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Cincinnati's 74-60 loss to Marquette ended the Bearcats' 20-game winning streak, but it probably didn't do anything to hurt Cincinnati's chances of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
On the other hand, it remains to be seen if the loss helped or hurt Conference USA in the long run.
There are two ways to look at Marquette's win.
On the plus side, the game shows Cincinnati isn't the only quality team in Conference USA, and that's important when the conference is struggling for national attention, respect, rankings and RPI ratings.
On the down side, the game could suggest that if Cincinnati can be beaten by 14, maybe the Bearcats weren't really that good anyway and the conference doesn't deserve more recognition and respect than it's already receiving.
You could make a case for both arguments, but of course, some of the more hypersensitive C-USA coaches will be careful to spin Marquette's spin as a sign that the conference is deeper than just one quality team.
"We have a very good league," South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said. "We've got to get that message across. ... People don't talk about teams in our conference the way they do in some others. It's unfortunate."
DePaul coach Pat Kennedy: "I think the RPI is really moving pretty far away from being a true judge of where teams are."
Tulane coach Shawn Finney: "The best teams in our league can compete with anybody in the country."
Maybe, but with about one month left in the regular season, C-USA ranks eighth in the nation in conference RPI, behind the Mountain West and just ahead of the Atlantic 10, and C-USA placed only two teams (Cincinnati and Charlotte) in last season's NCAA Tournament.
"If we don't have four or five teams in the tournament, then a great injustice will have been done," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
If the NCAA Tournament selection committee met today to choose the field of 64, it appears C-USA would fall short of Calipari's assessment:
Cincinnati (20-2, 8-1) ? Ranked fifth in the most recent polls and ranked eighth in the RPI (after the loss), the Bearcats are in regardless of what happens in the C-USA Tournament.
Marquette (19-3, 8-1) ? Marquette moved into the USA TODAY/ESPN poll at No. 22 on Sunday, the day after the win over Cincinnati, and moved up to 25th nationally in the most recent RPI. The Golden Eagles most likely are headed for the tournament if they stay on the right track.
Memphis (19-4, 9-0) ? The Tigers were ranked early in the season but lost favor with the polls in December. Despite being the only defeated C-USA team in conference play, Memphis is ranked 41st in the latest RPI and sitting on the wrong side of the bubble with seven games left on its conference schedule.
Charlotte (14-6, 8-1) ? Their overall record isn't that impressive, but the 49ers are on a roll with seven consecutive wins and a No. 29 spot in the latest RPI, so they could actually be one step ahead of Memphis for an NCAA Tournament berth.
South Florida (14-7, 4-4) ? A No. 48 RPI ranking reveals the fact that the Bulls can't seem to beat the top teams on their schedule.
Louisville (13-7, 4-5) ? Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins recently insisted that Louisville remains an NCAA tournament contender. Perhaps someone needs to tell Huggins that the Cardinals are ranked 58th in the most recent RPI.
Despite the relatively anonymous status of the conference, the coaches continue to insist that C-USA deserves better national reputation.
"I guess I'm the only one that's still around from when the league first formed, and I can tell you this: This is probably as well-balanced the league has been since its beginning," Huggins said. "There's no place in the league you can go and play an easy game. I don't think people have any idea how hard it is to win on the road, especially in this league."
That might be true, but it remains to be seen if that helps or hurts the conference's reputation with the selection committee.
NOTES, QUOTES, ANECDOTES
CHARLOTTE: When it comes to records, it's probably wise to ignore Charlotte's 14-6 overall record and instead focus on three other records: The 49ers are 9-1 in their last 10 games, 8-1 in C-USA games and 4-1 in C-USA road games.
With a 97-83 win at DePaul and an 83-68 win at Houston in the last week, the 49ers have won seven consecutive games overall and four consecutive road games dating to a Jan. 8 loss at Cincinnati.
The 49ers also find themselves tied with Cincinnati and Marquette for first place in the American Division, with a home game scheduled against Cincinnati on Wednesday (Feb. 6) and road game at Marquette on Feb. 19.
"We (C-USA) deserve a minimum of four teams, but only time will tell how many will get in. Cincinnati is the only lock, currently, and Memphis, Marquette, South Florida, Tulane and ourselves all have a chance," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "Our focus is to win the division or get a bye in the C-USA tournament."
?Three-point shooting remains a big key for the 49ers, who shot 46.2 percent (12 of 26) from 3-point range against DePaul and 43.5 percent (10 of 23) on 3-pointers against Houston. Charlotte has shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range for six consecutive games and is 14-0 when shooting better than 40 percent from the field.
"They've got great shooters," said DePaul's Lance Williams. "They hit a lot of hard shots with hands in their faces."
?The 49ers have scored 80 or more points in five of their past seven games, including each of the past three. They are 13-0 this season when scoring 65 or more points.
LINEUP ? Point guard Demon Brown, Shooting guard Jobey Thomas, Center Jermaine Williams, Forward Cam Stephens, Forward Curtis Nash.
CINCINNATI: The nation's longest winning streak had to end sometime, but it was the way that it ended that bothered Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins. In a 74-60 loss at Marquette, the Bearcats lost for the first time in 20 games without putting up much of a fight.
"We got beat in every way possible, from me on down," Huggins said.
Marquette has beaten Cincinnati in four of their last five games in Milwaukee.
"When we come in here, they always play us tough," Cincinnati's Steve Logan said. "They got going, and we didn't get going early in the game. They got their crowd into it early; that's what we didn't want them to do."
?Defensively, Cincinnati entered the game leading the nation in two important categories, limiting opponents to 36.2 percent shooting and 56.5 points per game. However, Marquette shot 50 percent, sinking 23 of 46 shots, and freshman guard Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, most of them against Cincinnati's top defender, Immanuel McElroy. Marquette point Cordell Henry scored 20 points, most of them against Logan.
"They just drove by us," Huggins said. "Henry took it right at us. Wade took it right at us."
?Offensively, the Bearcats shot only 35.7 percent in the first half (10 for 28) and finished the game with 13 misses on 16 3-point attempts.
"We missed so many wide-open shots to start the game that our guys had their heads down," Huggins said.
?Marquette coach Tom Crean said one loss doesn't change Cincinnati's status in the conference. After all, the Bearcats have won or shared all of C-USA's six regular-season titles
"They're what our league is judged by," Crean said. "Until someone dethrones them, they deserve that."
?The road doesn't get any easier for the Bearcats this week, with a Wednesday (Feb. 6) game at Charlotte and a Saturday (Feb. 9) non-conference game against Wake Forest.
"We just can't give up," senior Jamaal Davis said. "It's not the end of the season. We've got to go to Charlotte and play in another hostile environment and come out of there with a win and try to win the conference championship."
LINEUP ? Point guard Steve Logan, Shooting guard Immanuel McElroy, Center Donald Little, Forward Jamaal Davis, Guard/Forward Leonard Stokes.
