West Virginia 77 Cincinnati 74 OT
The Cincinnati Bearcats took a fall from the second place spot in the Big East standings on Saturday. They hit every branch down on the way to a painful 77-74 loss to West Virginia. It seemed like a lot of people were either quick to blow off the loss and say "you can't win 'em all," or go to the sky is falling lengths. There is a middle in there. The middle is that this loss sucked very much. The good news, no, the great news is that we get the rare opportunity to break it down and move on to another one tonight. Use the pain to fuel the fire. Let's get to the recap.
UC came out of the gate rather flat. They missed a lot of shots early. They gave up 10 offensive rebounds in the first 16 minutes of the half. They did a horrible job limiting the West Virginia offense. They did a worse job getting good looks on the offensive end. Just because you are in the pain doesn't make it a good shot. Cincinnati would get down as much as 9 going into the final four minutes with Yancy Gates and Justin Jackson both on the bench with 2 fouls. A big momentum changer occurred when Kevin Jones was whistled for his second foul at the 3:52 mark. West Virginia scored 2 points with him out. They got 1 rebound. Cheik Mbodj dominated inside. UC scored in the lane with Mbodj and JaQuon Parker almost at will. 13 made a layup with 6 seconds left in the half to put UC in front. Just like they have done at the end of games, the Bearcats stole the final segment from WVU. The second half was Big East basketball. Neither team had a lead bigger than 5. Both teams answered. Both teams got stops. Unfortunately for the Cats, they couldn't close out for the second straight game defensively. Cash put UC up 1 with 1:33 left, then made 2 free throws with 28 seconds left. JaQuon Parker got stuck behind a great screen by Deniz Kilicli, allowing Gary Browne to get a great look at a 3 before Yancy Gates could close out on him. The shot went in. After that, chaos ensued and bone head plays ruled the day. UC has the ball for the last shot. Dion Dixon races up the floor. Take a look at this. 
That's Dixon driving with a man open on the wing. Instead, he puts up a horrible shot that line drives off the front of the rim. Gotta have your eyes moving, 3. The ensuing rebound saw insanity happen. The ball goes on the floor. Mass confusion happens.
There's a tie up on the floor. The game clock stops at 2.1 as soon as people hit the deck. Kevin Jones calls timeout, which West Virginia doesn't have before the officials whistled a tie up. They looked at the replay with a stop watch to determine that the game ended. It was insane. I don't want West Virginia to leave the Big East, but I'll be glad when Morgantown doesn't host conference games.
Once in overtime, West Virginia scored the first 4 points. Sean Kilpatrick answered with a 3. Then Dion Dixon made a risky inbound from a tough spot on the court. 
Nearly stolen by Kilicli. Then Dion did this:
Which turned into a West Virginia layup. Dion is like, what. UC got the points back with a Parker tip. Kilicli got a shot in the paint to put WV up 3 again. SK missed a 3, but for some reason Truck Bryant threw the rebound down the floor, where Cash murdered someone to get the steal with 11 seconds left. It made Bob Huggins do this.
Once again the ball was in Dixon's hands.
I know Mick probably told him to get a layup if he could. I know he had a lane, but holy shit was Jeremiah Davis wide open nearly the entire time.
It really seems like I'm killing Dion Dixon. But ya know, I hold him to a high standard. He's a senior. The ball was in his hands. He's got to make plays. He's won games in the past. He had a great game. He just made a couple of bad decisions late that stand out. It's not his fault at all UC lost. I'm just pointing out these plays. He's my best friend. I got your back, Dion. The rebounding Saturday was pretty fantastic. UC gave up 14 rebounds for the game. 2 were deadballs. They cut off the West Virginia offensive board attack. Yancy Gates once again cleaned the glass like it was his job. The man wants to dance. The defense was not great. West Virginia missed 13 times in the second half and OT, getting 3 of those misses. The defense only had 5 steals and forced 8 turnovers. First time those have been in single digits in ages. The 5 steals is a season low. Only 6 points off turnovers. On top of that, UC was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball the first half, turning the ball over 7 times. They turned it over 2 times the rest of the game. WV got 14 points off the turnovers. That was a difference maker. Before we hit the Bearcats, let's talk about Kevin Jones. Holy hell that dude can play. 26-13, 2 assists, 1 block, 0 turnovers in 41 minutes. He did that on 11-15 shooting. He was double teamed a whole lot. Triple teamed even. Jones got pretty much any look he wanted. Stay healthy. We'll see you in New York. 
