Key Stretch About To Start

After playing four tough Big East games in ten days, the Bearcats have hopefully had a chance to heal their wounds in anticipation of an upcoming six-game stretch where they should be favored to win each time. Now, of course when you say a team in the Big East is favored to win, that means absolutely nothing. Something like that is only for the fans to get worked up over. If your team is "favored" and they lose, then it's something to complain about. But that's another blog entry.

As we approach each game we'll try to go a little more in-depth with the specific team the Bearcats face. For now, however (and for the purpose of this entry), we're going to show why UC should be favored to run off six wins in a row.

1. Rutgers - already beat them at the RAC. No reason to believe a well-rested Bearcats team shouldn't make it a sweep, right?
   
2. At Seton Hall - sure the Pirates are 2-5 in the Big East, but they are 13-7 overall and have battled upper echelon Marquette and Louisville for most of those games and lost a tough one at St. John's Sunday by just four points.
3. At Providence - 2-6 in conference, but any road game is a grind. Also, the Friars lost to Syracuse by just six and they have knocked off current giant killer Villanova. They are capable and the Bearcats cannot look past this game.
4. Pitt - already beat them at Pitt, so this one is in the bag, right? Pitt is 5-3 which currently puts them ahead of the Bearcats and have run off four straight wins so perhaps the Panthers are indeed back. One problem, however: they face Louisville and Syracuse this week. Good luck with that.
5. Villanova - currently 4-3 and perhaps the team of the week in the Big East. Strike that, they ARE the team of the week. When you beat Louisville and Syracuse back to back, you've accomplished something great. Don't look now, but the Wildcats are formidable again.
   
6. Georgetown - end of a three-game "homestand". UC at home? Can't possibly lose, right? You'd like to think that but New Mexico, St. John's, and Notre Dame would make you think otherwise. As usual JTIII has his team right in the thick of things in conference and despite the Bearcats' current streak of good fortune against the Hoyas, that could go up in smoke if the 'Cats don't show up and battle.
   

So there you have it. Six straight "winable" games for UC. Of course, they're all winable but you'd have to consider the Bearcats the favorite in each of those games. Things obviously don't work that way in the best conference to ever play basketball, but it's nice to speculate. Why take one game at a time? That's no fun!