Lance McAlister

Lance McAlister

Lance McAlister covers everything in Cincinnati sports! Host of sports talk on Cincinnati News Radio 700WLW and ESPN 1530!Full Bio

 

Revisionist history: Huggins in NCAA tournament at UC

placeholder image

UC: Revisionist history

Bob Huggins took UC to one Sweet 16 in his final nine seasons in Clifton.

Mick Cronin has taken UC to one Sweet 16 in the last eight seasons.

Huggins never overachieved to beat a higher seed (0-4) in the NCAA tournament while at UC.

Cronin has overachieved to beat a higher seed once (1-6), winning as 6-seed over 3-seed Florida State in 2012.

Cronin last lost twice as a higher (better) seed (5-2), losing as a 2-seed to 7-seed Nevada and as a 5-seed to 12-seed Harvard.

Huggins lost 10 times as a higher (better) seed (20-10).

Losses:

4-seed to 6-seed Michigan 1991-92

8-seed to 9-seed Wisconsin 1993-94

2-seed to 5-seed Mississippi St 1995-96

3-seed to 6-seed Iowa State 1996-97

2-seed to 10-seed West Virginia 1997-98

3-seed to 6-seed Temple 1998-99

2-seed to 7-seed Tulsa 1999-2000

1-seed to 8-seed UCLA 2001-02

8-seed to 9-seed Gonzaga 2002-03

4-seed to 5-seed Illinois 2003-04

His Final Four team took advantage of upsets that cleared the path to Minneapolis.

The Bearcats defeated 13-seed Delaware, 5-seed Michigan State, 9-seed UTEP, 6-seed Memphis and lost to 6-seed Michigan in the Final Four.

That UC team did not have to face 1-seed Kansas, 2-seed USC or 3-seed Arkansas in their Midwest Region.

I don't bring this up to tear down the Huggins legacy in Clifton.

I do bring it up to offer perspective that seems to have been lost over the years.  


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content

700WLW Podcasts

See All