Cincinnati fans still have great affection for their Huggy Bear. The man who brought the Bearcats back to national prominence is still greatly loved in the Queen City. When West Virginia hired Bob Huggins in 2007, the Big East just happened to produce a schedule that only had Cincinnati visit West Virginia in the 2007-08 season, with no return trip. So tonight was his first trip to the Fifth Third Arena as the coach of the Mountaineers. And Cincinnati responded in a way that made the coach a little misty.
The Bearcats provided a pregame tribute that put a little dew in the former coach's eye. Some fans wore mustard yellow jackets in homage to Huggins sartorial selection.
Then there was the actual game.
Freshman forward Yancy Gates had a big game to lead the Bearcats to victory, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Bearcat defense absolutely shut down the Mountaineers, especially their two leading scorers Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler. The two shot a brutal 7-for-26 from the floor and the whole West Virginia team shot only 33 percent..
Not everything went right for Cincy. The Bearcats were whistled for three technical fouls and couldn't hit free throws. The Bearcats were a unbelievably bad 9-for-21 at the charity stripe. Cincy, in fact, actually shot better from the field (47.2 percent) than at the free throw line (42.9 percent).
This was a big win for the Bearcats as it moves them closer to the NCAA tournament. Cincinnati has a very good chance of finishing 10-8 in the conference and with a win in the Big East tournament, would definitely be in the mix for one of the final at-large bids.
