Half time for UC and...

[newtsac]

BESPN idiots are lauding UConn's Andre Drummond for his trash talking against UWV.

But what else is new?

[gladdenguy]

come on gtown.....need to open this game up

[newtsac]

The Cronin Kittens could go on an 0-5 "Zipped Up" tour here with their upcoming schedule.

[DC Muskie]

BESPN idiots are lauding UConn's Andre Drummond for his trash talking against UWV.

But what else is new?

Are you serious?

What did they say? I'd love to get a video of this segment.

[paulxu]

Are you serious?

What did they say? I'd love to get a video of this segment.

ESPN is showing replay available for this game. So once it's over you should be able to watch the full replay on line I think.

[coasterville95]

UC is up 2 - 24 seconds left, G'Town has the ball coming out of the time out.

[XU 87]

Gtown's offense looks horrible. Some of that has to do with UC's defense. And some has to do with Gtown standing around on offense. What exactly did Gtown set up during the TO on that last possession?

[bleedXblue]

On three straight defensive possessions JT III continued to try and guard Dixon and Wright man to man even though he had no one capable of handling them.

Why not show them something different on one of the possesions ?

I have to be honest, UC looks pretty good right now. They disrupt defensively and create turnovers.

G'Town is going to struggle if they can't guard better at the 1 and 2.

[coasterville95]

Sorry guys - UC up 3 maybe 4 wwith 7.1 seconds left. G'Town has ball though. Cronin takes a time out between his own guys two free throws.

[XULucho27]

Well I thought Georgetown was overrated anyway.

[xsteve1]

Cronin absolutely owns Thompson. Gtown is overrated per usual. Look for them to be in the lower half of the BE.

[xubrew]

I think Georgetown earned their ranking. Their losses were a close game to Kansas and on the road at West Virginia. They'd won at Alabama and at Louisville prior to this game. If you look at the top ten, I think they had collectively won about ten road games. Georgetown had two of those, and they were against good teams. Maybe they're not the 11th best team, but they probably did more to earn that ranking than anyone else around them.

That's a REALLY nice win for UC. It's kind of hard to downplay it.

[XULucho27]

I think Georgetown earned their ranking. Their losses were a close game to Kansas and on the road at West Virginia. They'd won at Alabama and at Louisville prior to this game. If you look at the top ten, I think they had collectively won about ten road games. Georgetown had two of those, and they were against good teams. Maybe they're not the 11th best team, but they probably did more to earn that ranking than anyone else around them.

That's a REALLY nice win for UC. It's kind of hard to downplay it.

No it's not. The Big East as a whole is overrated so wins against at Louisville and at WVU aren't really that special. Alabama is o.k. but they aren't as good as advertised either, having lost on the road to Dayton. Finally, Kansas is having a down year, including a home loss to Davidson. Hence, Georgetown is overrated.

This is all complete bullshit, but trust me, one can ALWAYS find a way to downplay UC win. :D

[xubrew]

No it's not. The Big East as a whole is overrated so wins against at Louisville and at WVU aren't really that special. Alabama is o.k. but they aren't as good as advertised either, having lost on the road to Dayton. Finally, Kansas is having a down year, including a home loss to Davidson. Hence, Georgetown is overrated.

This is all complete bullshit, but trust me, one can ALWAYS find a way to downplay UC win. :D

Nicely done.

I do think Louisville is overrated. They're not as overrated as they were when they were fourth, but they're still overrated.

[xavierj]

I think Georgetown earned their ranking. Their losses were a close game to Kansas and on the road at West Virginia. They'd won at Alabama and at Louisville prior to this game. If you look at the top ten, I think they had collectively won about ten road games. Georgetown had two of those, and they were against good teams. Maybe they're not the 11th best team, but they probably did more to earn that ranking than anyone else around them.

That's a REALLY nice win for UC. It's kind of hard to downplay it.

Seriously any team that loses to UC is garbage. They were bad when Xavier beat them by 23 and they were bad when they lost to the Blue Hose and they were bad when they lost to dreadful and depleated St. John's team at home. Georgetown should be embarassed.

[gladdenguy]

uc is just good.....they can almost play for seeding soon....they turned their season around after the brawl. pretty depressing. if they shoot 30 percent they beat st johns and are undefeated in the big east.
i am hating this

[xavierj]

uc is just good.....they can almost play for seeding soon....they turned their season around after the brawl. pretty depressing. if they shoot 30 percent they beat st johns and are undefeated in the big east.
i am hating this

Man you need help. They will lose at least 3 of their next 4. Georgetown blew that game. They are still the same team Xavier blew out. They still were very mediocre and won tonight. that speaks more to Georgetown than anything else. But oh well.

