Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller speaks with Cincinnati Bearcats guard Landers Nolley II (2) during halftime in the NCAA men s basketball game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Tulsa Golden Hurricane 81-55. Ncaa Basketball Tulsa Golden Hurricane At Cincinnati Bearcats — © Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

UC Hoops Film Review: Bearcats Fall to ECU 75-71

Blowing the 16-point lead looked inevitable.

Author:
Alex Frank
Feb 19, 2023 9:54 AM EST

In this story:

DAYTON — Normally, film review allows players and coaches to see that nothing is really as bad or as good as it seemed during the game.

However, in the case of the Bearcats' loss to East Carolina on Wednesday night—the film didn't make anything better. It only seemed inevitable the Bearcats were going to blow their 16-point lead.

Here are three observations that stood out:

1. 12:25 in the first half. ECU's Ezra Ausar converted an and-one. If you watch the play, you'll see a tremendous effort by Ausar and a terrible effort by the Bearcats. It was the first of many terrible efforts by Cincinnati on the glass, culminating in a 46-27 rebounding margin in favor of the Pirates.

2. ECU's offensive rebounding looked like the Houston Cougars.

NINETEEN offensive rebounds. Their head coach, Michael Schwartz, spent the previous seven seasons on Rick Barnes's staff at Tennessee. The Volunteers were consistently in the upper half of the country in rebounding totals, so that may explain the rebounding margin in this game.

3. ECU's defense does deserve credit for its defense on the Bearcats Ody Oguama.

He pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds, including 3 offensive, but he was held to just 6 points. Every time he grabbed an offensive rebound, ECU's defense was there to corral him and make life difficult in the paint.

In the stretch where the Bearcats blew a 16-point lead. Here are four plays that played a major role in their destruction.

9:23 - Missed pass by DeJulius into the post for Oguama

6:31 - Offensive rebound by ECU's R.J. Felton (led to a score)

4:47 - Backcourt violation by the Bearcats

2:11 - Travel by Landers Nolley II

Even though the blown lead looked inevitable, it still doesn't excuse it. Consider: ECU was using their 13th different starting lineup this season and had not played in 11 days.

Watching the game, ESPN+ color analyst Si Seymour had a ton of praise for the Bearcats. It was almost like listening to Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson call a game on TV.

Cincinnati and UCF clash at noon ET on Sunday. The game is airing on ESPNU and is available via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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