How many conference wins for UC this year?

[waterhead]

Given the incoming class of 07' along with the additions of Mike Williams and Adam Hyranciuk to the roster I think we have reason to be optimistic. Just how good can/will they be? I think we can still expect a roller coaster type year with some stretches of good and bad play. There were 5 games from last year decided by 4 or less points that we win with the addition of these new players. 3 of those games were Beast games. It may have been a bit of a fluke to beat WV given how the rest of the season went. So we won 2 games...add in the three close ones...subtract the WV game. That means we would have won 4 conference games last year just by adding these additional players. We will add back in 1 fluke win and 2-3 more expected wins.

That would put us right at .500 basketball in conference. I think the worst we should expect is to finish better than only 4 teams in conference at 6-10. I think the best we should expect is that there will be only 4 teams ahead of us in conference at 10-6. So that's a range of plus or minus 2 games of .500. It all depends on how well Cronin can coach, create team chemistry and how ready some of these freshman are to play Beast ball. We have the size, depth, and talent to do it now but will we have the experience, team chemistry and coaching?

My prediction is 7-9 in conference this year.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

Given the incoming class of 07' along with the additions of Mike Williams and Adam Hyranciuk to the roster I think we have reason to be optimistic. Just how good can/will they be? I think we can still expect a roller coaster type year with some stretches of good and bad play. There were 5 games from last year decided by 4 or less points that we win with the addition of these new players. 3 of those games were Beast games. It may have been a bit of a fluke to beat WV given how the rest of the season went. So we won 2 games...add in the three close ones...subtract the WV game. That means we would have won 4 conference games last year just by adding these additional players. We will add back in 1 fluke win and 2-3 more expected wins.

That would put us right at .500 basketball in conference. I think the worst we should expect is to finish better than only 4 teams in conference at 6-10. I think the best we should expect is that there will be only 4 teams ahead of us in conference at 10-6. So that's a range of plus or minus 2 games of .500. It all depends on how well Cronin can coach, create team chemistry and how ready some of these freshman are to play Beast ball. We have the size, depth, and talent to do it now but will we have the experience, team chemistry and coaching?

My prediction is 7-9 in conference this year.

8 or more.

[Big B]

The entire league was down from the previous year so I think you can expect more teams then just UC to be better next year. I go with 6-10 in the BE, but expect a lot better non conference record, if not undefeated.

[bearcatmark]

Aren't we playing 18 or 19 in the conference this year??? Wasn't there a change or something

[CroninCrazy]

Aren't we playing 18 or 19 in the conference this year??? Wasn't there a change or something



I think we are still playing 16 BEast games - against everyone in the league and 2 teams twice...or something like that.

[waterhead]

The entire league was down from the previous year so I think you can expect more teams then just UC to be better next year. I go with 6-10 in the BE, but expect a lot better non conference record, if not undefeated.

I will agree with that. However, I don't expect many (if any) of those teams to show the improvement the Bearcats will. UC is probably adding at least 5 new players to the roster that will log significant playing time. It's possible by the seasons end that we will have up to 4 new starters with only one of last year's significant contributors missing. I don't think we will miss McGowan much (if at all) on the court (maybe in our hearts) with others replacing him that are likely better. Hopefully by the time the conference schedule rolls around the freshman who will be playing are getting comfortable with D1 basketball and aren't shell shocked in the Beast.

I think Mike Williams will have a shot at MVP this year. We can also be much more physical and aggressive this year underneath not having to worry as much about foul trouble with the new additions. Of course we can press now when we want without worrying about fatigue. This is a completely different Bearcat team. I don't know for sure but I doubt any team in the Beast will be changing the team dynamics as dramatically as we will be. There may be some new faces around the league but this is almost a brand new team.

[Kindog202]

Aren't we playing 18 or 19 in the conference this year??? Wasn't there a change or something

I was under the assumption that we were playing 18 conference games as well next year, everyone once and 3 teams twice. Assuming this is correct, I feel that we will win between 8-10 conference games. I like the fact that Mitchell, Bishop and Belton have Big East - ready bodies. I really believe that Mitchell will be an absolute stud next year, he has been underrecruited because he did not play much AAU ball and seems to be able to do it all. I think they will be one of the strongest teams in the BEast, however they will undergo some hardships in figuring out how everyone will come together and the fact that they will be young, so I will say between 8-10 wins but would not be surprised to see them win a game or 2 more than that if everything falls right.

I also reserve the right to change my opinion once we get the word on if everyone will be eligible for this year.

[Big B]

Mike or Tom might know the answer to this. Mick wouldn't let these guys sign letters if he wasn't sure they would qaulify would he? Once they sign and not qualify then he sits out and ties up a scholarship. So I'm guessing barring a diaster all these guys will qualify.

[bearcat_red]

My best guess is 8-8 this year in the BE. We finally have size and depth given everyone qualifies. This year we will also get a sense for how Mick can coach....he clarly can recruit, but if he can get the best out the solid recruits he has managed to get, we could be in for a surprisingly good year

[shaunsimpson]

I think that 8-8 could mean an NCAA birth.

[bengals21]

I wouldn't be so quick to say an 8-8 conference record means NCAA bid. There were way too many teams left out this year with a winning conference record to be making that comment. I would say that would get an NIT bid.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

I think we really should wait and see what these new recruits are going to bring to the table before predicting records. I know it's fun, but, it's just talk. I've been a UC fan since 1959, so, I've seen the very, very, good, and the very, very bad. I'm currently in St. Louis, so, this forum is one of my main sources of information. I want to thank all of those who keep me informed. I grew up in Cincy, and, still root for all the Cincinnati teams....even Xavier when they aren't playing us.

[swilsonsp4]

Mick confirmed recently that the BE schedule will be 18 games. All teams will play each other at least once, with three home-and-away matchups. The schedule is not yet set with regard to the matchups.

Two teams, USF and Rutgers, will be lousy next season. By contrast, U of L will be dynamite. They were really good this year and all contributors return. UConn was surprisingly weak and Calhoun is trying to retool. Who knows?

The league in general will be better. UC will be dramatically better, just on depth alone. Still, this team is not being rebuilt with JCs. Mike Williams is an outstanding athlete, but we have no clue as to how good Adam Hrycaniuk is. He was a last-minute addition to the 2006-07 recruiting class that wasn't exactly chock full of stars. Next season, a lot of freshman are going to be thrown into the fire.

For that reason, predictions will be difficult until after the pre-conference games. They are scheduled to play at IL St and NC St and undoubtedly will face Memphis again. UC plays XU at Cintas and probably Miami at US Bank Arena. Because of the 18 BE games, the Cats probably will play only 11 non-conference opponents.