There is no doubt that the Tri-state area in one of the best regions in the country for a college basketball fan.  However, the level of play overall with some of the area’s local teams has been subpar in recent years.  While in the past few seasons it’s been hard to focus on college hoops until football was over, the play of local teams early on in this season demands our attention.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS (6-0)
The buzz started for the Wildcats when they hired John Calipari during the off-season. His arrival immediately brought with some of the nation’s top recruits and that led to UK being in the top five in nearly every preseason poll in the country.

It hasn’t been pretty early on, but the young Wildcats undefeated and fresh off a Cancun Challenge title. They’ve shown us early on that consistency is still a struggle.  They are extremely, talented but young and inexperienced UK fans need to remember that championships are won in March, not November. Rest assured, this team has the capability of a special season.

Needs to get better: The team needs to take better care of the ball as they are averaging nearly 19 turnovers per game and 67 percent from the free throw line isn’t going to cut it long term. In games that have been close their perimeter defense has lacked, allowing opponents to get hot from behind the arc.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS (4-1)
While much of the attention in Clifton right now is centered on the 10-0 Cincinnati Bearcats’ football team and rightfully so, Mick Cronin’s basketball team is reminding us that UC was a basketball school first.  To this point of the season it appears as if Cincinnati is going to be able to compete in the Big East Conference.

The Bearcats, who were unranked to start the season, made a great run this past week in Maui Invitational. They beat two ranked teams (Vanderbilt, Maryland) before losing in an overtime thriller to Gonzaga. Their early success has come from hard-nosed, physical defense, the kind UC fans became accustomed to during the heyday of the Bob Huggins’ era.  While there are still plenty of strides to be made, the Bearcats’ NCAA tournament drought is likely to come to an end.

Needs to get better: Their stellar defense has hidden the fact that the Bearcats are only shooting 42 percent from the field. Point guard play is going to be key, getting more consistency from Cashmere Wright will go a long way towards their success.

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-1)
The Chris Mack era begins at Xavier and the cupboard was left full with talent by former coach Sean Miller. Without much change in the system, the expectations are high this year for the Muskies.

After rolling through their first three opponents with ease, XU suffered a setback when it fell to Marquette 71-61 in an opening round game in the Old Spice Classic on Thanksgiving. Despite the loss there is no reason to think that the talent-laden Xavier squad isn’t going to provide excitement.

Needs to get better: As the loss on Thursday indicated, XU needs to score at a more regular pace and more importantly need to sure up a few things on defense if they are going to be a Sweet 16-caliber team again this season.

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