The team
Slotting Cincinnati this low might seem unfair, and other rankings do have the Bearcats as favorite to win the Aac over Connecticut. But, while their starting five lost only one player, which is good for chemistry, last year the team was often unable to win close games. The last couple of season the Bearcats had troubles getting their shots to fall, while defense was always a strength.
Last season
Bad luck or lack of a winning mentality, that is the question. Last year, Cincinnati lost four games by a margin of two points, and in two of such games (Butler and Iowa State) the team had a solid lead entering the last couple of minutes. Also, the team lost in the first round of the conference tournament against Uconn, after four overtime, sneaked into the tournament anyway and immediately lost to St Jospeh’s, with the basket that would have tied the game coming a fraction of a second too late.
The coach: Mick Cronin
Part of Rick Pitino’s coaching tree, his trademark is a nasty match-up defense. So far, he never made it past the third round of the tournament, and that came only in 2014, the best Cincinnati team he ever coached.
Key Player Troy Caupain (PG – sr)
Sure, finding a replacement for Octavius Ellis will be difficult, but Caupain is the most important player for the team. Part of that is him being the team’s best player in points and assists (13 and 4,8 per game) but he is also the only one who can lead the team on the court.
Prospects: Troy Caupain (PG – sr), Gary Clark (PF – jr)
It’s hard to imagine both of them being in an Nba rotation, but they could get some interest from European teams. Caupain should improve on his outside shot, although he kept himself around the 32% mark his whole career, making his future not as bright as it could be. Clark is 6-6 and lives in the paint. Europe has seen plenty of those, but never gets tired of them. His fundamentals are not the best and he never uses his off-hand, but he will fight for every rebound.
Likely starting five
PG – Troy Caupain (Sr)
G – Kevin Johnson (Sr)
G/F – Jacob Evans (So)
PF – Gary Clark (Sr)
PF – Kyle Washington (Jr)
Relevant players from the past
Lance Stephenson, Jason Maxiell, Kenyon Martin, DerMarr Johnson, Danny Fortson, Nick Van Exel, Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman