Cincinnati Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Bearcats

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 17: The Cincinnati Bearcats cheerleaders perform against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 17, 2017 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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CINCINNATI, OH – JANUARY 26: Troy Caupain /

Expectations for the season

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the location of the home games this season. Fifth Third Arena, the usual home for the Bearcats, is closed this season due to an $87 million renovation occurring.

For this season, the interim home games will be played at the University of Northern Kentucky’s home gym. While it’s a whole state apart, in actuality it’s only a 20 minutes drive from their old spot. With how good this team is expected to be, filling up the new place won’t be hard to do.

This has all the makings of a special season. The defense has always been there, but now the players on the roster are just as good on offense as well. If Broome gets the start at point guard, there’s a great chance that all five starters will average double figures throughout the season.

The experienced frontcourt of Washington and Clark is one of the better tandems on the boards in the nation and will continue eating up on the glass. With the balance on the perimeter, this could very well be a Final Four sleeper that no one is talking about.

Next: Wichita State 2017-18 preview

The only possible concern is that this team is so focused about the offense that they may lose what got them to this point, being a defense-first team. But Cronin more than deserves the benefit of the doubt, and if the bench can provide some extra support, then they’ll be the ones overwhelming teams both on defense and offense.

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