The Bearcats Last Chance to Impress
Sunday the Cincinnati Bearcats take on #11 Wichita State for the second time in about two weeks. The Shockers did just that at BB&T Arena beating the then #5 Bearcats on their home floor and ending a 39 game home winning streak. It was the Bearcats second loss of the week and fourth overall for the season.
At that time Joe Lunardi had the Bearcats as a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Committee had just announced their top 16 teams and they too had the Bearcats at a 2 seed. After the set of losses the Bearcats have since beaten UConn, Tulsa, and Tulane.
It is the opinion of this blog that even though the AAC tournament isn’t until next weekend, Championship Sunday and Selection Sunday sharing the spotlite, it is this Sunday in Wichita that the Bearcats make their final push and plea with the committee to get back to that 2 seed.
Most of the latest bracketology being thrown around has the Bearcats at a 3, maybe even playing as close as Nashville. Which would be a huge turnaround from some place like Spoakane, WA. I wouldn’t mind that at all really. Being the top 3 seed could have advantages. BUT if the goal is to get the best seed possible then a win on Sunday is a must.
For the Bearcats to have a shot at a 2 beating Wichita State on the road would certainly help. Add a win or two in the AAC tournament and I think we have a good shot at it. The point of this is
The committee will probably already have its mind made up by tip off of the AAC Championship game next week.
Winning all the way up to that point would get the job done.
There’s evidence to support this. Last year when Cincinnati lost to SMU in the AAC championship the outcome was null in the eyes of the committee. Both teams were seeded the same. The committee didn’t care who won. They based their decision on everything leading up to that point. I’d guess they would do the same this year. We’ll see.
Thoughts, let me know with a comment or tweet.
Go Bearcats!