Strong Cincinnati team to have temporary home

A crane towers over the University of Cincinnati’s on-campus arena, and a banner on the side explains why: “Home Won’t Be Built In A Day.”

It’s going to take a year for the Bearcats’ arena to undergo a major renovation, prompting them to play home games in another state. They’ll make the half-hour drive across the Ohio River to BB&T Arena on Northern Kentucky University’s campus in Highland Heights.

“We’re used to being in different environments,” forward Kyle Washington said. “It will be a change at first, but we’ll transition to it.”

No matter where they’re playing, the Bearcats have enough experience, depth and versatility to pull off another successful season.

They return three starters from a team that went 30-6, the secondmost wins in program history. They went 16-2 while finishing second to SMU in the American Athletic Conference.

A second-round loss to UCLA ended the Bearcats' seventhstraight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They haven’t made it past the second round since 2012, when they lost to Ohio State in the Sweet 16. They’ll reopen their renovated Fifth Third Arena in 2018 against the Buckeyes.

This season, Mick Cronin's 12th as coach of Cincinnati, has him thinking his team has so much balance on the roster that he plans to change his starting lineup regularly, sometimes to match up with the opponent’s weaknesses.

“I’ve told them we will not (always) start the same five guys,” Cronin said. “It will be game to game.”

Washington (12.9 points, 6.8 rebounds), forward Gary Clark (10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds) and guard Jacob Evans III (13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds) form the core of a versatile team that relies on defense and rebounding, the two mainstays of Cincinnati basketball.

Clark is coming off his breakout season. Evans provides a longrange shooting threat.

Sophomore shooting guard Jarron Cumberland is expected to play a bigger role after averaging 8.3 points.

The Bearcats must replace point guard Troy Caupain, who averaged 10.5 points and 4.4 assists per game, and guard Kevin Johnson, who averaged 7.9 points and was a top perimeter defender.

Cane Broome is expected to take over at point guard. He sat out last season after transferring from Sacred Heart, where he averaged 23.1 points.

The Bearcats went 18-0 at Fifth Third last season, their fourth undefeated season at the arena. Several Bearcats made the trip to BB&T during the summer to shoot around against Northern Kentucky players.

“We wanted to get used to the rims,” Washington said. “They’re not really that different. It’s more getting used to the depth perception.”