Justin Jackson scored 4 points kind of early and had a couple of assists in the first half. Once he hit the bench, he didn't do much when he returned. He couldn't stay with Kevin Jones. It wasn't his best game. The Dennis Rodman of the Bearcats had 3 rebounds. I don't know when he turned into someone who wouldn't rebound hard, but he is wearing the collar now. Dickie Simpkins is the worst. Yancy Gates had another double double, going for 10-13. He was 4-10 from the field. Gates is playing very hard. He's the only one rebounding. He's gotta stay out of foul trouble. We need everything we can get from you, Yancy. Cashmere Wright has found his 3 point range again, 3-5. He was 3-9 from 2 though. He finished with a team high 17. He continues to make big baskets for this team. His knee looked to be more bandaged than normal, and I had people ask me about it on twitter. He had 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. 2 turnovers. He looks like he's getting away from the slump. Let's hope so. Dion Dixon had a very solid game. He set a career high with 9 assists. That's what makes him not passing out stand out some. He had 3 boards and 2 steals. He took a lot of shots though, 18. He took way too many 3s with 9. His game is to not shoot 3s. I'm sorry, you aren't good at it. Any more than 5 is a bad thing unless you are going Tony Bobbitt crazy. 12 points, 9 assists is great, some moderation would be better. Sean Kilpatick was 4-11, 2-7 from deep with a pair of free throws for his 12 points. He picked up the board game with 5. He was very loose with the ball, getting picked easily twice for layups. He also landed like this 
Which has his status for tonight up in the air. He'll play. He's a trooper.
Cheikh Mbodj played some great minutes in the first half. 3-4, 6 points, 5 rebounds. 4 of those rebounds came in the last 3 minutes. He only played during the first half. Baffling decision by Mick. 
JaQuon Parker off the bench is a blessing. He gave 7 points in the first half when the team needed a boost. He made a huge put back in OT. He gave 26 minutes of 9 point, 4 rebound basketball. Mick has to figure out a way that Parker doesn't end up on the block against a power forward though. Everyone goes right at him and he can't defend. Get him on the wing or something. Jeremiah Davis with 2 points, 2 boards, 1 assist. Professional minutes. We've lived this one. Still 15-5, 5-2. Beat Syracuse. Browne photo from timeswv.com. Jones photo from wvgatzette.com. Mbodj picture from GoBearcats.com. Other photos from espn3.com.
Box score from Go Bearcats.
Official Basketball Box Score
Cincinnati vs West Virginia
1/21/12 3:00 p.m at WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va.
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VISITORS: Cincinnati 15-5/5-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Jackson, Justin..... f 3-5 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 4 6 3 0 0 0 25
34 Gates, Yancy........ f 4-10 0-0 2-4 4 9 13 3 10 0 1 1 0 35
01 Wright, Cashmere.... g 6-14 3-5 2-2 2 5 7 1 17 4 2 1 2 39
03 Dixon, Dion......... g 5-18 2-9 0-0 2 1 3 1 12 9 2 0 2 43
23 Kilpatrick, Sean.... g 4-11 2-7 2-3 1 4 5 0 12 1 3 0 0 36
00 Davis III, Jeremiah. 1-3 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 11
13 Mbodj, Cheikh....... 3-4 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 2 6 0 0 0 0 10
44 Parker, Jaquon...... 3-7 0-1 3-5 2 2 4 3 9 0 1 0 1 26
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 29-72 7-23 9-15 14 29 43 16 74 18 9 2 5 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-30 43.3% 2nd Half: 14-32 43.8% OT: 2-10 20.0% Game: 40.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% OT: 1-4 25.0% Game: 30.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% OT: 0-0 0.0% Game: 60.0% 3
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HOME TEAM: West Virginia 15-5/5-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 JONES, Kevin........ f 11-15 2-2 2-2 2 11 13 2 26 2 0 1 0 41
13 KILICLI, Deniz...... f 6-11 0-0 1-2 3 4 7 1 13 5 3 0 0 38
55 MILES, Keaton....... f 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 5 1 2 1 12
04 HINDS, Jabarie...... g 4-8 2-5 2-3 0 5 5 4 12 4 2 0 3 40-
25 BRYANT, Darryl...... g 2-16 0-8 2-2 1 1 2 1 6 3 2 0 0 44
12 BROWN, Aaron........ 2-9 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 1 5 0 0 0 1 14
14 BROWNE, Gary........ 5-10 1-3 2-3 4 5 9 2 13 0 0 0 2 28
34 NOREEN, Kevin....... 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 8
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 31-71 6-23 9-13 14 32 46 14 77 19 8 3 7 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-40 32.5% 2nd Half: 16-26 61.5% OT: 2-5 40.0% Game: 43.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-12 16.7% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% OT: 0-1 0.0% Game: 26.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 1-3 33.3% OT: 4-5 80.0% Game: 69.2% 1
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Officials: John Cahill, Bryan Kersey, Gary Prager
Technical fouls: Cincinnati-None. West Virginia-None.
Attendance: 14070
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total
Cincinnati.................... 33 36 5 - 74
West Virginia................. 32 37 8 - 77
id-1040161
Points in the paint-CIN 42,WVU 40. Points off turnovers-CIN 6,WVU 14.
2nd chance points-CIN 17,WVU 11. Fast break points-CIN 4,WVU 6.
Bench points-CIN 17,WVU 20. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-12 times.
Last FG-CIN OT-00:59, WVU OT-00:31.
Largest lead-CIN by 5 2nd-05:41, WVU by 9 1st-04:58.
