BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Seton Hall @ Cincinnati

February 28, 2007


On surface this game has little meaning as Cincinnati (1-13) hosts Seton Hall (4-10), howver for the Pirates, this game could mean their season. Seton Hall needs to win their last two conference games (Cincinnati and Louisville) and hope that Providence can beat St. John's for SHU to qualify for the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden next week. for a team that was in the NCAA Tournament last season, that is quite a drop, but they still have something to play for.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet:


UC's McGowan Exiting Proudly (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Gentry Plays With Bum Ankle (Cincinnati Post)
Seton Hall vs Cincinnati Preview (Star-Ledger)
Seton Hall-Cincinnati Scouting Report (Courier News)

Seton Hall snapped an 8-game Big East losing streak when they beat South Florida over the weekend. The Pirates were off to a surprising start at 3-2 in the Big East, but once the meat of their schedule got started, the losses piled up. The Pirates are very guard-oriented and are not one of the best shooting teams. They rely on pressuring the ball and pushing the tempo with their perimeter players attacking the basket and hoping that Jamar Nutter is on from the perimeter. In the Big East, not having much of a threat inside is a tough way to live.

Cincinnati continues to limp home down the stretch. The storie program is mired in its longest losing streak in more than 80 years. With only two seniors to honor tonight, it is unlikely that the senior night festivities will really bump up the emotional level as the fans bid farewell to Cedric McGowan and Ronald Allen, both have been here for just two seasons.

Cincinnati is a slight (-2) home favorite tonight and the Pirates have yet to win away from home in conference play. It is the law of averages, look for the Bearcats to put an inspired effort, if just for one night, and use their athletic ability to match-up with the Pirates and scratch out a win. It will be a tight game and I like this Pirate group. Both coaches will have their players playing hard, but th ehome team has just a little more lift tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Cincinnati 67 Seton Hall 64

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Cincinnati

February 21, 2007


Last season in the Big East, the upset of the year was a season-ending win by South Florida over Georgetown, costing the Hoyas a bye in the Big East Conference Tournament. This year the Hoyas will look to avoid a similar fate when they travel to meet last-place Cincinnati and keep on track for a conference title showdown this Saturday with Pittsburgh.

For the Bearcats, it has been a long season. A lack of depth, experience and talent have made winning a near impossible chore for Mick Cronin's squad. Even when they look poised to pull out a victory, they find a different way to let it slip away.

Here are some pregame stories and previews around the internet on tonight's game:


UC Meets Hoyas Again (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Hibbert Looms Large for Hoyas (Cincinnati Post)
Streaking Hoyas Are Aware of Trap (Washington Post)


It would be perfectly natural for the Georgetown Hoyas to be peeking ahead just a little bit. Afterall, as winners of nine straight games, Georgetown has put themselves in position to play for the conference title this coming Saturday when Pittsburgh visits the Verizon Center for a nationally televised match-up. Pitt was also the last team to beat the Hoyas this year.

Standing in their way, however, is a trip to Cincinnati to meet the struggling Bearcats, losers of seven straight contests. At times, Cincinnati can look pretty good. They have an impressive collection of athletes, but lack depth, size and shooting touch. However, costing them a couple wins has also been a lack of basketball acumen late in games. They will have to be near perfect tonight to get a win, even if Georgetown is looking past them just a bit.

In their previous meeting, Georgetown cruised to an 82-67 win that was kept relatively respectable by the fact that Cincinnati shot 14-24 from 3-pt range. However, Georgetown has too much size inside with Jeff Green (17 pts) and Roy Hibbert (26 pts) combining for 43 points in the first meeting and their ability to bring Patrick Ewing and Vernon Mackling off the bench. No mater how lethargic Georgetown might be, they have such an inside advantage that rebounds and easy hoops inside will be there whenever they want it tonight.

Georgetown is an 11.5-pt road favorite and the only question will be on their focus. After nine straight wins, including an emotional victory at Villanova on Saturday, this game is in a tough spot with Pittsburgh on the horizon, so the Hoyas are due for a flat performance, but that should be good enough for the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 71 Cincinnati 61


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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ Cincinnati

February 17, 2007


Notre Dame travels to Cincinnati for a Sunday Big East game. The Bearcats keep finding ways to lose in Mick Cronin's first year at the helm of his alma mater and are struggling to the finish with a 1-10 Big East record. Notre Dame has been one of the more surprising teams of the conference this year with a 7-5 record in the Big East.

