The All-Time Favorite Cincinnati Bearcat Basketball Player Tournament: Ed Jucker Region Final

July may not seem like the right month for a Final Four, but that’s where we are in the All-Time Favorite Cincinnati Bearcat Basketball Player Tournament. Our first semifinalist comes from the Ed Jucker region. After a week of voting, the showdown between two legends from deep in Cincinnati Bearcats history was decided in a less than even battle.

No. 1 Oscar Robertson defeats No. 2 Paul Hogue

It would have been a stunning upset if Hogue had taken out Robertson, even if they were only separated by one seed. Robertson is the best Bearcat player ever. Feel free to argue that he might have been less dominant in today’s game, but even if you slash his production in half, he’d still be an all-time great. That type of transcendent skill and name recognition make him a favorite of Bearcat fans who had the pleasure of seeing him play and the younger folks with an appreciation for the program’s history.

Of course, Hogue is an integral part of that history. UC hangs its basketball hat on its 1961 and 1962 national championships. Hogue was a member of each of those teams and is ranked 17th in all-time scoring and third in rebounding at UC.

Robertson won with 97 percent of the vote, however, making for his fourth-straight win with at least 80 percent of the ballots cast. Below is a look at the path taken by the Big O, which featured Andre Tate, Rashad Bishop and Eric Hicks, the latter of which gave the human triple-double the biggest fight of the region.

Robertson will go on to face the winner of the Gale Catlett region in the Final Four. Results from that region will be announced later today.