NIT First Round Recap - Cincinnati vs Weber State

(2) Cincinnati 76, (7) Weber State 62

Different teams react differently to an NIT invitation. Some teams play listlessly and make it clear that they want no part of the second-best tournament. Others embrace the opportunity to play some extra games in a low-pressure atmosphere.

Cincinnati (18-15, 7-11 Big East) may have watched Big East mate Seton Hall take the former approach yesterday. The Pirates were dominated by Texas Tech on Tuesday in an undisciplined and uninspired performance. The Bearcats would not go down so easily, as the Wildcats from Weber State (20-10, 13-3 Big Sky) would find on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena. Unlike the Wildcats’ previous opponent, the Montana Grizzlies, the Bearcats would not need a 22-point comeback to emerge victorious against Weber. Cincinnati used its superior athleticism and significant talent advantage to defend home court against its Big Sky foe in a game that was only briefly in doubt after halftime.

Weber State won a bid to the NIT by virtue of its regular season Big Sky Conference championship. The Wildcats looked like they were cruising to the Big Sky Tournament championship as well, pulling ahead to an easy 22-point lead over Montana just prior to halftime. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they managed to lose their NCAA bid in crushing fashion on their home court, as the Grizzlies’ Anthony Johnson scored the last two of his 42 points with 10 seconds left to beat the Wildcats, 66-65. Weber State was not able to shake the disappointment of its Big Sky championship game collapse against the superior squad from Cincinnati.

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The game started out as a catfight, with the Wildcats from Logan, Utah, keeping the game close for the first 14 minutes until a barrage of turnovers by the Wildcats led to a quick Bearcat run after Weber State had pulled within one point on a Lindsay Hughey three-point basket. Cincinnati followed that shot with 10 points in just over a minute, each as a result of tenacious defense forcing a Weber State turnover. The run did not end there, though, as the Bearcats would hold Weber State scoreless for a 5-minute and 45-second period leading to the end of the first half. The Wildcats managed two three-pointers to close out the half, however the damage had been done, with the Bearcats nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer to open up a 40-25 halftime lead.

Weber State took advantage of a Cincinnati cold stretch to make things interesting, cutting the Bearcat lead to single digits for a stretch of the second half, but the Wildcats could never manage to draw closer than an eight-point deficit. Cincinnati closed out the game with a flurry of baskets over the last five minutes to close out the easy victory.

WHAT’S NEXT

No. 2 seed Cincinnati advances to play a fellow Southeast Ohio squad in the No. 3 seed Dayton Flyers in the second round of the NIT next week. Dayton advanced to the second round earlier in the evening by easily defeating Illinois State, 63-42.

By: John Cary
BigEast-fans.com Guest Writer