Where did Cincinnati Bearcats basketball land in Top 25 ahead of Saturday’s Shootout?

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Five days before the yearly Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout roundball rivalry, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked No. 22 in the newest Associated Press poll released Monday. UC drops eight spots after their first loss last week at Villanova.

Among the Big 12, Iowa State is the highest-ranked at No. 3, behind No. 2 Auburn and new No. 1 Tennessee. The previous top team Kansas drops to 10th. Houston is No. 15, then the Bearcats are at No. 22. Big 12 teams receiving votes are Baylor, Arizona State and West Virginia. Upcoming Dec. 20 opponent Dayton also received votes.

The Bearcats took a big tumble in the USA Today Coaches poll dropping nine spots to No. 23. Iowa State tops the Big 12 teams there at No. 3, with Kansas 10th, Houston 13th and Baylor two spots behind UC at No. 25. Arizona State, West Virginia and Texas Tech also picked up votes from coaches.

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23) fights for the ball against Howard’s Joshua Strong (8) in Sunday’s 84-67 UC win over the Bison at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats next host Xavier in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout Saturday at 2 p.m.

Coming into Sunday’s game with Howard, the Bearcats were No. 13 in the KenPom.com tally with Xavier at No. 65. After their 84-67 triumph, they had dropped to No. 15 and by Monday they were 16th. In mathematical terms, the Bearcats’ schedule explains part of the issue as KenPom.com ranks it No. 331 out of 364. Xavier’s in a similar predicament at No. 302. The NCAA NET rankings dropped the Bearcats to No. 30 with Xavier at No. 90.

Previous Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootouts when teams were ranked

The last time both teams were ranked was Dec. 2, 2017, when UC was ranked No. 11 in AP/No. 9 in USA Today and Xavier was No. 21 in AP/20th in USA Today. The Musketeers prevailed at Cintas Center 89-76. That was the fourth time both teams came in ranked to the game.

The most notorious Shootouts involving rankings came in 1996 and 1999 when Skip Prosser’s Xavier teams twice…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-did-cincinnati-bearcats-basketball-181242383.html

Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2024-12-09 18:12:00

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