A major local college basketball exhibition could be on the way, and it would bring together four of the region’s biggest programs.
According to 247Sports’ Rick Broering of the Musketeer Report, Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton and Ohio State are expected to be part of a unique exhibition event that should be announced soon. The game setup would not count toward regular-season records, at least initially, while the full details are still being finalized.
“I’m hearing a big announcement involving Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio State, and Xavier is on the way. The schools are expected to unveil a unique college basketball exhibition event,” Broering posted on X.
The idea fits with the direction Cincinnati coach Jerrod Calhoun has already been pushing since taking over the program. He has made it clear he wants the Bearcats to face the best teams in the area more often, and he specifically brought up Ohio State earlier this spring.
“We enjoy scheduling; we think it's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle that we have to put together,” Calhoun said. “There's a strategic play in there, but personally, I think we should play Ohio State, home and home, every year for the next 30 years. I think it's great for the state."
Calhoun also used his introductory press conference to lay out his vision for Cincinnati basketball and to point to what the program can become. He referenced the school’s spending, the results that followed, and the kind of roster-building he believes can keep the Bearcats moving in the right direction.
“This year, we went and spent $2.4 million on a roster, and we won a regular-season title. We won a conference tournament title.
We won a first-round NCAA game, and we took Arizona to the final four or five minutes. Not here to say we don't need money by any means.
We need a lot of it, and that's for sure, but I think what it shows you is our ability to evaluate the right people,” Calhoun noted at this introductory press conference. “You have to have the right people.
The University of Cincinnati deserves a winner in men's basketball. This city deserves to be rocking and rolling again.
People need to fear us in the state of Ohio; it's the best basketball job in the state of Ohio, I think it truly is.”
More information on the exhibition event is expected to follow.
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