[GoMuskies]

Given that Xavier may be desperate for quality wins on the resume come Selection Sunday, I can't be too upset about UC's recent surge.

[xubrew]

Man you need help. They will lose at least 3 of their next 4. Georgetown blew that game. They are still the same team Xavier blew out. They still were very mediocre and won tonight. that speaks more to Georgetown than anything else. But oh well.

If they DON'T lose three of their next four, they will have picked up another huge win. They're playing Syracuse, at UConn and at West Virginia.

Is it just me, or is it every time people on this board start dogging another team (Butler, Gonzaga, etc) said team starts playing really well?? The more shit we talk, the more games they win. For about five years no one so much as mentioned how much UC sucked. Now that everyone feels compelled to make a case that they suck, they're starting to win.

Butler is another example...on multiple occasions.

[bleedXblue]

uc is just good.....they can almost play for seeding soon....they turned their season around after the brawl. pretty depressing. if they shoot 30 percent they beat st johns and are undefeated in the big east.
i am hating this

The truth hurts. You're right.

I wouldn't go so far to say that they're good, but right now they are playing great D and getting timely 3 pt shooting.

They have Villanova next at home I think. Thats a W.

Time for Xavier to start stepping it up.

[gladdenguy]

Man you need help. They will lose at least 3 of their next 4. Georgetown blew that game. They are still the same team Xavier blew out. They still were very mediocre and won tonight. that speaks more to Georgetown than anything else. But oh well.

I do need help. No way around that. I find myself rooting so hard for UC to lose its almost ridiculous. I can't describe my hatred towards that program.
I hope they lose 3 out of their next four......but I don't think they will. They will be in all of those games and with their defense, they will probably pull one out.
At the end of games, they really lock down.

[Just4now]

The truth hurts. You're right.

I wouldn't go so far to say that they're good, but right now they are playing great D and getting timely 3 pt shooting.

They have Villanova next at home I think. Thats a W.

Time for Xavier to start stepping it up.

It is a good win for UC. We will see how good in a couple of weeks. I am not sold on Georgetown. I don't know if UC is good or not but they are improving. I think they should be a tournament team but they are capable of losing any game.

[boozehound]

uc is just good.....they can almost play for seeding soon....they turned their season around after the brawl. pretty depressing. if they shoot 30 percent they beat st johns and are undefeated in the big east.
i am hating this

They can shoot, most nights. After the shootout they seem to just say "Screw it, let's just shoot 3's" and it actually worked. They now have several perimeter threats on the floor at any given time. They will lost some games that they 'should' win (St John's) because guys will have poor shooting nights, but they will win games that they shouldn't (Georgetown) as well. If you can shoot, you can win.

One of the areas in which I expected this year's Xavier team to be much improved vs. LY was in perimeter shooting. I felt that our inability to shoot the 3 pointer absolutely killed us last year, particularly against good teams. This year we were getting Redford back and Martin was becoming eligible, so on paper it looked like we were going to be able to shoot the 3 ball. What ended up happening is that Martin hasn't played enough for us to capitalize on his shooting (which has looked OK when he has taken shots) and Redford missed like 20 straight shots over a prolonged stretch of astoundingly poor shooting. I don't think that our 3 point shooting got any better this year than it was last year. That is a problem.

We badly need shooters. I believe that is the #1 limiting factor in this team right now. Nobody in our front court has any range at all and our guards don't shoot the 3 very well either. The only person we regularly have on the floor that could be considered a 3 point threat is Mark Lyons, and he is extremely streaky. You can see Mack trying to change that with Semaj, Myles Davis, and James Farr coming in next year. I am of the belief that you need at least 3 guys on the floor at any given time that can shoot the 3. It forces teams to stay honest on the perimeter and opens things up inside for the bigs to go to work and for the guards to penetrate.

[XUXC2009]

Okay, Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, and Syracuse are overrated. Are we missing anyone? Discussing overrated/underrated reminds me of Jay-Z verse on Kayne's "So Appalled"


I went from the favorite to the most hated
But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?
Moral victories is for minor league coaches
And 'Ye already told you we major, you cockroaches

[pizza delivery]

BESPN idiots are lauding UConn's Andre Drummond for his trash talking against UWV.

But what else is new?

Are you sure it was half time of the UC game? Nothing on the replay.

Edit: nm, they run the same generic halftime show on espn3 replays.

[Snipe]

Maybe the UC win will end up being a big one. Don't see why that should depress anyone. If they do well it is a feather in our cap after the 23 point win. If they don't well then screw them.

I don't think anyone here should worry about them. It is a waste of time. If they do well in the Big East it would be more of a gift for us than anything else.

We have some exciting day ahead. Don't trouble yourself with them.

[Smails]

Maybe the UC win will end up being a big one. Don't see why that should depress anyone. If they do well it is a feather in our cap after the 23 point win. If they don't well then screw them.

I don't think anyone here should worry about them. It is a waste of time. If they do well in the Big East it would be more of a gift for us than anything else.

We have some exciting day ahead. Don't trouble yourself with them.

Word.

I hate to break an extremely obvious fact to my fellow UC haters on this board (I am a proud UC hater). As much as it will pain all of us to see the local media fawn over UC for being above agerage this year, it is in XU's best interests for UC to have a good year movnig forward. Normally we don't need that win, but his year is different.

We need as many quality wins as possible to make up for the bed shitting that has taken place over the last 2 weeks. Period.

[Kahns Krazy]

Seriously any team that loses to UC is garbage. They were bad when Xavier beat them by 23 and they were bad when they lost to the Blue Hose and they were bad when they lost to dreadful and depleated St. John's team at home. Georgetown should be embarassed.

They are not playing at all like the team we beat by 23. The thing I've noticed is that they are f**king fast. It reminds me of our teams from the Skip Prosser era. They are winning games because they are playing every single ball as though it could be theirs. I miss that mentality. Lyons gets it every now and then, but UC as a whole has been playing it for 7 games. They play fast and furious. I'm honestly a bit jealous.

On the other hand, Georgetown played like the most overrated I've ever seen. It's the first game I've seen them play, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how they are a .500 team. They looked like crap, and still nearly won that game.

I did catch the halftime segment referenced in the original post, and had the same reaction. In their defense, they did say that it was laudable because he channeled it into stellar play, but you can't have it both ways. Is trash talk good or bad?

[xavierj]

They are not playing at all like the team we beat by 23. The thing I've noticed is that they are f**king fast. It reminds me of our teams from the Skip Prosser era. They are winning games because they are playing every single ball as though it could be theirs. I miss that mentality. Lyons gets it every now and then, but UC as a whole has been playing it for 7 games. They play fast and furious. I'm honestly a bit jealous.

On the other hand, Georgetown played like the most overrated I've ever seen. It's the first game I've seen them play, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how they are a .500 team. They looked like crap, and still nearly won that game.

I did catch the halftime segment referenced in the original post, and had the same reaction. In their defense, they did say that it was laudable because he channeled it into stellar play, but you can't have it both ways. Is trash talk good or bad?

I agree that they are not playing totally like the team Xavier played but on Saturday they were worse. The way they play they can beat a team like Georgetown or lose to a terrible team at home like St. John's. If you are a good team, take care of the ball and guard the 3 point line you can kill a team that plays like UC. As for Georgetown they have squeaked out a ton of games this year and were picked 10th in the Big East. I would not be surprised if they ended up about .500 in that league.

[Cincypunk.org]

Dion Dixon may be getting the Lionel Chalmer's bug. If UC continues to play good D, I could see Dixon putting this team on his back to the Sweet 16.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Dion Dixon may be getting the Lionel Chalmer's bug. If UC continues to play good D, I could see Dixon putting this team on his back to the Sweet 16.

Still not sold on UC. They just barely beat a team under .500 at home.

GTown has been the only great win after the shootout. ND was a pretty good win. Pitt is looking worse and worse...Oklahoma and the rest are pretty bad

Theres no doubt UC is playing better but they have played only one great team during this stretch.

[XU2424]

BESPN idiots are lauding UConn's Andre Drummond for his trash talking against UWV.

But what else is new?

Whom is UWV??? University of Western Vermont?? University of West Valhalla? I am lost..

[XU2424]

Uwv

[Juice]

Still not sold on UC. They just barely beat a team under .500 at home.

GTown has been the only great win after the shootout. ND was a pretty good win. Pitt is looking worse and worse...Oklahoma and the rest are pretty bad

Theres no doubt UC is playing better but they have played only one great team during this stretch.

Stupid people see the name Oklahoma, Pitt, and Villanova and think that these teams are good this year because of the names but they're all average.

[LazelleDurden]

Stupid people see the name Oklahoma, Pitt, and Villanova and think that these teams are good this year because of the names but they're all average.

I love the delusion that goes on here...UC will battle with Vandy as your best win by the end of the year

[Juice]

I love the delusion that goes on here...UC will battle with Vandy as your best win by the end of the year

That very well may be but I don't pretend that beating Butler is a huge deal this year like UC fans have with Pitt and Nova.

But you know what else is funny? XU beat UC. But yes, be excited about that "huge" win over ND.

[bobbiemcgee]

'Cuse good. Otherwise, BE in a down year.

[RealDeal]

I love the delusion that goes on here...UC will battle with Vandy as your best win by the end of the year

That wasn't a win, that was an ass whipping.

[Cheesehead]

It's funny who people forget that X kicked UC's ass. Yes, there was a game and UC got beat like a drum.

[outsideobserver11]

But still at the end of the day it was just one game. The more X brags about it, the more UC will say this is Xavier's superbowl, just like last year when UC kept bragging about it and Xavier fans called it UC's superbowl.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I hope UC does well. It makes X look that much better.

Rough stretch of At Uconn, At WVU, then Syracuse coming up. We'll see if they are for real soon enough

[coasterville95]

#1 Syracuse. I just bought a ticket to watch the #1 team play. Nice lower level seats too.

[XUXC2009]

Stupid people see the name Oklahoma, Pitt, and Villanova and think that these teams are good this year because of the names but they're all average.

I think the opposite is true for teams like Seton Hall and LaSalle and to some extent Marshall, Ohio U. Rutgers, South Florida, Duquesne and LaSalle. They are all pretty talented teams, just not getting any credit because of their names.

[LazelleDurden]

UCONN overrated too?

[Muskieblue]

UCONN overrated too?


congrats, keep winning, it just makes x's 23 point beatdown look that much better. x still owns you, carry on.

[LadyMuskie]

UCONN overrated too?

Your team wins a game on the road, and the first thing you think to do is come on a rival team's board and post. What is wrong with you?

[GIMMFD]

Hey congratulations to Cincinnati, now have fun with West Virginia and Syracuse coming up!

[xubrew]

UCONN overrated too?

Probably. Especially without Boatright. It's still a huge win for UC, though. I think UConn is a top 25 team. I just don't think they're 13th. I think West Virginia is better than they are, and they're not ranked at all.

[waggy]

Are you telling me X wouldn't beat UConn by 26?

[xavierj]

UCONN overrated too?

Harvard told me they were.

[bleedXblue]

UCONN overrated too?

UCONN is getting exposed.

How many road games did they play before league play started ?

ZERO. NONE. ZIPPO. ZILCH

Typical BE scheduling. Rack up a bunch of wins early and then try to go .500 in the league.

Im sure they have talent and any road win is a good one.

But UCONN is not a Top 20 team right now. Not even close.

[waggy]

Calhoun looks close to dead.

But he looks better than Mick!

[xsteve1]

You take Kemba off that team last year and they don't even make the tourney.

[waggy]

Franschilla giving Cronin credit for what a great job he's done post-brawl during the K-State vs Texas game.. I don't blame Fran, he can't know everything. Reality is that X is responsible for lighting a fire under the bearcunts. We are just that awesome. We do it all.

[Perma Fro]

You take Kemba off that team last year and they don't even make the tourney.

What is your point?

You take Danny Manning off the '88 Kansas team and they lose to X in the first round.

You take christian laettner off the 91-92 Duke teams and they don't win 2 championships.

You take Player A off Team A and they don't make the tourney.

College basketball is all about that one guy that catches fire at the right time and leads them to a championship.

[xubrew]

West Virginia looked really good tonight. I don't think Cincinnati wins that one, but I do have a feeling they'll take Syracuse to the wall, and may even beat them. It's arguably Syracuse's toughest game to date. Virginia Tech and Stanford aren't exactly worldbeaters, and Syracuse struggled to beat them on a neutral floor. For that matter, it was MSG. It was a neutral floor that favored them. They did beat a pretty good NC State team away from home, but I think Cincinnati is playing better than them right now.

Wins at Georgetown and at UConn is every bit as good, if not better, than any of Syracuse's wins to date. Even if you feel those teams are overrated, they're still better than NC State, who is their best road win. Wins against Seton Hall, Florida and Marquette all came at home for Syracuse, and two of those games were battles.

[Juice]

Good win for UC tonight but UConn did play without Ryan Boatright, which is hard to blame UC for since a season can't go by without Calhoun having one player connected to some type of bullshit.

[LazelleDurden]

You take Kemba off that team last year and they don't even make the tourney.

yeah take Jordon off the Bulls and what happens...deal with it.

why are you even bringing up a player who played for them last year anyway?

[LazelleDurden]

That very well may be but I don't pretend that beating Butler is a huge deal this year like UC fans have with Pitt and Nova.

But you know what else is funny? XU beat UC. But yes, be excited about that "huge" win over ND.

Pitt and Nova (obviously not the same teams they have been the past 5 years) both beat Lasalle (who some on here believe are "highly" underrated) - so keep down playing the Lasalle loss

[MuskiePimp23]

Pitt and Nova (obviously not the same teams they have been the past 5 years) both beat Lasalle (who some on here believe are "highly" underrated) - so keep down playing the Lasalle loss

And Nova lost to St. Joe's and Temple. Pitt is a bad, bad team, especially after losing Khem Birch. If uc is one of the best teams in the BE, why were they at full strength, but got absolutely hammered by Xavier 76-53. The BE is overrated and the A-10 is a very underrated conference. 11 of 14 teams in the league are Top 100 in the RPI. There are a lot of very solid basketball teams in the league. LaSalle is a solid basketball team and played well in getting the win over Xavier.

By your crazy logic if LaSalle>Xavier and Xavier>UC and UC> UCONN, then LaSalle> UCONN. Your argument holds no merit is a lot of teams win or lose based on where they are playing and also based on matchups and LaSalle was not a good matchup for Xavier, especially on the road.

[Juice]

Pitt and Nova (obviously not the same teams they have been the past 5 years) both beat Lasalle (who some on here believe are "highly" underrated) - so keep down playing the Lasalle loss

Have I? That loss was pathetic.

I wouldn't cite Villanova either, who is 1-3 against A10 teams this year.

Nova is bad. Pitt is bad. Lasalle is bad too. But you don't hear me screaming, "Oh hooray we beat (fill in the name of a team who is usually good but isn't this year/random Big East team)!"

[xavierj]

Pitt and Nova (obviously not the same teams they have been the past 5 years) both beat Lasalle (who some on here believe are "highly" underrated) - so keep down playing the Lasalle loss

To be honest Nova beat Lasalle at home in OT and Lasalle was without their best player. Galloway also did not play at Pitt. St. Joe beat Nova by 20 and Xavier beat UC by 23. Keep pounding.

[GoMuskies]

I appreciate UC picking up our SOS. It's going to help our seed to have a 23 point shellacking of UC on the resume.

[smileyy]

I appreciate UC picking up our SOS. It's going to help our seed to have a 23 point shellacking of UC on the resume.

Maybe. Officially, the committee isn't supposed to consider margin of victory, IIRC.

[Just4now]

No hate here. UC has been playing very good basketball and have made a lot of improvements since the shootout.

They have beaten some pretty darn good teams on the road. I still think they are capable of losing to any team they play. They will have some good wins and some ugly loses.

[xubrew]

Maybe. Officially, the committee isn't supposed to consider margin of victory, IIRC.

It's not a point of emphasis, but they can pretty much consider anything they want.

Bracket-OLOGY is a misnomer. It's a process by committee. If you've ever been on any type of committee for any reason, you know there is nothing scientific about it, so the OLOGY is misleading. They have the scores, box scores and game notes of all the games, so I guess they can consider them if they feel like it.

[XUXC2009]

I'm not going to lie, UC's turn around has been rather impressive. I wouldn't want to be facing them. We can knock Pitt and Nova and St. Johns all we want but those are talented teams that all gave UC their best shot. (I concede there is a differnce between being talented and being a good team, but the Johnnies had 6 freshmen that were top 100 recruits on that roster). If they were coached by anyone other than Cronin had a name other than "Cincinnati" on their jersey I think we would all be more impressed by the way they've turned it around. Then again they are playing the way the ESPNs, Sports Illustrateds, and others predicted they would be in the preseason.

[GoMuskies]

There's nothing imprssive about St. John's, Nova or Pitt this year. However, the wins at Georgetown and UConn are the real deal.

And it turns out that Marshall is pretty damned good as well, so that loss wasn't so bad. Presbyterian? No explaining that slop away.

[bleedXblue]

UC is peaking right now.

Can they sustain their play or will they hit some bumps in the road ?

Time will tell, but my bet is that they can't continue to play at this level and wont do much damage in March.

[XULucho27]

I'm waiting for the inevitable "we'd kick your ass if we played the shootout today" argument from UC fans. :rolleyes:

[xavierj]

I'm not going to lie, UC's turn around has been rather impressive. I wouldn't want to be facing them. We can knock Pitt and Nova and St. Johns all we want but those are talented teams that all gave UC their best shot. (I concede there is a differnce between being talented and being a good team, but the Johnnies had 6 freshmen that were top 100 recruits on that roster). If they were coached by anyone other than Cronin had a name other than "Cincinnati" on their jersey I think we would all be more impressed by the way they've turned it around. Then again they are playing the way the ESPNs, Sports Illustrateds, and others predicted they would be in the preseason.

To be fair UC has won games on the road against UCONN and Georgetown and that is pretty impressive. We would be very happy with those wins. But St. John's only got 4 of the 6 freshman on campus and they really are not a very good team. I think St. John's, Pitt and Nova are like 3-14 in conference play. The way UC plays they can pretty much beat everyone in the Big East or lose to anyone.

But I tell you what Mick is either the luckiest coach or the best bench coach in the country. He has won like 7 straight Big East road games and that is not easy. Heck that is not easy in any conference. One thing is for sure each time UC wins it really is not a bad thing for Xavier this year. And Kilpatrick may be playing his way into NBA talks down the road with the way he can shoot the ball and his length.

[xubrew]

I'm waiting for the inevitable "we'd kick your ass if we played the shootout today" argument from UC fans. :rolleyes:

I'm anxiously awaiting that one as well. It's an all time classic.

UC's biggest mistake appears to be that they didn't get into a brawl earlier in the season.

[Porkopolis]

I'm anxiously awaiting that one as well. It's an all time classic.

UC's biggest mistake appears to be that they didn't get into a brawl earlier in the season.

You all are still waiting? My friends have already busted that one out.

[gladdenguy]

No doubt....I was telling my buddy the same reasons on the way home.....sUCks fans are the worst.

Fans on facebook saying.....Where are the Mick Cronin haters now?

Buddies already saying.....if we played you now it wouldn't be close......

The Big Least is so awesome and the A-10 is like the 30th best conference in America....

Blah Blah Blah.

It is maddening. I really hope WVU and Syracuse give em a kick in the arse. I hope they lose at Rutgers too.

With all that hope, at the same time, I wouldn't doubt sUCks beating Syracuse on Monday. Syracuse is due to lose. They are not going undefeated. sUCks can shoot the ball.

[GoMuskies]

Buddies already saying.....if we played you now it wouldn't be close......


I'm sure you let them all know that it wasn't close the first time, either.

[bleedXblue]

No doubt....I was telling my buddy the same reasons on the way home.....sUCks fans are the worst.

Fans on facebook saying.....Where are the Mick Cronin haters now?

Buddies already saying.....if we played you now it wouldn't be close......

The Big Least is so awesome and the A-10 is like the 30th best conference in America....

Blah Blah Blah.

It is maddening. I really hope WVU and Syracuse give em a kick in the arse. I hope they lose at Rutgers too.

With all that hope, at the same time, I wouldn't doubt sUCks beating Syracuse on Monday. Syracuse is due to lose. They are not going undefeated. sUCks can shoot the ball.

I think UC will beat them too. I think they will finally sell out a game this year and Syracuse is due to lose.

If they keep winning they will be the hunted instead of the hunter and that changes the whole complexion of what they are doing right now.

[xsteve1]

X would still roll UC today. X is playing better now than they were during the UC game and is just tougher and better than UC.

[Porkopolis]

X would still roll UC today. X is playing better now than they were during the UC game and is just tougher and better than UC.

Yep. Xavier is finally playing like a team deserving of the lofty ranking from earlier in the season. We would crush the Bearcats if we played again today.

[Kahns Krazy]

I think UC will beat them too. I think they will finally sell out a game this year and Syracuse is due to lose.

If they keep winning they will be the hunted instead of the hunter and that changes the whole complexion of what they are doing right now.

Are you saying they'd rather be unranked so they can sneak up on people?

[Masterofreality]

No doubt....I was telling my buddy the same reasons on the way home.....sUCks fans are the worst.

Fans on facebook saying.....Where are the Mick Cronin haters now?

Buddies already saying.....if we played you now it wouldn't be close......

The Big Least is so awesome and the A-10 is like the 30th best conference in America....

Blah Blah Blah.


Only need one of two answers- 76-53, or just 23.

[LazelleDurden]

Yep. Xavier is finally playing like a team deserving of the lofty ranking from earlier in the season......

Since XU fans always say "Who have you beaten?" to UC fans when they complain about not being ranked. How do you figure 3 home wins against Duquesne, St. Bonnie and St Joe's and a road win @ Fordham establishes the fact they are playing like they deserve a lofty ranking?

[bleedXblue]

Since XU fans always say "Who have you beaten?" to UC fans when they complain about not being ranked. How do you figure 3 home wins against Duquesne, St. Bonnie and St Joe's and a road win @ Fordham establishes the fact they are playing like they deserve a lofty ranking?

I love these generalizations about XU fans.

If you want a fair and arbitrary view, reference the RPI.

X has the 20th toughest schedule and is currently ranked 36th.

UC has the 167th toughest schedule and is currently ranked 85th.

23 points

[gladdenguy]

Since XU fans always say "Who have you beaten?" to UC fans when they complain about not being ranked. How do you figure 3 home wins against Duquesne, St. Bonnie and St Joe's and a road win @ Fordham establishes the fact they are playing like they deserve a lofty ranking?

Yeah and when people say sUCks has won 10 of their last 11, realize that 5 of those wins are against Garbage teams (+200 rpi) and the one loss was against a team (+100) rpi at home.

As to who else they beat, Georgetown (a good win), UConn (a good win), Pitt (average, duquesne lost by 3 at Pitt without their best player), Villanova (St. Joes beat by 20), and Oklahoma (lost by 40 to Missouri.

Even if UC were to win out, (27-4) because of their garbage non conference, and their losses to St. Johns and Presbyterian and Marshall at home, they are predicted an rpi of 24.

If Xavier wins out they are projected a 9 rpi. As you can see, the A-10 is way better than every team UC played non conference, and not just better, much better.

Couple that with the fact that the Big East is WAY down this year compared to recent years.

[bleedXblue]

Yeah and when people say sUCks has won 10 of their last 11, realize that 5 of those wins are against Garbage teams (+200 rpi) and the one loss was against a team (+100) rpi at home.

As to who else they beat, Georgetown (a good win), UConn (a good win), Pitt (average, duquesne lost by 3 at Pitt without their best player), Villanova (St. Joes beat by 20), and Oklahoma (lost by 40 to Missouri.

Even if UC were to win out, (27-4) because of their garbage non conference, and their losses to St. Johns and Presbyterian and Marshall at home, they are predicted an rpi of 24.

If Xavier wins out they are projected a 9 rpi. As you can see, the A-10 is way better than every team UC played non conference, and not just better, much better.

Couple that with the fact that the Big East is WAY down this year compared to recent years.

The Big East is not way down this year, it's just not as overhyped as its been in the past.

Reference last years NCAA tourney. 11 Big East teams got an invite and how many made the Sweet 16 ?

2 Thats right....... 2

Several "touted" Big East teams lost to "mid major's".......Butler beat Pitt, Morehead State beat Lou, VCU beat G'Town and George Mason beat Villanova.

That's horrible for whats often touted as the best conference in college basketball.

It's all an illusion I tell you.

I could go on and on and on.

[GoMuskies]

2 Thats right....... 2


1 of those 2 won the national title. And came in 9th in the Big East. I have a hard time arguing with that.

[bleedXblue]

1 of those 2 won the national title. And came in 9th in the Big East. I have a hard time arguing with that.

My perspective is that the Big East is a good and deep conference, but they can be beaten by anyone at anytime, anywhere.

How much better are they than the MVC or the A-10 or the Mountain West. I say marginally better. The gap is not very wide.

Their performance in the NCAA tourney has been well documented. They've underperformed more than any other conference based on number of teams, position of seeding etc.

I saw some data on it last year. I dont have the time to dig it up now, but I will.

[GoMuskies]

How much better are they than the MVC or the A-10 or the Mountain West. I say marginally better. The gap is not very wide.


The ninth place team won the national title. The gap is enormous (or at least was last year).

[bleedXblue]

The ninth place team won the national title. The gap is enormous (or at least was last year).

And teams that finished ahead of UCONN lost to the likes of George Mason and Morehead State.

UCONN got hot, didnt play a # 1 seed and played #2 seed San Diego State and Butler #8 for the national title.

[GoMuskies]

Well, as soon as the 9th place team in the A-10 or MVC gets hot, gets a lucky draw and wins a national championship, I'll agree that the gap is small.

