Bearcats Sports Radio

Thursday night was the last home game of the 2016-2017 season and also the last game to be played inside Fifth Third Arena before she gets a makeover and renovations begin this offseason. Make it TWENTY-SIX wins in a row at home! UC won 65-47. If you haven’t seen the drawings for the new arena, be sure to go check them out.

​Senior walk-on Zack Tobler started the game and made the very first bucket of the game for UC. The Cougars kept it close early, but the Cats quickly pulled away. UC opened-up a 37-20 halftime lead. Houston certainly didn’t do themselves any favor shooting the ball, going 26% from 3 and only 37% from the field. The Bearcats did not let their foot off the gas in the second half, leading by as many as 25 in the second half.

Gary Clark led the Bearcats with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Six players scored 7 or more points. Senior point guard Troy Caupain finished the night with 11 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Senior walk on Zack Tobler ended going 2-2 on the night for 3 points. Senior guard Kevin Johnson had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Hats off to our seniors – Troy Caupain, Kevin Johnson, and Zack Tobler!

By Andy Smith

Thursday evening could have easily been a trap game for UC, but Mick Cronin wasn’t having it. The #15 ranked UC Bearcats took an early lead and never looked back, carrying a 51-32 edge into halftime. Memphis outscored the Bearcats in the second half, 42-36, but could not overcome UC’s red-hot opening half lead.

Memphis shot the ball over 50% from the field, but only earned 12 free-throws. Meanwhile, UC drove the ball, earned fouls, and made 23-28 free-throws. Clearly, Mick Cronin is putting more emphasis on shooting free-throws. Kyle Washington was even practicing them during warmups right before tipoff.

The Bearcats ended with 4 in double-figures. Kyle Washington led the way with 16 points and 6 boards. He went a perfect 6-6 from the line. Gary Clark added 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and a monster, ESPN Top 10, one-handed jam (he also made the free-throw for the and 1). If you haven’t seen it, stop and go watch right now. The bench also showed up, contributing 24 points, including 9 from Jarron Cumberland.

UC only had 6 turnovers for the game, and everyone seemed to play well and share the ball. The Cats made a number of athletic dunks, steals, and blocks, and really stretched the floor well. If the Bearcats can replicate this performance moving forward, they will go deep into March, and be really fun to watch. National pundits are already beginning to acknowledge this may very well be Cronin’s best team in his 11 years in Clifton.

With just three games remaining, the Bearcats travel to play UCF on Sunday at 3 pm. Only one more home game remains before Fifth Third arena is gutted and renovations begin.

By Andy Smith

​This one was never close folks. Maybe it was the Bearcats dressed as Pikachu. Maybe it was residual frustration from the road loss at SMU. Maybe it was Mick Cronin ensuring a solid week of practice. Whatever the reason, UC dominated from start to finish.

​Kyle Washington had one of his quintessential game – 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Five – count them – 5 Bearcats had double figures. Kevin Johnson continues his shooting streak, going 5-8 from the field with 15 points and 2 steals. The bench added just 5 points without Jarron Cumberland today. UC shot 47% from 3-point range and a whopping 56% from the field!

​Going forward, especially into the AAC tournament and March Madness, I cannot stress enough the need to drastically improve free throw shooting. UC went 16 of 26 today, but they have to get their shooting percentage up. UC can play tenacious defense and can stretch the floor with a deep bench. This team is poised to make a March run, but if they face an equally deep bench who can hack and foul our big men, the Bearcats have got to be able to make opponents pay from the charity stripe.

​Next up UC plays Memphis (18-9, 8-6) on Thursday night at 7 pm at home.  

Congrats to Mick Cronin, who owns the record for the most career wins of any coach under the age of 45 with his 300th win today!

By Andy Smith

UCF’s Tacko (pronounced “Taco”) Fall was a sight to see inside Fifth Third Arena late Wednesday night. The 7’ 6” center can’t jump or move, and has never really played basketball his entire life, but he towers over his opponents. You could see Kyle Washington’s smile a mile away going against him during the opening tip.

Other than that, the Bearcats handled the Knights with ease, completing the home-and-home sweep. Mixing in a full court press defense, UC looked crisp on defense, holding UCF to 39% from the floor and 20% from 3. The Knights took just 48 shot attempts to UC’s 65.

The Cats did not shoot the ball particularly well in this low scoring affair. Kyle Washington had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jacob Evans added 11. The entire UC bench contributed 13 points.

Make it 15 wins in a row! The Cats continue to do enough to string W’s together, and they are staying healthy doing so.

Next up UC faces a talented #25 SMU team (20-4, 10-1) on the road on Sunday. It took everything the Cats had to beat the Mustangs in Cincinnati. This one is certainly the toughest game remaining on UC’s schedule.

By Andy Smith

Two blemishes. Two losses. Twenty-three games and only two losses.

The Bearcats dropped their first game against the University of Rhode Island on the road in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. The second loss came against Butler University 14 games ago, again on the road — that time in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Fighting Mick Cronins competed in both games, but came up just short.

Yesterday, UC got all over UCONN in front of more than 13,000 fans at Fifth Third Arena and now have the third longest winning streak in the country. The margin of victory was only 14 by the sound of the final buzzer (82-68); however, the game never felt competitive. Was UCONN hobbled by injuries? Sure, but it would not have mattered yesterday, not this season.

