How good is UC?

• Ironman92

  

  Ranking up to #7, only 2 losses. Beat Louisville, Memphis and Pitt.
  
  SOS is 89th (Wich St and SDSU are 91st and 92nd FWIW)
  
  I haven't watched them for 1 second....are they really more than a Sweet 16 team?
• Terry_Tate

  

  I don't think they are any better than a Sweet 16 team. They have one very good offensive player in Sean Kilpatrick (who still shoots at a 42% clip) but other than that their offense sucks. They are a good defensive team but I think they have an inflated record and while they have a shot at the Sweet 16 I think they have almost no chance for an Elite 8 barring upsets in their region and honestly wouldn't be shocked to see them lose in the round of 32 depending on matchup. In a legit conference they have at least 4-5 losses right now.
• reclegend22

  

  Cincy has an RPI of 14, with wins on the road at Memphis and Louisville as well as victories over SMU and Pitt. I think the Bearcats have proven they can beat really good teams. It remains to be seen how they'd fare against that next level of teams (Arizona, Syracuse, Villanova, Kansas, etc).
  
  Having watched Cincy play several times, the defense appears good enough to compete with anyone. Cincy ranks 4th nationally in defensive points per game (56.7) and 17th nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.6). The only downside, as Terry states, is an offense that is geared largely on the performance of Sean Kilpatrick. He's NPOTY good, and as good a scorer as there is, but he doesn't have ample help, which allows lesser teams to often keep games close.
• Ironman92

  

  Thanks
• Mulva

  

  Not good enough offensively.
• Heretic

  

  Which means that as messed up and unpredictable as this year's been, Cincinnati is probably a lock to win it all now that everyone posting here says they don't have the offense to do so (a sentiment with which I agree; I think they're a very good team, but with them being an older, veteran team, they seem like the kind of group that probably will peak in the regular season and then go out fairly quickly in the tournament when they face a team with more natural talent).
• reclegend22

  

  Sean Kilpatrick doing his best to keep Cincy in the game against UConn. He's got 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. UConn leads it 46 to 45 with 8 minutes left.
  
  If only he had a guy like Cashmere Wright still around to help take some of the scoring load, Cincinnati would be one of the elite teams this year.
• reclegend22

  

  Kilpatrick with 22 points and 10 rebounds, with Cincy now leading UConn 53 to 48. How playing on a Top Ten-ranked team he was omitted from the mid-season Wooden list truly baffles me.
• reclegend22

  

  Big win for Cincy, as the Bearcats advance to 11-0 in the AAC. Sean Kilpatrick finishes with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. He's averaging 25 per the last four.
  
  Cincy held UConn to 27 second-half points. Whether or not Cincy can ride Kilpatrick all year long offensively remains to be seen, but the defense is definitely in that elite category.