By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
We were a little rough on Mick Cronin in this space a week ago, and considering what happened to his Bearcats in Pittsburgh Saturday night, we have no reason to change our tune.
Cincinnati got manhandled by the Big East-leading and fourth-ranked Panthers. Not that anyone had the right to expect a UC victory on the road, but at some point, Cronin needs to put some resume wins together. With Louisville, Georgetown twice, Connecticut and even Marquette left on the schedule, there are many opportunities. If he doesn't claim a few of them, Cronin will need to fire up that home computer and update his own resume.
Remember when the Bearcats beat Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim, Jay Wright and Jamie Dixon in a span of 19 days? That was in January 2008 — 37 months ago — and Cronin even finished that month off with a blowout win over Bob Huggins at West Virginia. Folks thought Cronin's 'Cats were turning a corner.
But then Cincinnati dropped six of its final nine regular-season games, including home failures to DePaul and Providence. The Bearcats finished that disappointing season in a first-round loss to Bradley in the College Basketball Invitational.
In his four years before this season, Cronin was 47-37 prior to February, and 10-18 in February. In what many believe is the most difficult conference in college basketball, a .500 record in league play is a notable achievement, but if you close poorly, don't expect NCAA Selection Committee members to put your name on a line.
Again, no one expected a Cincinnati win on the road at Pittsburgh Saturday, but sooner or later, the program needs to position itself so that the expectation isn't a perpetually unrealistic one.