Is UC getting better or worse as the season draws to a close?

[TheJumperIsWet]

I think they could be getting better, but because they are playing much better teams at the end of their Big East Schedule, we as fans may not see it.

Teams that make the tournament as at large entrants are typically teams that have gotten better over the course of the year. If UC is going to make it to the NCAA Tourney, they need to show improvement game in and game out. If they are better than last year, but not better than they were on Jan. 2 of 2011 then they have a problem.

Coach Cronin talks about continuing to get better. We have watched this team all year. I think they are getting better, I just don't know if their improvement is big enough to handle the closing stretch.

Thoughts.....

[London 'Cat]

Where this team has definitely not gotten better is defensively. As the level of competition has risen, the defense has not. The defensive intensity is not as great in the last 5-7 games as it had been up to that point.

[CincyEngGrad02]

Definitely getgting better. Cash has obviously gotten better as has Kirkpatrick. The only one i'm worried about is Wilks.

[leo from jersey]

we don't know because the beginning games were agaisnt way too easy opponents. Very little to gauge this team on.

[Carin's Dad]

Where this team has definitely not gotten better is defensively. As the level of competition has risen, the defense has not. The defensive intensity is not as great in the last 5-7 games as it had been up to that point.I think that is a little too broad. Our defense has struggled only in the games against the ranked teams and WVU. We were okay against the lesser competition recently.

[Bearcat_DF]

Definitely getgting better. Cash has obviously gotten better as has Kirkpatrick. The only one i'm worried about is Wilks.

What is the marker of Cash getting better? While he made some 3s and had a career high in points - he only had 1 assist. 1 assist. The offense did not look good. I'm not sure who he was guarding. Was it the guy who was getting to the rim when every he wanted.

He may be shooting better. But given the state of our offense, he and the team have a ways to go.

[TheDog]

I don't know the answer to that question. But we'll find out the excuse in the next few weeks. Last year it was team chemistry.

[Bcatfan08]

What is the marker of Cash getting better? While he made some 3s and had a career high in points - he only had 1 assist. 1 assist. The offense did not look good. I'm not sure who he was guarding. Was it the guy who was getting to the rim when every he wanted.

He may be shooting better. But given the state of our offense, he and the team have a ways to go.

His one assist had probably much more to do with the rest of the team's shooting then Cash's passing. He went 9/13 on the game and the rest of the team combined for 12/47. Not a lot of chances for assists there. Just 12 buckets by the rest of the team and they shot just 25.5%. You don't have much room to argue that Cash isn't getting better when he was the only thing keeping us from losing by 25 to WVU. You can blame his defense, but I'm not even sure he was guarding Mazzula the whole game. Even if he was you'd have to wonder where all the bigs were when he went to the hole all game. It'd be nice if our bigs would watch film on Kenyon and Maxiell. If a guy like Mazzula was going to the hole as much as he was they'd make sure he wasn't scoring.

[Bcat007]

Cash was not guarding much of anyone that game. He spent a lot of the game on the bench in foul trouble. Most of his points came in the 2nd half, so he did show up when it mattered most.

[Bearcat_DF]

His one assist had probably much more to do with the rest of the team's shooting then Cash's passing. He went 9/13 on the game and the rest of the team combined for 12/47. Not a lot of chances for assists there. Just 12 buckets by the rest of the team and they shot just 25.5%. You don't have much room to argue that Cash isn't getting better when he was the only thing keeping us from losing by 25 to WVU. You can blame his defense, but I'm not even sure he was guarding Mazzula the whole game. Even if he was you'd have to wonder where all the bigs were when he went to the hole all game. It'd be nice if our bigs would watch film on Kenyon and Maxiell. If a guy like Mazzula was going to the hole as much as he was they'd make sure he wasn't scoring.

Mazzula shot 12 free throws (made 10). So where were our bigs? Thomas and Jackson were providing help defense and fouling Mazzula, 4 and 5 fouls a piece. Gates, interestingly enough, didn't have any fouls. I'd have to look at tape, but if my memory serves me at all, it seemed they had Gates' man take position on the perimeter - putting Gates in a position where he couldn't help and making it easier for Mazzula to drive.

I think it is a crazy argument to argue that the PG is getting better, but the offense as a whole is getting worst. I think one of the measures of a PG is that the offense runs well.

[coach]

we lost at pitt by 17 about this time last year, so if we are getting better i wouldn't expect that type of result. that said, based on what i watched last saturday night, i would be hard pressed to argue that we are getting better, particularly if we are not competitive tonight.

[bearcated]

UCs on the ball defense has sucked all year. You could see in the Wright St game how even decent guards could spread them out and get to the goal. Wright got abused by a backup PG against Seton Hall. So, seeing Mazzula do what he did was no shock. It's not a coincidence that Thomas is in foul trouble all the time. If the guards fail to guard, you can't rely on the bigs to bail them out all the time. More often than not, they will foul out. The real question is how did UC manage to contain Holloway so well?

[bearcated]

So, I guess it's hard to answer the question of improvement. The early schedule was so bad, now the competition is so much better, it's hard to say which team was the real UC team.

[BearcatAlum1]

I still think our defense is better than our offense, but that may not be saying much.

We will held some good teams to lower points on the road (Nova, Cuse, ND).

We still have 9 games left, and there will undoubtedly be some losses...but we need to play the full 9 games.

We played like $hit against WVU. Our defense played poorly, and our offense was atrocious. Good teams have bad games. It is a fact of college bball. The key is to win when you play poorly, and we have not done that against upper BE teams.

Bottom Line: If we make open freaking shots, we will win. If we miss, we will lose.

[TheJumperIsWet]

IBottom Line: If we make open freaking shots, we will win. If we miss, we will lose. I think the team is executing their offense much better. So I think they are improving. They just aren't making shots. The coaching staff is working relentlessly on improving the offense and defense and it is showing. The kids have to use their extra time to get shots up and improve their shooting. The coaches are only allowed to spend 20 hours a week with the team.

[BearcatAlum1]

I think the team is executing their offense much better. So I think they are improving. They just aren't making shots. The coaching staff is working relentlessly on improving the offense and defense and it is showing. The kids have to use their extra time to get shots up and improve their shooting. The coaches are only allowed to spend 20 hours a week with the team.

Yep.

When Larry Davis goes 1 of 5 from 3 in the 1st half against Pitt, all of those being wide-open looks, we're going to struggle. Killa hit the top of the backboard on an open 3.

Got to make the shots.

On another note, JJ and Biggie have been playing well. Prime example of why Biggie should play: Thomas gets a pass underneath and McGee bodies him and Thomas misses. Biggie convert a few of those already in the same game, and actually frustrated McGee with Biggie's size.

[Pruke]

I think they could be getting better, but because they are playing much better teams at the end of their Big East Schedule, we as fans may not see it.

Teams that make the tournament as at large entrants are typically teams that have gotten better over the course of the year. If UC is going to make it to the NCAA Tourney, they need to show improvement game in and game out. If they are better than last year, but not better than they were on Jan. 2 of 2011 then they have a problem.

Coach Cronin talks about continuing to get better. We have watched this team all year. I think they are getting better, I just don't know if their improvement is big enough to handle the closing stretch.

Thoughts.....

Impossible to tell - all signs point to 'they are who we said they are'.

An easy early schedule and tough BEAST schedule are proviing that the team is fair at the moment.

Can they be better this year? - Sure. Will they be better than LAST YEAR? - I don't know for sure, we did some neat things in the BEAST tourney which I don't know if we have the bollocks for this year.