The Bearcats’ loss on Friday wrapped up a 22 – 12 season. In many ways UC accomplished what they had set out to do at the beginning of the year. They won more than 20 games and made the NCAA Tournament, both for the third straight year. Cincinnati also experienced a rise in attendance this season, averaging crowds of over 9,000 for the first time in years including Big East games where 5/3rd Arena averaged 11,236. Clearly support for this program is close to returning to the levels of the Bob Huggins days.
But Cincinnati also fell short of a number of other goals. A team that was expected to finish in the top quarter of the Big East standings limped to a 9 – 9 conference record and 9th in the Big East. Additionally the Bearcats were bounced early in the conference and NCAA tournaments. Most of the issues this season stemmed from Cincinnati’s inability to score points. They could always get it done on the defensive end but UC was inept at times with the ball in their hands. I’ve illustrated how this has been an epidemic in the Mick Cronin era but this season it cost them a number of games.
The magic number for UC in any given game was 60. If they hit that threshold they were effectively locks to win. A total less than that and the Bearcats lost. And in 21 of Cincinnati’s 22 wins, including overtime, they did score at least 60 and in 9 of Cincinnati’s 12 losses they scored less than 60. Heading into the season, with the hype of an uptempo offense led by talented scorers at guard, surpassing that mark seemed practically automatic. But a poor offensive system hindered this team numerous times throughout the year and never allowed Cashmere Wright, Sean Kilpatrick, and JaQuon Parker to reach their potential.
As a result the Bearcats put up just 52 points against St. John’s, 50 against Providence in the regular season, 55 against Syracuse, a two-decade worst 41 against Notre Dame, and 43 against Georgetown in the Big East tournament. All were losses and all left us searching for answers. The most frustrating aspect of the St. John’s, Providence, and Syracuse losses was that UC had every opportunity to beat those teams, three wins that could have propelled the Bearcats up the Big East standings and earn them a better seed with an easier pairing in both tournaments. Unfortunately that late in the season it was impossible for Mick to overhaul his system and the Bearcats were forced to make do with what they had, which led to a disappointing .500 record in the Big East.
Finally a primary storyline surrounding Cincinnati this season was poor interior play. Asked simply to rebound the ball, get easy putbacks, and go up strong with the ball around the rim, UC’s big men struggled to perform even those simple roles most of the time. It was clear by about the fifth game that the Bearcats desperately missed Yancy Gates this year. Say what you want about his work ethic and conditioning but the man knew how to throw a shoulder around the basket. UC rarely got that kind of physicality out of Cheikh Mbodj, David Nyarsuk, and Justin Jackson.
Time and time again I found myself screaming at my screen whenever I saw these three catch a pass in the paint (or not catch it, defcon 5), throw up an off-balanced shot (defcon 3!), or go up with the ball at their hip around the basket only to have it knocked away (DEFCON 1!!!). This as opposed to Yancy Gates who was generally the largest player on the court, most importantly knew he was the largest player in the court, and exerted his dominance on any feeble peon who dared challenge him. Mbodj, Nyarsuk, and Jackson didn’t have that mentality for much of this season and it caused Cincinnati to effectively play 3 v. 5 on offense. Clearly not ideal.
So that was the 2012-13 season, a 22 – 12 campaign that witnessed the Bearcats once again reach the NCAA Tournament but fall miles short of expectations and potential. This could have been an extremely special season where Cincinnati could have established itself as a top-tier program in college basketball. For the first few months it appeared that way after UC won the Global Sports Classic, crushed Xavier on a neutral court in front of a dominant pro-UC crowd, and rose to #8 in the rankings for the first time in 10 years. However Cincinnati couldn’t match the intense competition of Big East play and the it caused the weaknesses of this team to be exposed.
It’s clear changes must be made. No, I’m not talking about changing head coaches. That’s ludicrous. But said head coach needs to reevaluate his offensive philosophy. The defense under Mick Cronin has always been spectacular but the dude has to swallow his pride and do what’s best for the program he loves. More on this in the next couple of days.