2014 NCAA Tournament: Fantasizing Cincinnati’s Path To A National Championship

Mar 16, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Gary Harris (left) and center Adreian Payne celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the championship game for the Big Ten college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Michigan State defeats Michigan 69-55. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

3rd Round: (5) Cincinnati v. (4) Michigan State

The Bearcats are more than warmed up after their win over a tough Crimson team. But their success in the 2nd round means another difficult matchup, this time against Michigan State. The Spartans are motivated in a similar manner as the Bearcats. Despite being the Big Ten Tournament champions and beating their rival Michigan in the conference tournament, Michigan State is a 4 seed while the Wolverines are a 2. That has Tom Izzo seething and that feeling is mutual among his players.

Cincinnati feels equally under-appreciated, though, feeding off their own head coach Mick Cronin’s motivation. GeLawn Guyn does a nice job shutting down Gary Harris, who scores just 10 from the field despite picking up 5 from the free throw line. Sean Kilpatrick struggles from the field, going just 4-11, but drives hard to the lane and gets to the stripe seven times against Michigan State. He nails 12-14 free throws to post a solid 21 points while Titus Rubles repeats his performance against Memphis putting up 20. The Bearcats survive Justin Jackson’s absence from most of the second half after picking up a pair of fouls just after halftime. He plays just 24 minutes, posting 4 points and 5 boards. UC comes out on top, though.

Final Score: Cincinnati 65, Michigan State 62