Depth+Tough Schedule=Deep NCAA Run

[Darryl Gilliam]

I know most of you will not agree with the subject line but I believe that this years team may make a deep run in this years NCAA tourney for the following two reasons:

Depth

This is the first Bearcat team in a VERY long time that could go 8-9 players deep.  

This may at first appear to be a negative because there arent 5 very good players on this team but I am a firm believer that teams with deep benches go further in the tourney than teams with 5 good players but no bench help.  Not to mention the fact that this team will drastically improve over the next two months.  There arent a lot of teams in the country that could go two deep at 4 of the 5 positions.

Schedule Strength

The non-conference schedule was tough but not nearly as tough as C-USA will be this year.  Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, and yes even East Carolina will be very good this year.  This will be the first time since the inception of C-USA could end the season with four ranked teams.  While this may be the end of Cincy's long run as conference champs, this will help us tremendously in the tourney.  

Over the past 5-7 years our problem has been lack of competition.  There were periods of stretches where we did not have to get up for our opponents because they simply were not good.  This is in stark contrast to the NCAA tourney where you have to get up for every single game.  Our adversity early in the season and throughout C-USA play will make this team tough to beat during the tourney.

Bottom Line:  Look for an Elite Eight bid this year and a pre-season top 5 ranking this year.



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