WVU 77, Cincinnati 74: Bearcats Drop a Tough One in Overtime

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Not much to say about this game. This was just a slug-fest between two physical teams with very similar gameplans. It’s no wonder there was never more than a 9 point lead by either side and such a margin was short lived. But when it came down to it, and I mean in overtime, the Bearcats did more to hurt themselves and allow West Virginia to squeak out with a victory. Sure the Mountaineers made plenty of plays down the stretch from Kevin Jones and Jabarie Hinds and this in no way diminishes what the did on the floor today. WVU is a very good team and did what they had to do to take this one down but I feel like UC saw the “OT” on the scoreboard and had no idea what to do. For instance, down 3 with what ended up being the last possession of the game, Dion Dixon elected to go for a two-point dunk instead of a three to tie the game. With just 6 seconds remaining. Dixon missed the dunk and the Mountaineers captured the rebound to lock up the game. This followed another questionable foul from Justin Jackson and a give-a-way turnover on an inbound pass also from Dixon.

UC should clearly just win or lose games in regulation because this team doesn’t seem to know what to do with itself when the games moves into an extra period of play. It’s rather ugly, really.

Going forward, the much-hyped game against #1 Syracuse is on Monday and the loss to West Virginia might be a blessing in disguise. This team tends to crumble when they are faced with success and plays the disrespect card like it’s going out of style. Plus Mick and his players will surely be fired up after losing a game like this.