Unabated Sports

I was wondering what kind of crowd would be here for the UC's second NIT match-up. Minnesota and their Golden Gophers are the opponent. There was a decent crowd for Friday night's game, especially considering how other empty locales were. Did you see that Maryland game? You could've chucked a ball into the stands and not hit anyone nine out of ten times. That also brings up another point: the Bearcats got over their NCAA snub and got business done in the NIT. The Terps did not. As bummed as the Bearcats were, at least they lived up to their #1 seeding unlike the turtles.

Something interesting came over the loud speaker about 20 minutes before the tip-off. Apparently, the NIT has rules against large signs that need to be held by more than one person. There was also mention of "objectionable" content. I wonder if that vague terminology extends to anti-Zimpher signs.

Everything felt off-kilter at the beginning of tonight. Passes were not crisp. The defense had holes. The problems extended off the court. The student sections were not in synch with their cheers. They couldn't even get through the national anthem without a snafu. The pep band was supposed to do it, then some pre-recorded stuff came out over the loud speakers. Instead of the marching band refusing to yield, we had an Ashlee Simpson moment. At least the brass section didn't try to do a little jig to cover up the snafu.

An Andy Kennedy TO didn't seem to have too much in terms of reversing the tide. A media time-out seemed to do a little better. 7-11 is better than 2-8. Still, Hicks was struggling. Spending too much time around the three point line, not going strong to the hole, even travelling. One player who was feeling it early was Chadd Moore. He didn't even dress Friday due to back pain but two transition baskets have kept Cincinnati in this game. And considering the Gophers can go 9 deep, the Cats will need that kind of help off the bench all night long.

Another ESPN break actually gave UC another jolt. Connor Barwin got a nice steal (unfortunately, he followed that up with a long miss on the offensive end) but another steal lead to James White getting the bucket to tie the game and the foul shot to take the lead back 12-11. The football player tried another long shot but this one actually had much better success. A Chadd Moore 3 made it 19-11 for the first (hopefully not last) big lead of the night. He may be playing through pain, but he's had a smile on his face for most of his time on the court and has played well in the early going.

With 4:47, Eric Hicks finally showed up on the offenise side of the court with a massive dunk. 29-19. Davan Downey has looked a lot sharper when driving to the basket. Unfortunately, he has also lapsed at times on the free throw line. Both evident here tonight. Hicks followed that dunk with a pretty 3-point shot. It was so nice, he tried it twice. This time with a foul, too. 39-27. Maybe I should stop doubting the big men when they drop it like it's hot. A ten point halftime lead? Can't argue with those results. I'm hoping they hold the lead better than they did Friday night when they let the 49ers back in the game after early domination. Damn Charlotte.

Halftime was not as good as normal as there was no performance by the three-time national championship dance team. The "I Like To Move It, Move It" music video from Madagascar did not make up for that. I guess the fans needed something to get them through the intermission so the HIRE ANDY chant sounded a little sooner than usual.

The first five minutes of the second half were kinda sluggish. Minnesota got closer but UC still had a decent cushion. About the 12 minute mark things seemed to pick up again as the Bearcats regained their double digit lead. Even passing the 10 minute point, still no major change. The lead stayed about the same and there remained some glaring mental errors as well as some nice runs. One time, they didn't even have someone to take the inbound pass after a Minnesota basket.

At the 4 1/2 point, Moore collided with a Gopher on a long rebound and asked to come out. Kennedy declined. It appeared he didn't want to let Downey back in the game. Moore stayed in and fed a nice pass to Hicks that allowed him to get to the line to put UC up by 12 with about 3 1/2 left. Andy began to wave his hands, inciting the crowd. They followed with another round of HIRE ANDYs. It was heard a few more times as UC essentially ran the ball for the last couple minutes. 76-62. The Bearcats play South Carolina right back here Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. Expect a few more chants then, as well.