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Record: 22-10 (13-5 AAC)
Midwest Region — Seed: 8
RPI: 40
BPI: 46
Conference: American Athletic Conference
How They Qualified: At-large berth
Mick Cronin has built the Cincinnati Bearcats into a consistent NCAA Tournament-bound squad and that has to have fans of the school excited for the future. However, he has yet to lead them past the Sweet 16 — and that might need to change this year. Responding to a three-game losing streak to finish the season with five wins in their finals six games is a good start.
Cronin has a talented team on his hands, but no clear stars to lead the way. Junior forward Octavius Ellis has spent his first season as a collegiate athlete manning the post with 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest — both team highs. The combination of him and point guard Troy Caupain might end up leading this team to its first Elite Eight under Cronin — an improbable run.
What You Need to Know:
Leading Scorer: Octavius Ellis (10.0 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Octavius Ellis (7.3 rpg)
Leading Passer: Troy Caupain (3.5 apg)
Bad Losses: at Nebraska, at East Carolina, vs. Tulane
Good Wins: vs. San Diego State, vs. SMU (twice), vs. Temple
It’s hard to really tell what kind of team the Bearcats are with an up-and-down resume, including three bad losses and four good wins, but they have the ability and potential to surprise some of the doubters by proving them wrong.
If Cincinnati plans on making it past the first two rounds, it needs to find some scoring help outside of Caupain and Ellis as well as keep up its solid defensive play — the Bearcats rank sixth in the country in points allowed.
This team could be something special, but for now it just needs to focus on getting past the round of 64.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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