It’s Grin at All Costs for Bearcats

Steve Logan on the layup. Logan from the baseline. Logan from the lane, from the free-throw line, from 20 feet, from 22 feet, from 25 feet. Logan with the steal and the slam. Logan 23, Boston University 16 at halftime.

And it was Cincinnati 90, Boston University 52 when this West Regional first-round game was over. The Bearcats (31-3) are seeded No. 1 and were not willing to give the No. 16-seeded Terriers of the America East Conference an inch of breathing room, an ounce of hope.

Cincinnati found an immediate weakness in the Boston defense: everywhere that Logan went.

The Terriers (22-10) lost to UC Irvine this season, lost to Columbia, Vermont and Hartford. A nine-game winning streak against fellow America East denizens did not prepare them for the fierce and nonstop pressure applied by Cincinnati.

Logan would add only four more points in the second half to finish with 27, plus eight assists and two steals. And still the crowd booed when he scored his four more points.

That’s how out of hand the game was.

“We played mostly for pride in the second half,” Boston’s Billy Collins said. “Most of the guys knew we couldn’t win the game.”

This was Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins’ 500th victory.

“I didn’t think I’d last this long,” he said.

Early in the second half the Bearcats were doing a little hot-dogging.

“Give me the ball,” shouted Bearcat forward Jamaal Davis. He was standing 22 feet from the basket, unguarded. Logan had the ball.

He thought about Davis’ request. No Terrier seemed willing to challenge Logan or Davis, so Logan flipped the ball to Davis and Davis swished the three-point basket to put Cincinnati ahead, 54-22.

A little smile tugged at the mouth of Huggins. Huggins never smiles and he stopped before either Logan or Davis could see him. But he did ... Huggins did smile.

Logan, a senior from Cleveland who used to play in local gyms with and against USC’s Sam Clancy, is listed as 6 feet tall. He might be 5-10. His shorts nearly sweep the floor, they are so long and his legs are so short. But Logan can create shots. And he can take jump shots. And he always makes things happen.

Besides his 23 points, Logan had three assists and a steal in the first half. At one point he motioned to Terrier defender Kevin Fitzgerald to come closer. Fitzgerald stood still, about two feet away, so Logan shot the ball from 22 feet. The shot was good and Logan grinned. Fitzgerald slapped his own head.

When Logan stole the ball from Terrier star Chaz Carr and fed Immanuel McElroy for a slam as Carr backed away, the score became 67-27 and the crowd at Mellon Arena booed. “Get your starters out of there,” a Boston fan shouted with 10:55 left.

The NCAA tournament isn’t about coddling the weak, though. It is about setting a tone.

Consider the tone set.

With 2:39 to play and Cincinnati leading, 88-47, Bearcat fans behind the bench stood up and held up letters spelling “Congratulations Coach Win #500.”

Huggins smiled again. Getting 500 wins is worth a grin.