Cincy on the Prowl
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Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats All But Punch NCAA Tournament Ticket With 61-54 Win Over SMU

By Chris Bains

Mar 6, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Octavius Ellis (2) reacts against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 61-54. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Octavius Ellis (2) reacts against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 61-54. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cincinnati Bearcats picked up their best win of the year, coincidentally enough, on the last day of the regular season, a 61-54 victory over the SMU Mustangs.

Before UC’s season began, many of us assumed the Bearcats would have wins a plenty over top 25 RPI teams. After all, the reason Cincinnati added the likes of Butler, Iowa State, and VCU to the schedule was to provide them resume boosters even prior to their first AAC game. But for one reason or another (buzzer beater, lost lead late, awful record against non-conference opponents), those top 25 wins just never came UC’s way.

The Bearcats also had an opportunity to take down Xavier, who rank 6th in RPI right now, but were blown out of the Cintas Center and in their first meeting with SMU way back in early January, they let another late lead slip away.

Not today, though. Despite Troy Caupain going 4-19 from the field and at one point accounting for 38% of Cincinnati’s shots but just 11% of their points, the Bearcats finally held off their opponent late in the game to secure a win over a top 25 RPI team. It’s far too early to tell if this will push them into the NCAA Tournament for good. Coming into today, after the loss to Houston on Thursday night, the Bearcats were hovering around the 10-11 seed range. But a win over the 11 RPI Mustangs should be enough to secure a spot in the Big Dance.

However a win over the UConn Huskies in their opening game of the AAC Tournament will go a long way to locking them in. A loss wouldn’t doom Cincinnati but we might have to sweat out Selection Sunday should the Bearcats get bounced early.