Sometimes, a coaching change at a successful program doesn’t go so smoothly right away. It’s usually when there’s a change in styles and the players who remain were recruited to play differently, which means there may be a bigger adjustment than usual. Other factors, such as the timing of a coach’s departure or the new coach’s hire, can also come into play, especially as regards getting recruits late in the game or even transfers.
All of that is to say that while we often see a lot of traditional winners change coaches and seemingly continue winning as if nothing happened, it’s been a little different at Cincinnati this year. Mick Cronin left for UCLA, and new head coach John Brannen comes in with a great track record. But the Bearcats, who have made the NCAA Tournament nine years in a row, have not had an easy year by any stretch thus far, which makes Sunday’s 82-57 domination of East Carolina an even nicer win to have.
The Bearcats return three starters from last season’s team, including reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jarron Cumberland, and along with them over 58 percent of scoring and almost 77 percent of rebounding, so Brannen didn’t inherit a bare cupboard by any means. Add in three graduate transfers and one who followed Brannen from Northern Kentucky and was eligible immediately in big man Chris Vogt, and this doesn’t look like it should be a rebuilding season by any stretch.
2019-20 hasn’t been one of those seasons, but the Bearcats have a lot of work to do to be an NCAA Tournament team without winning the conference tournament. Losses to Bowling Green in the Paradise Jam and Colgate at home (although Colgate is the favorite in the Patriot League) were only offset in non-conference by wins over Vermont and Tennessee, neither of who is a lock and the latter of which appears to be losing some value. Add in an early conference loss at Tulane, and the picture becomes clearer.
Cumberland sitting out the Bearcats’ win over Alabama A&M because of a coach’s decision raised some eyebrows, but he appears to be getting better of late. Brannen didn’t say much after that game about the decision, but did comment after an earlier game on the senior needing to get into game shape because of time off dealing with an injury during the off-season. In the six games leading up to Sunday’s romp, Cumberland was averaging 15 points and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, including 46.2 percent from deep. He’s been much better in conference play.
On Sunday, he had 13 points on just 4-12 shooting, but he handed out seven assists and didn’t need to shoot the lights out. The big star on the day was athletic forward Tre Scott, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. The Bearcats held ECU below 33 percent from the field and forced 19 turnovers, while out-rebounding the Pirates 46-34. They didn’t let star Jayden Gardner get untracked, as he had 13 points on 5-13 shooting and five turnovers, though he did grab eight rebounds to not let his offensive issues stop him from contributing elsewhere.
Cincinnati heads to Temple on Wednesday night, and they start February with solid quality win opportunities against Houston (home) and Wichita State (road), and they still have another home date with Memphis while getting return dates with the Cougars and Shockers. There have been some growing pains along the way in Brannen’s first season, but if the end result is still an NCAA Tournament trip, fans and those in the program won’t mind the journey quite so much.
Side Dishes
Rutgers continued their good Big Ten run with a 64-56 win over Minnesota in Piscataway, improving to 5-2 in the Big Ten, which ties them with Illinois a game back of Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights led by nine at the half and never allowed the Golden Gophers to get within seven in the second half. They held Minnesota below 36 percent shooting and out-rebounded them 45-35.
Other results of note: Davidson went on the road and overcame a four-point halftime deficit to run past Fordham 74-62; North Dakota State moved to 4-1 in Summit League play with an 83-74 win over North Dakota behind 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from Tyson Ward; Loyola-Chicago moved to 5-1 in Missouri Valley play by beating Illinois State 62-50 in Normal; Wake Forest took care of visiting Boston College 80-62; and in a game whose score tells you a little about the current state of the two programs, UCLA beat visiting Cal 50-40.
Tonight’s Menu
The holiday is a little busier than most Mondays, and not just with the big high school matchups taking place in Springfield, Mass. A good deal of the college action is in the afternoon.
- The first game of the day is a non-league game as Yale visits Howard (noon)
- The top two teams in the Northeast Conference meet as Saint Francis U hosts Merrimack (4 p.m.), while another key matchup there is a bit later with Robert Morris hosting Sacred Heart (5 p.m.)
- In the Big 12, Texas needs to bounce back from its missed opportunity on Saturday on the road as they visit West Virginia (7 p.m.), while later on Baylor hosts Oklahoma (9 p.m.)
- Only one Big South team will be undefeated after tonight as Winthrop goes to Radford in a battle of 5-0 teams (7 p.m.)
- There’s also a big one in the Patriot League as Colgate hosts Bucknell (7 p.m.)
- A key game in the ACC is on tap as Virginia hosts NC State (7 p.m.)
- The best matchup in the MEAC might be North Carolina A&T visiting Morgan State (7:30 p.m.), while the best of the SWAC games on tap looks like Grambling hosting Texas Southern (8:30 p.m.)
- The last game of the night is out west in the Big Sky as Portland State hosts Weber State (10:05 p.m.)
