No. 15 Cincinnati aims to ignite offense vs. UConn (Mar 11, 2017)
The foundation of Cincinnati basketball under coach Mick Cronin has been tough, uncompromising defense. If you can't score, you can't win.
But this version of the Bearcats offers a feature which could make them a tougher out this March: The ability to score the ball from every spot on the court.
Cincinnati finished the regular season averaging 74.8 points per game, slightly eclipsing that mark Friday night in an easy 80-61 win over Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference quarterfinal. The Bearcats were scoring nearly 80 points per game before the grind of conference play reduced that number a bit, but that's still a far cry from the offensively challenged teams they've fielded for most of Cronin's tenure.
It is that improvement that carries No. 15 Cincinnati into an AAC semifinal Saturday with Connecticut at XL Center in Hartford, Conn. The teams will be seeking a spot in Sunday's championship game against either No. 12 SMU or Central Florida.
"You got to be able to dance every dance that they play to win the award at the dance ball," Cronin said. "You've got to be able to slow dance, you've got to be able to do it all. Ok? You're not going to be able to win the same way, because you're going to run into a matchup that they're able to take that away from you.
"Teams with more weapons have a better chance. They're not relying on one way to win a game."
That would perfectly describe the second-seeded Bearcats (28-4). They have four players in double figures, led by Jacob Evans (13.6) and Kyle Washington (13.5). Gary Clark (10.3) and Troy Caupain (10.0) can also hurt you on any night, and sixth man Jarron Cumberland (7.8) won the AAC's Player of the Week for the last week of January.
In Friday night's romp, Evans and Washington each converted 8-of-10 shots from the floor, finishing with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Caupain kicked in 15 as Cincinnati canned nearly 50 percent from the floor and 8-of-20 on 3-pointers.
"We have different guys that carry us at different points in the game," Cronin said.
As for Connecticut (16-16), it is attempting to erase a brutal regular season with a run through the conference tourney on one of its two home courts. Huskies coach Kevin Ollie and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said the Connecticut crowd played a major role in the 74-65 victory in Friday night's last quarterfinal.
"I could feel the energy in there and I know our players fed off it," Ollie said. "We played really disciplined basketball down the stretch. I was very proud of that."
Jalen Adams hoisted the sixth-seeded Huskies on his shoulders in the second half with 18 of his team-high 23 points, helping extinguish the Cougars' flickering hopes for an NCAA at-large bid. He also helped keep Connecticut's chances for any kind of postseason berth alive.
Cincinnati swept the season series from the Huskies, winning 82-68 on Feb. 4 at home and cruising to an 82-68 win on Sunday in Storrs behind 17 points and 14 rebounds from Clark.
