LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This is supposed be Mick Cronin's best University of Cincinnati basketball team, and Wednesday night did absolutely nothing to refute that.

The Bearcats throttled Division II power Bellarmine 89-61 in UC's first preseason exhibition game here at Freedom Hall. The Bearcats were never in trouble as they out-ran, out-sized and overpowered the Knights before 4,135 fans.

Senior forward Kyle Washington led UC with 15 points. Sophomore guard Jarron Cumberland and freshman guard Keith Williams each scored 12 points. Freshman guard Trevor Moore and sophomore center Nysier Brooks each had 11 points.

"That is Mick's best team," Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said. "He really likes this team, and you can always tell when a coach loves his team."

Davenport may be biased, having once been a fellow assistant coach with Cronin under then-Louisville coach Rick Pitino in the early 2000s. But, Davenport was emphatic regarding Cronin's 2017-18 Bearcats.

"Don't kid yourself," Davenport said. "He really likes them."

Postgame breakdown and analysis:

Deeper than deep

UC was in full command, despite three of its big guns barely denting the scoresheet. Senior forward Gary Clark had seven points. Junior guard Cane Broome scored five points. Junior wing Jacob Evans, last year's top UC scorer at 13.5 ppg, shot the ball only twice and scored two points.

"We're deep," Cronin said, in a large understatement.

Among others, Williams appears to be a real find. After scoring 20 points in UC's Red-Black scrimmage last Saturday, Williams had 12 on Wednesday and also contributed five rebounds.

Moore also can shoot it, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Don't forget freshman forward/center Eliel Nsoseme, who scored eight points (4-for-5 shooting) in just 11 minutes.

"He's gonna be great, I'm telling you guys," a grinning Washington said of Nsoseme. "I want to have the credit for calling that. This guy is gonna be amazing. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with. I'm gonna be glad I'm not here to see it, because that'll take playing time from me."

Too fast, too big

Bellarmine is ranked No. 3 nationally in Division II by Basketball Times. UC is No. 12 in the Division I Associated Press poll, released Wednesday.

Rarely has the gulf looked so wide between the two divisions. UC made every effort to run Bellarmine right up the Freedom Hall ramp, out the door and into the parking lot. UC held a 12-4 edge in fast-break points, 21-8 in points off turnovers. UC forced 16 turnovers.

Washington said that UC took Bellarmine quite seriously. It was UC's 42nd consecutive exhibition win dating back to 1995, but the Bearcats beat Bellarmine only 64-55 last year and were highly motivated this time.

"We were coming in like it was a Finals game, Game Seven or something like that," Washington said. "We knew they would be extremely tough. I told them at the end, 'You guys should win it all this year, because you're an extremely well-coached team, very skilled.' "

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At one juncture of the first half, UC held a 22-0 edge on points in the paint. In the end, it was 54-16.

UC also won the boards 41-28 and shot a strong 54 percent from the floor. The Bearcats had nine steals and six blocks, although Cronin was not especially pleased with UC's 10 turnovers.

The Bearcats led by as much as 28 points in the second half.

They still play D

Cronin's Bearcats have made the last seven NCAA Tournaments. The national perception has UC as a defensive team, but some forget that the Bearcats led the American Athletic Conference in scoring last season at 74.3 points per game.

Yes, the defense is still there. UC intends to use more full-court pressure this season and showed some of that Wednesday. The Bearcats held Bellarmine to 39.6 percent shooting, which pleased Cronin.

"I told our guys, this is the best offensive team in the country," Cronin said. "They led the world in field goal percentage. Division I, II, III, NAIA, NBA, Europe. Because of the way they pass the ball, pass and move."

So ...

"Then again, obviously we're more athletic," Cronin said. "It's hard for them to make shots when we're able to speed them up."

World statistics were not immediately available, but let the record show that Bellarmine shot 53.5 percent from the floor last season.

Bench delivers

Cronin has said that the 6-foot-11 Brooks is the Bearcats' most improved player. Brooks made that statement look good, leading UC with nine points in the first half.

