I thought Dan Skillings Jr. said it best when he said that the Bearcats play basketball in March. He meant the NCAA Tournament, but the Bearcats did just make a nice run in the Big 12 Tournament and will now host an NIT game Wednesday night. Here are 12 Big Things about the Bearcats in the Big 12 Tournament and some perspective for fans who might be frustrated that the Bearcats aren’t going to the NCAA Tournament.
12 Big Things
1. In their first season in the Big 12, the Bearcats made it to the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. They had the lead at the half of the Quarterfinals against a Baylor team that’s now a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I said after their first Big 12 game, an 11-point win at BYU, that the Bearcats would be a factor in the Big 12. They more than proved they belong in the best conference in the country, and their run in the Big 12 Tournament.
2. There are fans who view this Bearcats season as a failure. If you do, that could be because you thought this team could be an NCAA Tournament team after winning at BYU. I felt the same way, which makes it frustrating that they are not going to the Big Dance for a fifth straight season. However, to call this season a failure, I think, is unfair. This was the Bearcats first season in the Big 12, and there were growing pains. Even if you didn’t expect them to lose to West Virginia and Oklahoma State, those losses are part of the growing pains. Learning how to win games in the Big 12 games against teams you should beat. But for the Bearcats to show they more than belong in the Big 12 in year one and stay in consideration for the NCAA Tournament throughout the entire season is success.
3. Another reason this season is a success is you have to remember where the Bearcats were just three years ago. Three years ago at this time, the Bearcats roster was being decimated by a mass roster exodus. Wes Miller was hired to rebuild the program and the culture, and he’s done both of those things. There are more notable transfer commits than there are transfers exiting the program since Wes Miller became the Bearcats head coach. Two seasons ago, the Bearcats were 7-11 in the American Athletic Conference. Now, they’re coming off a season going 7-11 in the Big 12 with only one conference loss by double-digits and a feeling like they could have finished higher in the standings. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. Because it shows they belong in the Big 12 and a bright future is ahead.
4. Another thing to keep in mind: the Bearcats didn’t make the NCAA Tournament five straight seasons after Bob Huggins resigned. It’s been five seasons since Mick Cronin left for UCLA.
5. That’s why I think of this season like the 2009-10 Bearcats team. That team finished 19-16 and 7-11 in the Big East. They were ranked in the Top 25 for three straight weeks in late November and early December. They struggled in Big East play, only winning back-to-back games just once before the Big East Tournament. But most of their 11 Big East losses were by single-digits. The Bearcats won two games in the Big East Tournament before losing by three points to West Virginia in the Quarterfinals. Cincinnati then earned a bid to the NIT and lost to eventual NIT champion. The next season, the Bearcats made the first of nine straight NCAA Tournaments.
