Doc: I said this could be Cronin's best squad. I stand by that
The Morning Line
Paul Daugherty , pdaugherty@enquirer.com Published 10:11 a.m. ET Jan. 18, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago


Wednesday in Grayville looks like Tuesday in Grayville, which looked like Monday in Grayville. Sun, sun, sun, here it doesn’t come.

The Morning Man suggested some six weeks ago this could be M. Cronin’s best UC team. Not backing off that now. In fact, that semi-rash statement looks better now than it did then. The Bearcats play Bearcats D (3rd in the country, in terms of points allowed per possession). More, they have the evolving makings of a pretty good offense, potentially better than the Gates-Kilpatrick-Wright tandem that made a Sweet 16 appearance.

Everyone loves a senior point guard, a go-to scorer and a big man who can run. Thanks Troy Caupain (75 assists, 22 turnovers), Jacob Evans (40 pct from 3) and Kyle Washington (54 pct from the field). Depth is overrated, especially in March when uptight coaches prefer seven-man rotations. But depth is good now, as teams head into the grind of late January and February. It’s very good to have players like Tre Scott and Jarron Cumberland.

The Bearcats host Temple tonight. They’ve won eight in a row, including a very nice W v. SMU a week ago. Temple will be a test, even if this isn’t a very good Owls team. They’ve lost 5 of 6, including by 24 at UCF and 14 at UConn. The Owls tend to make games messy, and make you look average. They did that three weeks ago, when UC beat them in Philly by six.

The challenge for UC, in a conference not quite brimming with greatness, is to play against its own standards and aspirations. You don’t want to be the same team in March that you were in November. This team is evolving in a good direction.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/b.../96712968/