Syracuse-Cincinnati: Bearcats Crumble Down The Stretch Yet Again

Hello there, Bearcat fans.  Frustrated much?

Cincinnati jumped out to a 15-6 lead on No. 4 Syracuse today, trailed by two at halftime, and then allowed the Orange to close out the ballgame on a 28-5 run (final score 71-54). 

Looks like quite the microcosm of the season as a whole, doesn't it? 

After a stellar performance at the Maui Invitational, UC (14-9, 5-6 Big East) has been mediocre at best.  Head coach Mick Cronin expressed NCAA Tournament bid aspirations early in the season, even commenting that freshman guard Lance Stephenson is the best player UC has had since Oscar Robertson (3-time National POY 1958-60).

So what happened to this team?  Let's see if we can analyze. 

Seven of Cincinnati's nine losses were either close at the end, went into OT, or were a situation where the Bearcats led big early. Let's play some Jeopardy here.

Answer:  Toughness, basketball IQ, the ability to make free throws and take care of the ball, confidence, and most importantly HEART. 

Question:  What does a good team possess in order to prevail in close ballgames?

So, to sum up, the Bearcats do not possess a single trait associated with the formula good teams use to win a high percentage of close games. 

Well isn't that just super?!

Currently, UC is 14-9 overall with seven Big East games left—and check out the remaining slate: @ UConn, @ So Fla, vs Marq, vs Depaul, @ West Va, vs Nova, @ GTown. 

Find me more than one win in there.  You can't?  Yeah, I can't either buddy. 

So if UC finishes 1-6 and then loses in the first round of the Big East tournament, Mick Cronin finishes with a 15-16 record and no postseason.  Not exactly a stellar job by the little guy. 

Speaking of Cronin, did I mention he is 8-33 on the road at UC?  Oh, and he's also 0-10 in March. 

I'd say that all of these factors make Cronin's seat hotter than a nude Marisa Miller/Jenn Aniston grope session.

If you need some motivation for punching a hole through your dry wall, here is the box score.  Nice game by senior Deonta Vaughn, huh?