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University of Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin leads the Bearcats down south today as they take on the Blue Raiders from Middle Tennessee State University.
One thing I'll be watching today is how much the Bearcats continue to ask junior forward Octavius Ellis to do. He's been the lone force in the paint so far this year - scoring and rebounding - and I'm curious if he can maintain that output. Especially tomorrow as the Bearcats play 2 games in 2 days.
Sure, he's been spelled at times by junior forward/center Coreontae DeBerry, and I'm hoping DeBerry continues to get comfortable in his role. The problem, though, is that DeBerry doesn't offer the same versatility on defense that Ellis has.
In any event, the Bearcats have to play great team defense to hold off the Blue Raiders today and advance to tomorrow's championship game - where they'll take on the winner of Creighton and Ole Miss (that game set to tip at 8:30pm ET tonight).