The Cincinnati Bearcats have moved up to 26th in the latest Coaches Poll with 45 votes and 29th in the AP Poll with 72 votes, both of which were released this afternoon.
For once it seems the coaches were kind to UC, as they seem to constantly undervalue them, and the AP voters weren’t as high on the Bearcats after thrashing Western Carolina and Robert Morris over the weekend. The Bearcats did receive more votes and moved up in both polls, however, as that were bumped from 31st in the Coaches (43 votes) and 30th in the AP (63 votes). That’s certainly encouraging. But you would have thought the kind of performance Cincinnati would put would have earned them a top 25 spot.
I guess we’ll have to wait another week for that.
Among UC’s future opponents, it was encouraging to see so many ranked teams in both polls. Iowa State (7, 7), Butler (22, 24), and UConn 24, 20) are all potential feathers in the Bearcats’ caps come March. That’s not all. SMU and Xavier each received votes in both polls with Tulsa getting a single vote in the AP Poll. That’s nine total games against potential quality opponents. Now, Cincinnati actually has to win those games but with RPI such a critical component of NCAA Tournament seeding just having them on the schedule will help matters.
The Coaches and AP Polls are released every Monday around or after 12 pm EST. As mentioned, I’d have to think if Cincinnati blows out Bowling Green on Wednesday and Arkansas Pine Bluff next Sunday in the same fashion as they handled their two opponents this past weekend, they’ll have a crooked number next to this name next week.