Today’s 64-51 loss to Kentucky sucks. There’s no other way to put it. Losing your final game of the season is always a downer. After this weekend, 16 teams will play on and Cincinnati won’t be one of them. The finality of it all stings. Only one team doesn’t feel that bitterness. The Bearcats ride came to a halt against the best team in the nation.
Let me start this by saying Kentucky is great. There’s not denying that. Kentucky didn’t play that well against Cincinnati, largely because of Cincinnati and the Bearcats effort, and they still won going away. The Bearcats held Kentucky to 37% from the floor and 4-15 from three. Those were two huge factors if the Bearcats were going to pull the upset.
Unfortunately for the Bearcats, Kentucky’s defense was better. UC shot 31.7%, only went 2-14 from three and shot themselves in the foot by going 9-14 at the free throw line. The Wildcats blocked 9 Cincinnati shots. It was next to impossible for the Cats to establish anything inside because UK’s shot blockers ate everything. It was highly frustrating to watch, it had to be even more frustrating to live.
And despite that, the Bearcats were in this game for the first 30 minutes. It was 33-30 Kentucky when the Wildcats unleashed a 13-5 spurt to make the margin 46-35 after an Andrew Harrison layup. Cincinnati just couldn’t score after that. From 9:01 to 1:34, they scored 8 points. Kentucky ran the lead up to 18. UC scored 8 in the last 1:34 to make the margin what it was. UC just didn’t have enough firepower. We’ve seen it happen time after time this season. It was bound to happen against a team like Kentucky. Unfortunately it was too much to overcome.
While I’m sad the season ended, I’m sure you are too, I’m not sad about the game. I’m sad about the result, but not of anything that happened on the floor. The Bearcats today put their hearts on the floor. They put their entire being on the floor. They went toe to toe with the best team in the country. If Kentucky was going to beat Cincinnati, they were going to have to earn it. The Wildcats couldn’t play a C game and beat Cincinnati. Kentucky got off to a slow start and the Bearcats made them pay. With every blocked shot, the Bearcats would (maybe unwisely) attack again. The defense was incredibly strong. The effort was incredibly strong.
The Cincinnati Bearcats gave everything today. They just aren’t as good as Kentucky. There is no shame in that. Today’s game could be great motivation for next season. The Bearcats know what it takes to play with an elite team. They know that if they give the effort they gave today, they can hang with anyone in the nation. If Cincinnati brings this intensity to next season, and there is no reason why they shouldn’t, next season is going to be special. The culture around this program won’t allow it. With everyone back, minus Jermaine Sanders, this team has the makings of something special. Cincinnati basketball is a force to be reckoned with again.
Cincinnati wasn’t going to win the National Championship. That being said, the team that beat them was going to have to kill them, stick dynamite in the body, blow it up and then cut up those pieces to make sure they were dead. Kentucky mostly did that. UK put Cincinnati down for the count, but the Bearcats didn’t stay down. They got up and went down swinging. It took a tremendous defensive effort, which is the norm for them, from the Wildcats to knock Cincinnati out of the tournament. The Bearcats went down on their shield.
Win if you can, lose if you must, but always fight. This Cincinnati team always fought. I think I speak for everyone in saying that we as Cincinnati fans can not be prouder of the effort. This season could have gone 17 kinds of sideways with Mick Cronin gone. They fought through it. There was a three game losing streak that could have derailed the season. They fought through it. There was the best damn team in the nation on the opposite side of the court today, the Bearcats took the fight to them. While they weren’t champs, the Bearcats went out like them. I hope no one holds their head down after this loss. There is nothing to be ashamed of. This team accomplished a hell of a lot when it had no right to really. Salute on a hell of a season. Thank you.
Photo by Getty Images
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
