CINCINNATI -- It's hard to figure out what to take from early season non-conference college basketball games. Coaches are looking for a progression of their players regardless of who they are playing against. Obviously the better the competition the better the gauge but whoever is wearing the opposing uniform there must be a progression.
In those terms, the Cincinnati Bearcats got better Tuesday night. They overwhelmed UMass-Lowell, 79-49, at Fifth Third Arena. It was an expected beat-down by a team that has lofty expectations for itself against a program playing in Division I for the first time.
Senior guard Sean Kilpatrick had a game-high 18 points for the Bearcats, while senior forward Justin Jackson had his second double-double of the season and his career with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Ge'Lawn Guyn added 10 points as he continues to grow into a starting role.
Those aren't the numbers head coach Mick Cronin is concerned with. He liked the 28 turnovers the Bearcats forced, including 17 in the first half that they turned into 21 points and a 47-27 lead. He loved the 49 deflections the Bearcats had as they worked on a full-court press throughout the game.
This game was about getting better and not worrying if the River Hawks will be the kind of team they will face once league play in the American Athletic Conference gets started in January.
"Par for the course for our team, with this group of guys, our effort is tremendous. That's a 99 percent thing with this group of guys," said Cronin. "I appreciate this with these guys. Their effort and their attitude is like this every day in practice. We had 49 deflections, a season high for us, but we still made a lot of mistakes, things that we have to improve on, eliminating mistakes."
Cronin wasn't pleased with the combined six turnovers by forwards Titus Rubles and Jermaine Lawrence. It was half of the total UC had in the game. The Bearcats want to run their offense through their post players -- Rubles, Lawrence, Jackson and Shaquille Thomas -- which is a change from last season. The desire isn't different but the ability of the players in the post handling the ball.
"Right now my focus becomes eliminating mistakes because your margin for error gets smaller and smaller every day with college basketball," said Cronin. "Every team is doing the same thing. Being ready to play and being fired up… we're always ready to play. You win games with strategy and execution."
UC held UML to 38.1 percent shooting (16 of 42) for the game and outrebounded the River Hawks 43-28 overall, including 16-4 on the offensive side.
The River Hawks are in their first year of transitioning from a Division II program to Division I. They are now 0-6, including losses to Michigan, last year's national runner-up, and a Boston University team that is favored to win the Patriot League this season. UML simply doesn't have anything resembling the depth and talent to play with UC.
UML had an early 11-6 lead but UC went on a 23-5 spurt that put them in control for good.
"We all know what we're really trying to accomplish," said Kilpatrick. "We're trying to beat the teams in our conference… This is just a milestone in our journey. This is just something that we had to get accomplished today. We had to work on a lot today in our defensive press and rebounding the ball, especially."
So the Bearcats are left to compete against themselves at this point. North Carolina Central is probably better than many gave them credit for when the Bearcats opened the season with a 74-61 win against the Eagles. NCC is now 4-1, including a 10-point win against North Carolina State, which UC beat by 11 points in the second game of the season.
The non-conference schedule will provide some tests. After games against Kennesaw State (2-5) and USC Upstate (4-3) the Bearcats will find out what they have with a four-game stretch of games at New Mexico on Dec. 7, the Crosstown Classic against Xavier on Dec. 14, vs. Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 17 and then back home against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 21.
That's when we'll get a clearer picture of their progress.
