Last week we counted down some of our top moments from the 2014-15 basketball seasons. We have worked our way down from 10 to six and this week we will finish our list. Each day we will be bringing you one moment from either the men or women that stood out to us this season.
#4: Cincinnati Responds to Adversity
The Bearcats started out the season 7-2 before Coach Mick Cronin sat out UC's contests against VCU (Dec. 20), Wagner (Dec. 23) and N.C. State (Dec. 30) while awaiting test results and treatment options for lingering headaches. The department of athletics announced he would miss the remainder of the season on Jan. 2 due to an arterial dissection.
Bearcats associate head coach Larry Davis took over in Coach Cronin's absence and led the team from the bench during the games. Cincinnati went 13-5 in conference play securing the No. 3 seed for the American Conference Championship in Hartford. The Bearcats were also the only team to sweep conference champion SMU.
Cincinnati went on to secure a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament where they faced No. 9 Purdue. The Bearcats banded together to produce a stirring 66-65 overtime victory. With seven seconds left in regulation, the Bearcats trailed by two. Clark set a ball screen, Caupain drove to the basket and laid the ball off the glass. It rolled around the rim in an excruciating manner before it dropped through the net as time expired.
UC and Purdue traded baskets in overtime until DeBerry made a twisting, acrobatic reverse layup that gave the Bearcats a 64-63 lead with 3:08 to play. UC went on to win and advanced to face No. 1 overall seed Kentucky, where the Bearcats gave the Wildcats one of their toughest tests of the season in a physical battle in Louisville.
The veteran coaching presence of Davis helped the Bearcats to a 23-11 overall record during the 2014-15 campaign. The consistency of the Bearcats from the start of Davis’ stint proved the resiliency of the Bearcats and their coaches.