March madness. How does that sound? Well get ready folks, selection Sunday is just days away. It’s championship week and tickets are being punched for the big dance. Many local teams are in contention to reach Atlanta this year. Louisville, Indiana and Ohio State are all teams to be reckoned with come March 19th. However, my Cincinnati Bearcats have punched their ticket despite their struggles the past month. Whether you believe it or not, the Cats are a great team that at one point this season were ranked eighth in the nation. Below are my five things that Bearcats need to do in order to get back to their winning ways. 1. “The Big 3” Not LeBron, Wade, and Bosh but more like Wright, Kilpatrick and Parker. These three guards are responsible for more the sixty percent of the Bearcats points. It isn’t rocket science: shut down the guards; shut down the Bearcats. In the past 12 games the Cats are 5-7 and are only averaging 58.5 points per game. Every time the Cats have scored under 60 points this season, they have lost. It’s true that Cash hasn’t been on his game ever since his knee injury in mid-January, but his 15 point effort against Louisville is a good sign for the Cats down the road. The Bearcats will be relying on Cash along with Killa and Parker to carry them this postseason. 2. Clean up the play Everyone and their mother know the Bearcats play best in absolute chaos. This up-tempo play has carried the Cats at times, but also has killed them. Teams are walking into the building knowing that if they can take the Bearcats out of their game and control the pace, they already have a big advantage. Mick needs to tell the team that if they want success this postseason, they will need to be able to play half-court basketball. 3. FEED THE BIG MAN! Well I am no Dick Vitale, but the meaning rings true. To say that the loss of Yancy Gates has hurt the Cats is the understatement of the year. The Bearcats have struggled all year trying to incorporate Cheikh Mobdj and David Nyarsuk. However, Mobdj was my player of the game on senior day versus USF. Not only were his parents watching him play for the first time (since they live in Senegal) but he played a very big, yet quiet role in the win. He finished with eight points, but hit four crucial free throws in overtime to close out the game. His eight point, nine rebound and three block game is what I like to see. If the Cats can get that kind of production, if not more from Mobdj and Nyarsuk in the Big East and NCAA tournament , the Bearcats will be a lethal team to face. 4. Shoot the 3 For those people saying that the Bearcats need to stop shooting the 3, stop. You’re making yourself look bad. Telling the Bearcats to stop shooting the three is like saying the Big Ten isn’t the best basketball conference right now; you would be wrong. The three is the Bearcats offense, whether you like it or not. Yes, they Bearcats aren’t making threes, but it’s because of their lack of quality ball movement. In the past 12 games, the Bearcats have struggled to get the ball in the paint, which forces them to take that outside jumper which is hard to make with a hand in your face. With our four-guard offense we should be able to get inside those smaller areas of the defense that big men couldn’t do. Once we starting hitting those holes that will open lanes to the basket which lead to an easy kick out and a wide open three. 5. Play Bearcat basketball March Madness is hectic enough, or they wouldn’t call it March Madness. Don’t let outside distractions like the Big East, American 12 or whatever they’re calling it now distract you from what it is important. My message to Mick is this: This is where coaching legends are made. You showed all of Cincinnati and the nation that UC Basketball is for real with the Sweet 16 birth last year. Keep doing what you’re doing with the program because the number of wins per year has gone up since your first season. This is your time. This is your Team.