currently sit 5th in the AAC as they are (17-10, 8-6 AAC) on the season after a devastating loss to East Carolina last night. The Bearcats led by as much as 16 points, before the Pirates outscored the Bearcats 26-6 in the final nine minutes of play. However, the Pirates did so without leading scorer Javon Small who has missed the last month with a knee injury, while the Bearcats were without Viktor Lakhin for the second straight game as he nurses a sprained ankle. The Bearcats have now lost two of their last three games both in which were games they should have won down the stretch and could come back to bite heading into the AAC Tournament.
The Bearcats suffered a 101-94 loss to Tulane last week in overtime, but saw Viktor Lakhin and Rob Phinisee both suffer injuries, Lakhin suffered a sprained ankle, while Phinisee’s injury was more serious as the graduate guard suffered a torn patella tendon, which would end his season. A loss that the Bearcats let slip away in the final minutes, a game in which could have solidified their seeding heading into the AAC Tournament. The Bearcats now catch themselves looking from the outside in, heading into their last four games of the season before the conference tournament.
However, this season has looked a lot different then Bearcats fans have planned after seeing two veteran leaders in Rob Phinisee and John Newman go down with injuries to start the season. Being without Newman for the season has been huge, as the 6’7″ forward is arguably one of the top defenders within the American Athletic Conference. Phinisee, was just looking to find his groove as of late after missing 14 games due to a foot fracture, and was starting to show #BearcatNation what he was capable of on the defensive aspect as he played a crucial role in the Bearcats victory over UCF two weeks ago. Unfortunately, Phinisee caught another bad break during the Tulane game which you hate to see for a guy like Phinisee who has had a heck of a college career, as he looked to spend his last season of eligibility as a Bearcat, someone Wes Miller and company where very excited for.
The Bearcats have had their ups and downs here this season, a team that put up a season high 94 points vs one of the top teams in the country in Arizona out in the Maui Invitational. That was the most points the Wildcats have given up all season to date. The Bearcats showed what they were capable of early, but then hit a low after suffering a huge loss to Northern Kentucky University in the fourth game of the season. A loss that would really hurt the Bearcats, but ultimately the loss to ECU last night might just hold a little more weight, after leading by as much as 16 on the road without Viktor Lakhin was huge, until it all slipped away in the final nine minutes, as the Bearcats got bullied on the glass 46-27. You could sense how much Viktor Lakhin has meant to this Bearcats team, and how much his presence has been missed her the last week and will most certainly be a huge piece for the Bearcats in order to make a late season run heading into the AAC Tournament in two weeks.
