Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats Will Rely Heavily on Their Big 4

Four games into the college basketball season, it has quickly become evident that the Cincinnati Bearcats will rely heavily on their big four to lead them throughout the season. 

Those four players are seniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon, junior Cashmere Wright and sophomore Sean Kilpatrick.

The quartet were the four leading scorers a year ago for Cincinnati, and with five freshmen getting playing time, these four have almost all of the experience on the roster. 

Senior big man Yancy Gates is the most talented player on the team and is finally putting it all together for his final year in Clifton.

Gates is averaging 14.5 points and 9.8 rebounds so far this season. After leading the team in scoring and rebounding a season ago, he is having his best year in a Bearcats uniform, and Cincinnati is a completely different team when he is in the game. 

Fellow senior Dion Dixon was second in scoring last season and is averaging 13.3 points so far this season. At only 6'3", his 6.0 rebounds per game are a huge bonus for Cincinnati from the guard position.

Junior Cashmere Wright is the Bearcats' only serviceable point guard with the injury to Jaquon Parker. He is averaging 11.0 points and nearly three assists per game. 

Wright is lightning quick and can get to the basket almost at will. 

Sophomore sharpshooter Sean Kilpatrick was big time off of the bench last season, but he steps into a starting role this year. 

He is putting up 13.5 points per game to go along with nearly six rebounds a night. 

The Bearcats will also get contributions from sophomore forward Justin Jackson and junior college transfer Cheikh Mbodj. Mbodj is a 6'10" center who is just returning from injury. 

After two straight wins and a disappointing loss to Presbyterian over the weekend, the Bearcats rebounded in a big way with a 27-point victory over Northwestern St.

The offense has been struggling in the early going, and it will need to continue to improve if Cincinnati plans on making a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

While it is not certain that the Bearcats will make a return trip to the Big Dance, there is no question that if they do it will be on the backs of their big four.