"I've put a lot of hard work in," Brooks said. "I wanted to improve on my defense, of course, but more likely my offense. Being a dominant presence down there is going to do a lot for our team, open up a lot of shooters."

Cronin played his bench liberally in the first half, especially after UC raced to a 31-12 lead.

Talking Pitino, Cronin tears up

The Rick Pitino scandal will not go away anytime soon. The former U of L coach and former Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich recently were fired, after a federal investigation into massive college basketball corruption ensnared Louisville and others.

Cronin, as mentioned, worked for Pitino in the early 2000s as an assistant. Wednesday's opponent, Bellarmine, is located in Louisville. With the Pitino topic still hot, Cronin was asked by a Louisville reporter what he thought about the situation.

While answering, tears swam briefly into Cronin's eyes as he stood at the postgame interview podium.

"It's just sad, to sum it up," Cronin said. "Very, very sad. Obviously, I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for Rick Pitino."

Cronin composed himself, then spoke again.

"It's sad," Cronin repeated. "He's hurting."

Locals on court for Bellarmine

Bellarmine started two local products in sophomore forward Ben Weyer (Newport Central Catholic) and senior guard Brent Bach (Augusta).

Knights freshman guard CJ Fleming (La Salle) was an early entrant into the game. Fleming's father, former La Salle head coach Dan Fleming, was in attendance.

Bach finished with eight points, Fleming had five and Weyer scored one point. Bellarmine was led by junior forward Adam Eberhard (Evansville, Ind.) with 17 points.

Legends return

Former University of Louisville coach Denny Crum and Cardinals great Darrell Griffith were given a standing ovation during a break in the second half. Crum and Griffith were introduced by the public address announcer, as the U of L legends walked to midcourt and waved to the crowd during a media timeout.

Crum was the coach and Griffith the star player when Louisville won the NCAA title in 1980. Griffith later became an NBA standout with the Utah Jazz. Naismith Hall of Famer Crum also coached an NCAA championship team at Louisville in 1986.

Crum is now 80 years old, Griffith 59.

Cincinnati (89) - Evans 1-2 0-0 2, Clark 3-5 0-0 7, Washington 6-11 2-3 15, Broome 2-7 1-1 5, Cumberland 4-7 3-4 12, Williams 6-10 0-1 12, Jenifer 1-2 2-3 5, Moore 3-6 2-4 11, Scott 0-2 1-2 1, Diarra 0-0 0-0 0, Nsoseme 4-5 0-2 8, Brooks 5-8 1-1 11. Totals: 35-65 12-21 89.

Bellarmine (61) - Weyer 0-3 1-2 1, Eberhard 4-6 6-10 17, Jenkins 1-5 0-0 2, Bach 3-6 2-4 8, Coles 2-5 0-1 4, Troutman 0-0 0-0 0, Ramser 3-7 0-1 6, Corbett 0-2 2-2 2, Hunter 2-2 0-0 5, Fleming 1-4 2-2 5, Chitty 3-5 3-4 11, Schurfranz 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 0-3 0-1 0. Totals: 19-48 14-23 61.

Halftime: Cincinnati 43-29. 3-pointers: C 7-16 (Clark 1-2, Washington 1-3, Broome 0-1, Cumberland 1-2, Williams 0-2, Jenifer 1-2, Moore 3-4), B 9-22 (Weyer 0-1, Eberhard 3-4, Jenkins 0-1, Bach 2-4, Coles 0-2, Ramser 0-1, Corbett 0-1, Hunter 1-1, Fleming 1-4, Parker 2-3). Rebounds: C 41 (Clark 5, Broome 5, Williams 5, Scott 5), B 28 (Eberhard 7). Fouls: C 24, B 19. Assists: C 19 (Broome 4), B 16 (Parker 4). Turnovers: C 10, B 16. Blocks: C 6 (Clark 3), B 2 (Weyer, Corbett). Steals: C 9 (Cumberland 2), B 5 (Bach 2). Attendance: 4,135.

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