The Irish have struggled on the road in Big East play, going just 1-5 on the road in the Big East. However, Cincinnati does not look to have the depth or size inside to play with Notre Dame this year. The Irish shoudl be able to score in a variety of ways. The Bearcats also should find some offensive success and have yet to give up on their season, but a Notre Dame run in the second half should put this game away.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 74 Cincinnati 65

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ Villanova

February 14, 2007


Villanova looks tp climb over .500 for the first time this season in Big East play as the welcome last-place Cincinnati to Philadelphia for a conference game. The Bearcats are struggling in Mick Cronin's first season as head coach of his alma mater at 1-9 in the conference and have found themselves almost inventing new ways to lose games down the stretch as well as getting blown out from time to time.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Past is Future for UC (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Father Feels Mick's Pain (Enquirer)
Nova's Sumpter Conquers Injuries (Cincinnati Post)
UC Tries to End 6-Game Skid (Enquirer)
Wildcats Offense Better than it Looks, Nardi Says (Philadelphia Inquirer)


Villanova is a 15.5-pt favorite in tonight's Big East conference match-up. The Wildcats will look to use their expererince with three senior starters in the line-up to move over .500 in the Big East. The Bearcats have a lot of athletic ability, but they were a team thrown together late in the process by Mick Cronin and it often shows in their play. There is some talent there, but adjusting to the High-Major world of college basketball has been a trying experience for Mick Cronin's squad.

Things are unlikely to get an easier tonight as Villanova looks to score inside and out and force Cincinnati into turnovers with their agressive trapping defense. The Bearcats will need to take care of the ball and shoot well, especially from beyond the arc, or this game could get ugly.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 76 Cincinnati 62

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ Rutgers

February 10, 2007


The battle at the bottom of the Big East takes place on Saturday when Cincinnati travels to meet Rutgers. Earlier this season, Rutgers came out on top with a 12-point win at Cincinnati, one of their only two conference victories.

Cincinnati is coming of a disheartening loss at Providence where they completely collapsed in every imagineable way in blowing an 8-point lead in the last 1:41 to lose 71-70. Cincinnati has lost a 5-pt lead in the last 30 seconds to UAB and a 3-pt lead in the last 35 seconds to Syracuse to add to a frustrating season. Poor foul shooting and tale game decisions doom the Bearcats in each situation. There was no excuse on Tuesday night as they had fouls to give and three time outs remaining in the last two minutes and still fell apart.

Rutgers battled hard last weekend but came up short in overtime at Connecticut, even while playing without leading scorer and rebounder JR Inman. Neither team is very profecient at shooting the ball, so scoring will likely be at a premium. Cincinnati has the athletes, but Rutgers has a little bit more experience and a little bit more depth. At home, the Scarlet Knights need to win this game, but it should be a tight one, and the way Cincinnati finishes games, you have to like the chances of Rutgers.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Rutgers 66 Cincinnati 63

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ Providence

February 6, 2007


Cincinnati hits the road following their home loss to St. John's on Sunday to take on the Providence Friars. PC is coming off a road loss at Marquette on Saturday. The Friars are a healthy (12-point) favorite on their home floor and will look to get back over the .500 mark in the conference.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:



Preview: UC @ PC (Providence Journal)
Big East's Bearcats are Down, But Dangerous (Providence Journal)
Gift Dunk Awakens Bearcat Forward (Cincinnati Post)
Davis is Cronin's Wise Counsel

Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW



Providence definitely needs to get a win tonight. After starting out conference play 2-0, the Friars have lost four of their last six and are in the middle of the muddled Big East pack. With just 8 scholarship players available, the Friars are a thin bunch, but they still have enough depth to match Cincinnati. Providence will have to play tough, but they should still hold the advantage inside and out against the Bearcats.

Cincinnati is still trying hard, but they just can't seem to get things together. They struggle shooting the basketball and do not have the size to consistently battle in the Big East. Things are tough for the Bearcats and expect it to continue to be so through the end of this season.

Both teams will play a lot of zone and extend their zones with full-court pressure. Providence has the edge in ballhandlers as Sharaud Curry and Dwain Williams can play together in the backcourt. Also, Geoff McDermott is a great weapon against the press in passing to Herbert Hill for the finish. The Bearcats can be streaky, but it usually is only enough to keep games interesting.

Not so sure if tonight's game will be interesting...


NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 82 Cincinnati 68

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Cincinnati

February 4, 2007


The Big East gives us an appetizer to the Superbowl with St. John's travelling to Cincinnati to meet the Bearcats. After the excitement of a pair of upset wins at home over Syracuse and Notre Dame, St. John's came back to Earth with a loud thud in losses to Pittsburgh (72-46) and Georgetown (72-48). At 3-6, the Redstorm are still very much in a fight to qualify for the Big East Tournament, something they have been unable to participate in for the last three seasons.

The Bearcats have lost eight ot nine and sit at the bottom of the conference with a league record of 1-6. Only a stirring come-from-behind OT upset win over West Virginia has found them on the right side of the scoreboard in the last nine game. Even after losses to Pittsburgh and Georgetown, Mick Cronin thought his team was improving, but after a series of defensive lapses in their loss to Louisville on Wednesday, Cronin was left fuming about the play of his Bearcats.

If St. John's can keep Lamont Hamilton on the floor and out of foul trouble, they should be in good shape. However, in their four preview conference road games, they have lost on average by 20 points. The Bearcats should have an angry chip on their shoulders in a building that they do tend to play tough in. Cincinnati has athletes, as does St. John's, so it will be which team can make shots, whoch neither has been known to do consistently.

When in doubt, take the home team in a close one.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Cincinnati 64 St. John's 63