The University of Cincinnati Men’s Basketball Team was ranked 25th in the NCAA Division 1 standings posted on March 7th.
The Bearcats will enter the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 25-8 and a Big East Conference record of 11-7. They will face Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 17th.
The Bearcats Season
The Bearcats lost the Big East Tournament quarterfinals to No. 4 Notre Dame and waited for Selection Sunday to see if they would be continuing their season. Cincinnati shot a mere 32.8% from the field and 8 for 17 from the free throw line.
They were awarded the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 11 seed Missouri in a loser out race to the NCAA Championship. The Bearcats lead the Big East in scoring defense, holding opponents to a stingy 59.2 points per game. Cincinnati’s 25 wins is the first time since the 2005-06 season that they’ve topped 20 wins. They are also one of five teams to win more games than the previous year in each of the last four seasons. Head Coach Mick Cronin leads the Bearcats, but needs Justin Jackson, Yancy Gates, and Sean Kilpatrick to take care of winning games.
About The Team
Head Coach Mick Cronin is in his fifth season at Cincinnati. This is his alma mater and it shows in his familiarity with the program. He has assembled this team piece by piece, and they have improved season after season.
Cronin is not only known for his season over season improvement, but also for his recruiting. When he was an assistant coach, Athlon and Lindy’s recognized him as the Top Assistant Coach in the Nation. That same year The Sporting News named him the Top Recruiting Assistant in the Nation and Top Assistant in the C-USA. Cronin has taken those skills into his head coaching position after recruiting ESPNU Top 100 player, Justin Jackson.
Freshman Justin Jackson was ranked in the Top 100 players of his recruiting class. He is extremely hard to defend because of his size and energy. He is a decent open court ball handler as well, which makes him even more difficult to guard. He’s played in 33 games and is averaging 2.6 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game with a 52.1 field goal percentage.
Junior Yancy Gates had a rough start to the season after butting heads with Cronin. After working out the issues, Gates returned to help lead the team to where they are today. He is averaging 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Sean Kilpatrick was the only Bearcat to earn Big East honors by being named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. He averages 9.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
About The School
The University of Cincinnati is located in Cincinnati, OH and boasts of 304 programs of study with a 15:1 student-faculty ratio. Cincinnati offers students a balance of educational excellence and real-world experiences. Whether it’s the academics or athletics, the University of Cincinnati strives to give every student a life-changing experience.
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