That last one stung.
The Cincinnati Bearcats were on a two game losing streak, but a win at home against their crosstown rival Xavier Musketeers would’ve meant more to the team than just ending the skid. But a two-point loss has the Bearcats looking for answers with five games left in conference play.
The Bearcats (17-9, 8-5) were down by 12 at half, but two free throws with 11.5 seconds left from Xavier freshman Trevon Bluiett cut the comeback short and extended the Cincinnati losing streak to three games. After losing on the road to Temple on February 10th by 16, the Bearcats lost at home to Tulane by one point before the heart wrenching loss at home to Xavier by two.
There are five games left on the AAC schedule and the Bearcats can’t afford anymore mistakes before Selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament. They have three games on the road against Houston, Tulane and Tulsa, with two home games against Central Florida and Memphis on the last day of the season.
This week, the Bearcats have one more game on Saturday, February 21st at the Houston Cougars gym, Hofheinz Pavillion. The Cougars are in last place in the AAC and have dropped four in a row. If the Bearcats slip up in Houston, their arrow would be trending towards the NIT rather than the NCAA.
According to TiqIQ.com, there are fewer than 120 Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars tickets remaining for Saturday, February 21st. The average ticket price is $16 with a walk-in price of 7$. Bearcats fans looking to help their team rebound from their skid can utilize Hipmunk.com for all travel recommendations. Currently, hotels in Houston begin at just $84 per night.
Crunch time has crept up on Cincinnati and are entering the most pivotal stretch of their season that may have came a little earlier than expected.
The game between Cincinnati and Xavier returned to campus three years after a brawl in the closing seconds at Xavier left the series in question. The schools had moved the bragging-rights game to a downtown arena. The Bearcats sold out their 13,176-seat arena for the first time this season, underscoring the intensity of the rivalry.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
