#11 Louisville 58, #7 Cincinnati 57: Bearcats Lose, AAC Title Race Tightens
By Chris Bains
Feb 22, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard/forward Wayne Blackshear (20) and guard Terry Rozier (0) block the shot of the Cincinnati Bearcats forward Titus Rubles (2) in the first half at FifthThird Arena. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
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The Cincinnati Bearcats dropped a heartbreaker to the Louisville Cardinals today on their home court. Russ Smith put up a ridiculous shot with time ticking away to put UL up 1 with 2.2 seconds to play. It was the last shot of the game.
So now the AAC championship race tightens. By losing today, Cincinnati has a 1/2 game lead on the Cardinals, who will host the Temple Owls on Thursday. Assuming Louisville wins that game, UC and UL will be tied in the AAC standings by next Saturday when both teams begin their final three game stretch of the season. Their respective opponents are:
- Cincinnati: @ #21 UConn, #22 Memphis, @ Rutgers
- Louisville: @ #22 Memphis, @ SMU, #21 UConn
When I look at those games, I consider myself thankful I’m not a Cardinals fan (other than the obvious reasons). Louisville faces three of the top five teams in the conference including travelling to Moody Coliseum where the SMU Mustangs haven’t lost this year. Meanwhile, Cincinnati takes on UConn and Memphis but also plays bottomfeeder Rutgers. If both teams are tied heading into those final three games, I like UC’s chances to compile more wins than Louisville during that stretch and taking down the AAC championship.
This is going to be an exciting couple of weeks!