Cinicinnati's Mick Cronin spent most of yesterday's post-game press conference crying about the timing of the first OSU/UC match-up since 1962. I knew the little squirt was a disciple of Bob Huggins so I guess I shouldn't be surprised but I hoped the first year head coach would take his whuppin' like a man. It looks like the result of the game and hard feelings afterward might mean fans of both schools will have to wait another 44 years for a regular season rematch. Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch has these Cronin quotes:
"I'm not going to beat a dead horse," Cronin said. "From everything that's been said the last few days, it's pretty clear they're not interested in it. They caught us when we were down. I got a contract after coach (Bob) Huggins got fired and it was obvious we were going to be in a depleted state. "I left it in my AD's hands to make overtures, but I'm not going to beat a dead horse with it. Cincinnati basketball has had great tradition and it's been quite successful since 1962, so if they don't want to play us. Why would they elect to schedule the game at this point?" Cronin said. "I know coach (Tony) Yates, coach (Ed) Badger and coach Huggins made overtures for years. I made mine. If they don't want to play us, fine."
Cronin even whined about how his team had to play powerhouse Xavier in the same week, as if his AD had no control over scheduling:
"I think to schedule these two games in the same week, where Ohio State didn't play all week and was laying in wait for us, was a disadvantage. Today we did not show the intensity that we've shown for the most part all year. I think our kids were emotionally drained from Wednesday night."
Matta fired back when asked about whether or not we would've scheduled UC if they were not rebuilding:
"I don't know," Matta said. "I don't even know who scheduled the game. I think the Wooden Tradition called us and said do you have an interest in playing Cincinnati on CBS? I think they jumped at it just like we did. This was good for us to bring Michael (Conley Jr.) and Greg (Oden) home. Nobody was feeling sorry for me when I got to Ohio State, were they?"
The O-Zone reports that UC point guard Deonta Vaughn had a different excuse for the blowout and made it clear that Greg Oden had nothing to do with the outcome:
"Being a different facility we really weren't too familiar with the rims," Vaughn said. "We practiced (at Canseco), but we had to go from the practice court to the main court. We weren't familiar with how the court is or how the balls are. We play with a different ball and to us the ball seemed a little smaller that the balls we play with. I don't think he (Oden) made a difference at all."
I see that even with Huggins gone, the "C" in UC stil stands for "Classless".