Granted, I enjoyed what the 8th place team in the A-10 did in 2004.

[xubrew]

If they DON'T lose three of their next four, they will have picked up another huge win. They're playing Syracuse, at UConn and at West Virginia.

Is it just me, or is it every time people on this board start dogging another team (Butler, Gonzaga, etc) said team starts playing really well?? The more shit we talk, the more games they win. For about five years no one so much as mentioned how much UC sucked. Now that everyone feels compelled to make a case that they suck, they're starting to win.

Butler is another example...on multiple occasions.

The more this thread continues, the more convinced I am that UC will beat Syracuse.

[xsteve1]

Looks like UC has a good chance to get their 8th straight Big East road win. Cronin can coach hate to say it.

[coasterville95]

And Syracuse just had to sideline their big man for academic reasons.

Add that to your feeling the Cats may win Monday.

[xavierj]

Looks like UC has a good chance to get their 8th straight Big East road win. Cronin can coach hate to say it.

Mick is working on a national coach of the year resume. He can flat get it done. He has little but wins. He is nearly unbeatable in close games.

[Strange Brew]

boo hoo bearcats.

23 points.

[Snipe]

I don't really root for or against UC. If they win it helps our RPI and quality win, and if they lose I never really feel bad about it. I guess I win either way.

They could have won that game today. That one has got to hurt.

[GIMMFD]

Well they didn't get it, I think the refs bailed out WVU in this one, but they end up getting the win. Either way, brought my spirits up a little bit to see the Bearkittens lose, and Kilpatrick play like shit.

[Juice]

And Syracuse just had to sideline their big man for academic reasons.

Add that to your feeling the Cats may win Monday.

No Boatright for UConn and no Melo for Syracuse, those are some good breaks for the Cats. And UConn lost to Tennessee today.

[xsteve1]

The Big East ain't the typical Big East this year. Lots of mediocrity.

[Cheesehead]

The Big East ain't the typical Big East this year. Lots of mediocrity.

Yes, can we all admit that the Big East is over rated?

[xubrew]

Suddenly UC is looking a little less good. I was actually expecting them to beat Syracuse. It was beyond thinking they had a chance, and to the point to where I thought they would win.

They're still on the right track, but they're far from being able to coast on in.



Yes, can we all admit that the Big East is over rated?

I think West Virginia is underrated. All the BE teams ranked ahead of them (minus maybe Syracuse, and even they don't have a true road win against a solid tournament team yet) are overrated. How the hell is Georgetown 10th, and West Virginia not ranked at all?? UConn is also at 19 despite losing 4 out of 6 and losing a contributing player. Louisville is 25th, which is mind boggling. I think WVU is as good or better than all those teams.

So, yes, as a whole, the Big East is overrated.

[X-band '01]

Even with the loss, UC is still in a good position at least as far as the standings are concerned. Sure, they now have 2 home losses in conference play (St. John's, Syracuse) but also have 3 road wins (Pitt, G'town, UConn) to offset that. Rutgers has been a dangerous team this year, but I'm not convinced yet that UC is on any slide.

[xavierj]

Even with the loss, UC is still in a good position at least as far as the standings are concerned. Sure, they now have 2 home losses in conference play (St. John's, Syracuse) but also have 3 road wins (Pitt, G'town, UConn) to offset that. Rutgers has been a dangerous team this year, but I'm not convinced yet that UC is on any slide.

UC has very little margin for error due to their pathetic schedule early and because the Big East has some teams down this year. Yes they beat Pitt (who has yet to win a conference game), Georgetown and UCONN and UCONN has shown they are not what they were last year and the bad losses to St. John's and Presbyterian could be killers.

UC sits at 93 in the RPI and the lowest RPI team to ever make the tourney was New Mexico with and RPI of 74. Then you look at UC's schedule and 4 of the next 5 are against teams with RPI's in the 100's and their only real chance at a good win in that 5 is at Marquette. UC also very well could lose at St. John's and Rutgers. Because of scheduling UC will be sweating out every game from here on out and Mick could be this years Seth Greenburg.

[gladdenguy]

I would love if they somehow lost at St. Johns or at Rutgers. Either one of those would be big losses. They will probably pull them out, but I really hope they lose one.

[danaandvictory]

I would love if they somehow lost at St. Johns or at Rutgers. Either one of those would be big losses. They will probably pull them out, but I really hope they lose one.

Rutgers has played tough at the RAC this year and that won't be a gimme for UC or anyone else that goes up there.