The now formerly 17th ranked Cincinnati Bearcats lost to the #25 Butler Bulldogs 78-76 on a Roosevelt Jones buzzer beater. Which Roosevelt Jones and what buzzer beater? This Roosevelt Jones and buzzer beater.
Ugh.
Just brutal. It would have felt less gut wrenching had Butler pulled up and drained a half court jumper as time expired. Instead, Jones bullied Octavius Ellis, a player on the Cincinnati Bearcats who slog in the mud better than any team in college basketball, for the rock and powered his way to the rim for an easy, game winning layup. I mean, a shot from China, I can understand. It sucks, sure, but to get out Bearcatted on that final possession is a dagger through the heart and soul.
And that doesn’t even include the questionable officiating, to put it lightly, on both ends of the court.
While this loss is disappointing and frustrating, a 7-1 record certainly shouldn’t be a cause of concern. We knew heading into this season that the non-conference headliners Butler, Xavier, and Iowa State would be a mountain to climb. It wasn’t unfathomable that UC would flounder against one or more of those teams. Sure the Bearcats basically had this one in the bag, they were only losing for 3:25 of the second half, but simply couldn’t pull it out. Unfortunately games are 40 minutes long, not 38, and UC should have held on for the win.
But, again, those blasted officials!
Despite the loss, Cincinnati still displayed the signs of a team capable of a deep NCAA Tournament run. They held a great offensive team to 28 points tonight and themselves shot 50% from the field as well as a respectable 38% from three. True freshman Jacob Evans tied Octavius Ellis for the team high in points with 16.
So there’s clearly a lot to like from this team and obviously several games to wash the foul taste of this one from our mouths. The Bearcats can still pile up the dubs this season and proved tonight they could do so against high quality opponents. They just need to maintain focus until the end and get a few more calls to go their way. I’m sure everything will even out in the end.