These games are only going to get harder. The Bearcats have already faced two really good teams in the NIT. Now, they face their greatest challenge when they travel to take on Indiana State Tuesday night in the NIT Quarterfinals.
You’re seeing it in the NCAA Tournament. Every game gets harder for every team as they advance further in the Big Dance. Look at Houston. They are the second No. 1 seed in the Tournament, cruised past Longwood in the First Round and then were taken to the brink by Texas A&M Sunday night. Four different players fouled out on the Cougars, but they found a way to outlast the Aggies in overtime. Now they get Duke in the Sweet 16. Another heavyweight fight awaits for the Cougars Friday night in Dallas.
The same goes for UConn. They look like the best team, but now waiting for them in the Sweet 16 is a rematch with last year’s opponent in the National Championship in San Diego State. The Aztecs just scored 85 points in their second round win over Grand Canyon.
Needless to say, whether in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, greater challenges await as you advance further towards the ultimate destination.
But here’s my hope: that playing in the Big 12 prepared the Bearcats for the postseason. That playing in the best conference in the country prepared them to win five one-and-done games over a two-week span that increase in difficulty as the Bearcats advance. Cincinnati has already defeated a really good San Francisco team and a solid Bradley team. As you will read below in my look at Indiana State, this is a better team than both of the first two teams the Bearcats have faced so far in the NIT. This is a team that will require the Bearcats to unleash everything they have to get past the Sycamores and advance to the NIT Final Four. The historically physical identity of the Bearcats program will need to be on display Tuesday night for 40 minutes. Here are my Players to Watch on Tuesday night.
Looking at Indiana State: I think this team should have been in the NCAA Tournament. Indiana State went 28-6, won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship, appeared in the top 25 in mid-February, made it to the MVC Tournament Championship where they lost by four to a Drake team that earned a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
And it’s not just that. This Indiana State team does a lot of things well. The Sycamores rank in the top 10 in the country in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-point percentage and just outside the top 10 in assists per game. In the Missouri Valley, Indiana State finished first in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free-throw percentage and assists while finishing second in rebounding.
How good is Indiana State? Of players with at least 25 shot attempts, no player finished with a field goal percentage below 43.3. And of players with at least 25 three-point attempts, no player shot below 34.7 from three-point range. On an MVC-level, four players rank in the top 25 in scoring, three rank in the top 16 in field goal percentage, two rank in the top five in three-point field goal percentage, three rank in the top 25 in three-point field goals per game and three in the top 25 in free throw percentage. In addition, five players rank in the top 25 in assists per game and total assists, two rank in the top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio and three rank in the top 25 in steals.