I will go a step further…the Bearcats would have won yesterday even if Jim Calhoun was assisting Kevin Ollie and Shabazz Napier was running point for the Huskies. UC is good this year. Scary good. They put up 82 points after their leading scorer, Jacob Evans, only took three shots. This UC team, unlike years past, figures out a way to gut out tough wins and score points.

Is Evans not getting into the flow of the game? Not a problem, Kyle Washington will hit for 27 points. Troy Caupain sputtering for only 7 points? No worries, Young Gary Clark will drop 20 points on 14 shots, and Superfrosh Jarron Cumberland will heat up for a cool 15 points. They figure out a way to score, somehow, some way.

With the excitement and anticipation building for this team, how does all of this make Head Coach Mick Cronin feel? You guessed it – pissed. Wait…what?

In his post game interview, Cronin had the following observations…

• On the overall team effort yesterday, “Jacob Evans had one deflection. Kyle Washington had zero. Tonight, they combined for one more deflection than my mother, who passed away in 2005, had.”
• On why Jacob Evans struggled, “You soak up adulation and that is what happens.”
• On this team’s potential, “I want to make a run in March…you’ve got to play defense all the time…Tulsa was our best win this year because we had so many deflections in the final minutes of that game.”
• On the win against UCONN, “We only had 18 deflections the entire game.”
• On this team, “Winning makes teams soft.”

Why is Coach Cronin annoyed? I think there’s a couple reasons. First, he’s from Cincinnati. Cincinnati sports fans, and even sometimes coaches, understand “we can’t have nice things.” Also it’s February in the Midwest and pessimism comes easily.

Second, he’s a good coach. Good coaches don’t let up on talented players and teams. Ever. Sure, this UC team is special. They’re better than any Bearcats team I can recall in the last decade. That said, March isn’t about potential or talent.

March is about guts, grit, and greatness.

March is about killer instinct.

March is for closers.

Do we have any of those? Coach Cronin wants to know. And so do I.

By Brian Fox

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Throwback Saturday inside Fifth Third was a fun time. The UA throwback jerseys were a hit. The final 4 team was honored. Chris Moore and his fiancée were in the house. At no point in this game were the Cats in trouble.  

Jacob Evans scored 0 points. Troy Caupain had just 7. UC still cruised to an easy W. Kyle Washington led the way with 27 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists. Gary Clark wasn’t far behind at 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. And of course, Jarron Cumberland continues to add a spark, going 5-9 for 15 points and 4 steals.

UC shot 50% for the game, including 46% from 3 – and wait for it – 83% from the free-throw line (10-12)! The Cats dished the ball around, racking up 22 assists and only having 8 turnovers.

Now 21-2 on the season, UC has won 14 in a row and are poised to move into the top-10 with another win or so. Next up UCF at home Wednesday night at 9 pm.

The throwback jerseys will soon hit all the local bookstores so make sure to get yourself one while they last. Under Armour once again outdid themselves with these hot mamajamas.  

By Andy Smith

Thursday night Fifth Third Arena was a mad house during the 2017 edition of the Crosstown Shootout. As early as an hour before the game the arena was filling up, including a full student section. Over 13,400 were in attendance. The Ruckus, local celebrities, former players, Oscar, a bunch of free black UC shirts, Skyline – what more could you ask for?

First things first. Trevon Bluiett was absolutely on fire for Xavier. At the half, he was 8-8 with 26 points, including a ridiculous 3 at the buzzer. At that point, X was shooting 66.7% from beyond the arch, yet the score was still just 44-36, Xavier. UC was able to limit all other Musketeers, including Edmond Sumner. And make no mistake about it, both of those guys will be in the NBA soon enough.

UC did not make any adjustments at halftime other than simply to play harder defense and turn up the intensity. The Bearcats did just that. In the second half, X shot the ball just 26.7%. For the game, UC outscored Xavier in the paint, 34-12. Cincinnati had 30 second-chance points to Xavier’s 4. Overall, both team limited turnovers and fast break points. This was a half-court game, which greatly benefited UC.

In the post-game press conference, Chris Mack opened-up by stating X “got their asses kicked on the glass.” He was a true professional, complementing Mick Cronin. Coach Cronin said the second half D won the game. Both are true.

Another huge component that cannot be understated– Jarron Cumberland is an absolute beast. Mick saved him for the second half. Midway through, he went on a streak, scoring 15 much-needed points. Although coach Mack said he accounted for Cumberland on the scouting report, Cumberland simply showed out for this game. Being a local guy, this game was special for Jarron. Troy Caupain noticed this on the court, mentioning this was the first time he’s ever seen Cumberland talk trash. He was the X factor and stretched the 1-3-1 Xavier zone to its breaking point.

UC ended the game with 5 players in double figures – talk about freaking balance. Gary Clark secured 11 boards. Kyle Washington added 4 blocks. The Bearcats did not need to cross their fingers and pray for a great night from downtown. UC played great defense, rebounded the ball, selected good shots, and scored in the paint. This game could not have gone better.

This game showed Cincinnati’s depth. Xavier is a great team. This was a huge game. In a back-and-forth battle, UC came out on top. Moving forward, we hope UC earns the respect they deserve and catapult into at least the top 15, after winning 11 games in a row. The Cats haven’t lost since the Butler road game on December 10th last year. The AAC gets a bad rap, but the Crosstown Shootout showed that UC can not only compete, but beat great teams. It’s time to put some respect on it, right Birdman?

Next up UC faces South Florida at home on Sunday at 4 pm.

By Andy Smith