12. Cincinnati (6-0)
A project several years in the making, Cincinnati basketball looks to be back into the national spotlight, with this team hoping to make a long-awaited trip back to the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats have taken care of business in the first weeks of the season, and that trend continued into this past week. They’ve won a pair of games on the road, though obviously, this team hasn’t played the toughest schedule in the world.
As evidence of that, the Bearcats were at home over the holidays, hosting Alabama State on Wednesday for their only game of the week. They had a solid performance in a 77-59 win over the Hornets, getting them their sixth win on the season. Simas Lukosius led the team with 16 points while three other starters flirted with double-doubles.
We really couldn’t ask for much more from these Bearcats to this point in the season. They’ve won all their games, don’t what they’ve needed to do, and gotten solid efforts from both sides of the ball with a strong, veteran lineup. There are a few things to work on here, though no red flags at all exist in Cincinnati. The Bearcats faithful hope that that remains the case after next week’s road test at Villanova, part of the Big 12/Big East Battle.