Bearcats Basketball Unranked In Preseason Coaches Poll
By Chris Bains
The first college basketball poll of the season has been released today with the Cincinnati Bearcats going unranked and not receiving even a single vote.
On the one hand, this is a little surprising. UC boasts one of the most consistently successful programs in the last five years, winning 20+ games and making a NCAA Tournament appearance in each of the last four. Plus the Bearcats signed a stellar recruiting class in the 2014 cycle.
That being said, Cincinnati faces the monumental challenge of replacing three senior leaders who accounted for 57% of the team’s points, 47% of the three pointers, 57% of the offensive rebounds, and 55% of the defensive boards. That’s a boatload of turnover for Cincinnati to deal with in just a single offseason and the coaches know it.
So is this lack of votes in the first preseason poll an indication of where the Bearcats stand right now? Are they not even the 51st best team in the country? Probably.
UC, while loaded with more raw talent in years, is exactly that at the moment; raw. I have full confidence that Mick Cronin and his crack staff will eventually mold these pieces into a cohesive unit such that they remedy the loss of Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Jackson, and Titus Rubles. But there will be some growing pains over the first month or two.
Here’s how the rest of the AAC falls in the Coaches Poll.
- UConn: #15
- SMU: #22
- Memphis: #31
Also of note, Cincinnati’s 2014-15 non-conference opponents, which on paper is mightily stronger this season.
- VCU: #16
- San Diego State: #17
- Nebraska: #21