Cincinnati 68, Villanova 50: Offense Breaks Out In Win Over Wildcats

68 points usually isn’t much to cheer over, unless you’re a fan of the Cincinnati Bearcats. UC hasn’t scored this many points since beating the Marquette Golden Eagles almost a month ago, a game that was also went into overtime. For a team that is so defensively gifted and struggles so much with the ball in their hands, beating a team by 18 sure feels good. It was a performance that was obviously lead by timely scoring from Cincinnati’s best scorers. But I was most impressed with UC’s outright attitude on offense. Not only was Cashmere Wright, JaQuon Parker, Titus Rubles, and of course Sean Kilpatrick attacking the basket but I even saw Cheikh Mbodj drive the lane a few times. It’s clear Mick pushed the right buttons in the last few practices as he was able to stoke a fire tonight under these Bearcats.

At the end of the day it was Cincinnati’s prolific shooters who finally put together a complete game. Kilpatrick and Parker each led the way with 19 points each and Cash contributed 11 of his own. It seems like in the recent offensive slump the Bearcats were hampered by one or two of them simply not hitting their season average. They are being leaned upon to carry the load this season and when any of them go cold it shows on the scoreboard. But tonight all three had terrific showings en route to a key UC victory.

Before I close I should congratulate Cash on breaking Cincinnati’s career steals record. Widely known as having one of the best hands of any point guard in college basketball, he has been the catalyst to UC rising to a top tier team in the Big East. Cash’s ability to create havoc on defense, and outright shutdown opposing point guards, has helped the Bearcats win more than a few games. Plus the fact that he has overcome multiple knee surgeries is even more remarkable.

Congratulations Cash. No one deserves this title more than you.