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| | Thursday, December 9 | |||||
ESPN.com | ||||||
| CHICAGO -- Players love to talk about how hard they play the game. Coaches sometimes echo the notion.
Rarely is it backed up with actual effort for 40 minutes.
Cincinnati has become Exhibit A. Michigan State and Connecticut can come close. But the Bearcats staked an undeniable claim to the No. 1 ranking Wednesday with a 77-68 victory over North Carolina in the marquee matchup at the Great Eight at the United Center.
Coming into Chicago, Cincinnati had yet to be tested this season. Beating up Iowa State (a decent but still not a top four Big 12 team) doesn't equal North Carolina's win against Purdue in the Maui Invitational title game or the Tar Heels' loss last week to Michigan State. But this wasn't as much about the Bearcats' making a statement or validating themselves as it was a showcase for how complete this team has become, this early in the season. Cincinnati has always had the reputation of being a hard-nosed team under Bob Huggins. But the Bearcats had folded in the NCAA second round for three straight seasons, and plenty of times during the regular season. Why? They wouldn't play hard for 40 minutes. But the Bearcats took their defensive work ethic and applied it to the offense without missing a step. Ball movement was never lacking. Spacing in the offense wasn't a question. Converting free throws (18 of 26 and 11 of 15 in the final five minutes) gave them even more of a comfort zone. "In the beginning, I knew they were going to be physical and push me off the block," North Carolina center Brendan Haywood said. "They've got a lot of different ways to beat you. They've improved so much from last year because they've got outside weapons. Last year, if you zoned them, they were done. This year they've got shooters and have a 6-9 guy (DerMarr Johnson) at the two-guard who can post up. That's another advantage." Haywood said Cincinnati's blocks and dunks weren't intimidating. He pointed out that the Tar Heels came back to tighten the game. But, in the end, they didn't play as hard as the Bearcats. And, in rare praising postgame chatter, Cincinnati was given its due as reigning No. 1. "They didn't let up on the offensive or defensive end," North Carolina point guard Ed Cota said. "They've got a lot of guys who can run the floor. They're a great rebounding team with a lot of finishers. They've got great guards who find the open man. They're very capable of winning the national championship." Cincinnati will get a similar test when it travels to undefeated Oklahoma on Dec. 22, a year after the Bearcats pasted the Sooners in Cincinnati. Playing DePaul twice in Conference USA could provide a comparable exam but few teams can ever match the effort shown by the Bearcats on Wednesday. "Coach said in the locker room that we were up 12, so lets take it to 20 to 30," point guard Steve Logan said. "We knew they would make a run, but we withstood their best shot. He told us to put them away, step on their neck and not let them come back. We came back attacking. We're the aggressors out there." It's not talk. Cincinnati is all about action. The rest of college basketball had better start taking notes.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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