Playing preseason exhibition games is a tried and true tradition in college basketball. It allows a team to play against a squad of (usually) lesser esteem in order to work out kinks and actually begin executing the strategy that has been crafted during the offseason.
Last year, the Cincinnati Bearcats played a pair of exhibition contests and rolled to victories of 93-63 against Grand Valley State and 81-60 against Bellarmine.
On Wednesday, Bellarmine came calling once again and even as UC appears ready to be a major player on the national stage, the Division II squad gave the Bearcats more of a test than you might expect.