I think a lot of people just assumed the Big East Tournament that prior to 9:30 Wednesday night had gone according to the the brackets — well, except for St. John’s “upsetting” Cincinnati — would do so again. Louisville was to beat Cincinnati and Pitino was to meet Huggins in the quarterfinal. Great theater.

It also seems to me a lot of WVU fans prefer the Bearcats over the Cardinals … though having watched U.C. play the last two nights, I’m not sure why that is.

If the Bearcats want to play, they’re tough and talented and they rebound and run. They outrebounded Louisville by 21 last night. Twenty-one. It’s not a reason they won. It’s the reason they won. Once U.C. realized it couldn’t shoot but could win, it was a tough team to stop from proving that. And the rookie of the year, Lance Stephenson, is making strides right now.

OK, the Bearcats have played two games here and they’ve had to fight and rally to win both. Last year Syracuse had a six-overtime game the night before facing WVU. I don’t think it matters, honestly. Perhaps fortunately for WVU, Huggins beat his former school last month for the first time in his third try, so that element is gone.  But U.C. is good enough to win again and Huggins has known such a thing all year.

At the beginning of the season, Huggins said Cincinnati was “probably the most talented team in the whole league.”

“Think about having Deonta Vaughn, a four-year starter who could end up being the second- or third-leading scorer in school history at point guard,” Huggins said. “They lost their other point guard, (Cashmere) Wright, last year with a (torn ACL) and what’d he average, 32 points or something like that, in high school?

“So he’s back and, oh, now you bring Lance Stephenson in, who everyone thought was one of the best recruits in the whole country. Then you move to the bench and Yancy Gates might be the most talented big guy in the league.”