The University of Cincinnati men?s basketball team will look into a deep tournament run after the Bearcats ended their 2014-15 campaign with a round of 32 loss to the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
With all but one player returning since the Bearcat?s previous 2014-15 season, the team will look to make its sixth-straight year into the NCAA men?s basketball tournament.
UC will use its nationally acclaimed defense to find success for its upcoming season.
During the 2014-15 season, the Bearcats lost head coach Mick Cronin to a brain aneurism ? but the team continued to play elite defensive.
The Bearcats allowed the sixth-least points per game and were ranked in the top 15 in amount of blocks per game, according to ESPN.
UC followed the plan set by Cronin during his absence. If Cronin is able to stay with the team day-in and day-out this upcoming season, Bearcat defense will be unstoppable.
An intriguing aspect of UC men?s basketball team shows it did not have one player to average double-digit points per game during its 2014-15 season.
Despite not having a prime-time scorer, the Bearcats will look to the play of senior forward Octavius Ellis and junior point guard Troy Caupain for leadership.
Troy Caupain 2014-15 Satistics
Points per game Assists per game Rebounds per game
9.6 3.6 3.6
Octavius Ellis 2014-15 Staistics
Points per game Rebounds per game Blocks per game
9.9 7.2 2.0
Ellis had eight games where he grabbed 10 or more rebounds last season and registered 20 points and eight rebounds in a game against the University of Central Florida, according to ESPN.
The forward has made mental mistakes during games in the past, but Ellis? passion will be an anchor for the team.
Caupain was proved a huge piece for the team during the 2014-15 campaign.
The veteran guard had 19 games last year scoring over 10 points and played his best game came against the University of Connecticut at home, when Caupain scored 20 points and shot nearly 8 percent from the field, according to ESPN.
Caupain also proved he can be the Bearcats? go-to man during second round of the 2014-15 tournament, when UC was down to Purdue University and this point guard came to rescue.
With no time remaining Caupain drove in the lane, making the shot that tied the game and forced overtime.
The Bearcats ultimately won 66-65, with Caupain holding 10 points for the victory.
In an interview with The News Record, Caupain hinted the Bearcats look forward to its freshman class.
Cronin has done a marvelous job recruiting new athletes. In November of 2014, he added a trio of players who could get immediate playing time for the Bearcats ? Jacob Evans, Justin Jenifer and Tre Scott.
Evans is a consensus four-star forward from Louisiana, who ranks second in the Times-Picayune Terrific 20 Class of 2015.
Jenifer is a four-star point guard by 247Sports from Maryland, who was named to the Baltimore Sun All-Metro team.
Scott is a three-star forward by 247Sports from Georgia, who was named the Georgia Region 2A Player of the Year.
If one of these players could make some noise off the bench, the Bearcats would heighten levels of play.
No matter how well the Bearcats play this year, the road to tournament will be significantly easier due to fellow American Athletic Conference team Southern Methodist University, suspended from postseason play in the upcoming season.
SMU?s Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown will be suspended for 30 percent of his team?s games due to violation of NCAA rules.
With SMU out, the Bearcats have one less concern in the AAC tournament, which will now strengthen the team?s odd to receive a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Bearcats have a tough out-of-conference schedule for their 2015-16 season, but should easily finish at the top in the AAC and make a deep run into the Sweet 16.
With all but one player returning since the Bearcat?s previous 2014-15 season, the team will look to make its sixth-straight year into the NCAA men?s basketball tournament.
UC will use its nationally acclaimed defense to find success for its upcoming season.
During the 2014-15 season, the Bearcats lost head coach Mick Cronin to a brain aneurism ? but the team continued to play elite defensive.
The Bearcats allowed the sixth-least points per game and were ranked in the top 15 in amount of blocks per game, according to ESPN.
UC followed the plan set by Cronin during his absence. If Cronin is able to stay with the team day-in and day-out this upcoming season, Bearcat defense will be unstoppable.
An intriguing aspect of UC men?s basketball team shows it did not have one player to average double-digit points per game during its 2014-15 season.
Despite not having a prime-time scorer, the Bearcats will look to the play of senior forward Octavius Ellis and junior point guard Troy Caupain for leadership.
Troy Caupain 2014-15 Satistics
Points per game Assists per game Rebounds per game
9.6 3.6 3.6
Octavius Ellis 2014-15 Staistics
Points per game Rebounds per game Blocks per game
9.9 7.2 2.0
Ellis had eight games where he grabbed 10 or more rebounds last season and registered 20 points and eight rebounds in a game against the University of Central Florida, according to ESPN.
The forward has made mental mistakes during games in the past, but Ellis? passion will be an anchor for the team.
Caupain was proved a huge piece for the team during the 2014-15 campaign.
The veteran guard had 19 games last year scoring over 10 points and played his best game came against the University of Connecticut at home, when Caupain scored 20 points and shot nearly 8 percent from the field, according to ESPN.
Caupain also proved he can be the Bearcats? go-to man during second round of the 2014-15 tournament, when UC was down to Purdue University and this point guard came to rescue.
With no time remaining Caupain drove in the lane, making the shot that tied the game and forced overtime.
The Bearcats ultimately won 66-65, with Caupain holding 10 points for the victory.
In an interview with The News Record, Caupain hinted the Bearcats look forward to its freshman class.
Cronin has done a marvelous job recruiting new athletes. In November of 2014, he added a trio of players who could get immediate playing time for the Bearcats ? Jacob Evans, Justin Jenifer and Tre Scott.
Evans is a consensus four-star forward from Louisiana, who ranks second in the Times-Picayune Terrific 20 Class of 2015.
Jenifer is a four-star point guard by 247Sports from Maryland, who was named to the Baltimore Sun All-Metro team.
Scott is a three-star forward by 247Sports from Georgia, who was named the Georgia Region 2A Player of the Year.
If one of these players could make some noise off the bench, the Bearcats would heighten levels of play.
No matter how well the Bearcats play this year, the road to tournament will be significantly easier due to fellow American Athletic Conference team Southern Methodist University, suspended from postseason play in the upcoming season.
SMU?s Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown will be suspended for 30 percent of his team?s games due to violation of NCAA rules.
With SMU out, the Bearcats have one less concern in the AAC tournament, which will now strengthen the team?s odd to receive a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Bearcats have a tough out-of-conference schedule for their 2015-16 season, but should easily finish at the top in the AAC and make a deep run into the Sweet 16.
