Jan 4, 2006
In Cincinnati, the NFL's Bengals have been going through tough times lately. QB Carson Palmer did get his long-term extension, but their defense has broken down in their last two regular-season games. As I said on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike" show, that's not the way coach Marvin Lewis wants to go into the playoffs. No team wants to head into the postseason lacking momentum.
Speaking of momentum, the same can't be said for the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-2). After struggling to a 3-2 start, coach Andy Kennedy's team is riding an eight-game winning streak into its Big East debut Wednesday night (at home vs. DePaul). What a great job Kennedy has done as the interim coach at Cincinnati.
Yes, I said that I thought the Bearcats would see their streak of 14 straight NCAA appearances come to an end this season. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong. Right now, it looks like the kids at Cincinnati are going to make 15 straight a reality. They have done an outstanding job in a very difficult situation following the firing of longtime Bearcats coach Bob Huggins.
It is never easy to replace a coach like Huggins, who was so popular and loved in Cincinnati. He was let go by the administration, and Kennedy has picked up the pieces and tightened the lid.
Cincinnati has gotten great play from impact diaper dandy Devan Downey at the point-guard slot. Senior forwards Eric Hicks and James White are veterans who have stepped up at the right time. Good things are happening for Bearcats basketball, and you'd better give some credit to Kennedy. He has kept the ship together when it could have sunk big-time when Huggins was let go.
There have been a number of quality wins. It is not easy to get a W at Vanderbilt, but it happened. Cincinnati got past a tough LSU squad. Wins over Tennessee Tech and Ohio are not easy to come by, either. The Bearcats could make some noise in their first season in the Big East.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
