March 18th Jump Off

Missouri Post Game

Bearcats down Missouri 78-63: Cincinnati.com

The Bearcats overcome a slow start, built a 15-point lead early in the second half and then held off every charge that Missouri mounted to post a 78-63 victory over the Tigers in the second around of the West Region before 17,701 at the Verizon Center.

"This is the first time our group of guys made it and the first time in we got a win," said junior forward Yancy Gates. "That just boosts our confidence, knowing that we’re capable of anything we put our heads to."

This has been a question all year long about this teams confidence which has always been a bit fragile. Those questions cropped up early when the press decimated the Bearcats. But they weathered the storm the defense settled in and controlled the game from there. I wasn't sure they could do that.

Cincinnati 78 Missouri 63: Bearcats Blog

The Bearcats broke Missouri's will. People at the game, and people who watched on tv even, wrote about how Missouri's body language was down after every UC answer. The Bearcats forced the Tigers out of their game, out of their tempo, and broke their spirit. We've seen it happen against Georgetown, Dayton, Xavier, Marquette, Louisville, we've seen it happen a lot.

Mizzou really check out of this game pretty early. None of the things that happen when they were on a roll were happening and they had no answers.

Bearcats Breakfast: Paul Dehner

Should we be surprised?

Should we be surprised that a team that's showed up to play for every big game the last month did so again against Missouri?

Should we be surprised that the team that shut down even the most potent of offenses with consistency all year did so again against the high-powered Tigers? Should we be surprised they were held to their third-lowest point total of the year?

The answer probably should be no, but I can't help but be surprised. Its more fun.

Is It Saturday night yet: Dan Hoard

Given three days to prepare for the so-called "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball," the Bearcats had little trouble with Missouri's swarming defense.  Cincinnati only turned the ball over 11 times against a team that forces an average of 18 turnovers a game.  That prevented Missouri from getting a slew of easy buckets in transition, and allowed the Bearcats to play most of the game at their pace.

 

"We did a good job of simulating their scrambling and gambling defense at practice by playing 5-on-6 or 5-on-7," Coach Cronin told me.  "The guys got used to securing the basketball and not over-dribbling.  Fortunately, we had some time to prepare.  The way to slow a team like that down is to score on them.  If they have to take the ball out of the basket, they have to deal with your 5-on-5 defense."

You hear about teams doing that sort of 5 on 7 prep and it almost never works.

Rapid Reaction; Cincinnati 78 Missouri 63: ESPN

Key player: Cashmere Wright handled Missouri’s pressure -- when the Tigers were able to apply it -- and directed the offense inside. Wright dished out six assists to just three turnovers, to go along with 11 points.

It was 7 assists but point taken

MU wasn't who we thought they were. Columbia Tribune

When Missouri’s once-prolific offense slumped late in the season, the defense couldn’t carry the weight. Allowing a mediocre Bearcats offense to shoot 53.7 percent from the field and allowing three and-1 opportunities in a 54-second span of the first half last night were examples of the same deficiencies the Tigers showed all season.

Hey, UC is average on offense. Big difference from mediocre.

Cincinnati Study Hall: Rock M Nation

Sometimes things just don't come together as you expected.  You miss a player (or two) more than you thought you would.  A player (or two) doesn't quite develop as planned.  Perhaps both.  Sometimes you have a team perfect for your coach's identity, and sometimes you don't quite have what you need.  As Charles Barkley said at halftime last night, "This just isn't Mike Anderson's best team." Pretty much.  What we thought might happen in the preseason doesn't matter much now; this was not a great team, and they did not play well enough to deserve a spot in the Round of 32.

This is a good Missouri team, but not a great one. They basically have one chance to beat good teams, and they can do it by forcing the pace into the stratosphere and letting the pace of the game escalate. The announcers kept talking about the cumulative effect of the pressure. That is true, but only if they can play 7 seconds or less offense. If the opposition controls the pace they lose and Cashmere Wright did a phenomenal job controlling the pace. It was faster than normal, but not as fast as Mizzou likes

Down Goes Mizzou: SB Nation Kansas City

 It's over. 

The Missouri Tigers lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening game of the 2011 NCAA tournament bracket. Mizzou seemed capable of hanging with Cincinnati early on but the Bearcats pulled away midway through the first half and never looked back.

At one point with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second half Mizzou got to within six but that was as close as they'd get and Cincinnati ended their dream -- 78-63.

Bearcats News

Mike Thomas and Mick Cronin explore extension: Cincinnati.com

Cronin, who has received one extension since being hired in 2006 to rebuild the program, is under contract through 2014. Thomas said the discussions have been preliminary, with the length of a new contract yet to be settled on.

Thomas said he has heard the rumors that Cronin is a candidate for the Arkansas job, but that no one from the school has contacted him about Cronin, nor has Cronin mentioned anything about the job. The Razorbacks fired John Pelphrey this week

I have no problem with Cronin getting an extension. He has built the program back up from a very minimal base and has injected much needed stability. He has a very good recruiting class coming in, one of the top 20 or so in the nation according to everyone who pays attention to this stuff. He deserves an extension, and if that means it makes the anti Cronin, pro Huggins contingent finally step off the ledge, I have no issues with that.

Swimming and Diving Season recap: Gobearcats.com

you know, in case you're in Swimming and Diving.

In Tribute to Our Fallen Big East Fellows

Louisville, St. Johns and Villanova