Tonight the Cincinnati Bearcats travel to the hornet’s nest that is the XL Center in an attempt to beat the UConn Huskies, something they haven’t accomplished since the 2011-12 season.
Do you remember that game? It was a pretty good one. A team that included the veterans such as Yancy Gates, Dion Dixon, Cashmere Wright, and JaQuon Parker, Mick Cronin put the weight of the game on sophomore Sean Kilpatrick’s shoulders.
It was your typical last few minutes against a UConn team, with star point guard Shabazz Napier draining a three to tie the game at 67 and attempt to ruin Cincinnati’s upset bid of the #13 Huskies on their home floor. Normally in this situation Mick would have called a timeout. I mean, it’s not irrational to do so with his team owning the final possession with less than 10 seconds to play. He could have very well drawn up the perfect play to get one of his shooters open in space.
But he didn’t. Instead, he let his guys play and eventually they got it into the hands of the only underclassman on the floor.
Take it away, Sean.