In February 1997, the Cincinnati Bearcats nearly lost a basketball game because they prematurely celebrated a victory. West Virginia did not pay the same price a year later.
UC was called for a technical foul in its game against Tulane last season when the Bearcats rushed onto the floor to celebrate a buzzer-beating layup by All-American Danny Fortson despite the fact there still was time on the clock.
The Green Wave got two free throws and possession of the ball, but did not take advantage and still lost.
When WVU guard Jarrod West nailed a three-pointer with .8 seconds left to knock the Bearcats out of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, at least two Mountaineers and the team mascot dashed onto the floor, but were not called for a technical.
Coach Bob Huggins attempted to get the officials' attention to get that call made, even dashing to midcourt and tapping one on the elbow.
Huggins expressed his displeasure with the non-call to New Mexico Athletic Director Rudy Davalos, the on-site NCAA tournament committee member.
Underwhelming
UC's underclassmen seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Of the six double-figure scoring performances UC recorded in two games, not one came from a player beneath the senior class. Seniors Ruben Patterson, Bobby Brannen and D'Juan Baker scored 63 of UC's 74 points against West Virginia and 111 of UC's 139 in two games.
Overturned
UC's 22 turnovers were its most in 17 games, since the Bearcats threw it away 26 times in a loss to Marquette.
They had not committed as many as 15 in the past five games. Point guard Michael Horton committed eight turnovers, one short of his season high. He had averaged 1.7 in his previous seven games.
''We threw the ball around a lot,'' Horton said. ''We weren't taking our time. We just tried to force things, make something happen.''
Point blank
There are 308 teams in Division I. How many do you suppose have gone the past two seasons without the starting point guard making a three-point shot.
There's at least one.
Horton finished the season 0-for-7 from three-point range, missing one Saturday in the loss to West Virginia. That followed the 0-for-8 by Charles Williams in 1996-97.
U-S-A? U-S-A?
The Bearcats' elmination leaves Conference USA with just one team alive, and Saint Louis is scheduled for demolition today in the Southeast Regional by No. 2 seed Kentucky.
The league began well with a 3-0 opening round, and it took a buzzer-beating heave to defeat UC and overtime for top-ranked North Carolina to send home UNC Charlotte. But this is likely to be the first time in its three-year history that the league has no one in the Sweet 16.
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