This team hasn’t given any indication of falling for “trap games” this year, and there have been a few opportunities.
Plus, they have a chance to win the B12 outright in front of the home crowd on Saturday.
Our guys will bring it.
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This:
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I’d say if Cincy beats us, they’d be solidly in the field.
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i think this will be our 1st game vs a oppenent in a must win… our las 2 games they sat players that could have played but held them out on precaution … all our previous games our opponent have been safely in or safely out… this is the 1st game, where this is make or break for their season…
and i get your point that we bring it every game … im just noting, cincy has drastically more intrinsic motivation … like you stated “have a chance to win the B12 outright in front of the home crowd on Saturday.” but if we don’t get it, we can try again 2 days later at home… with Florida losing we wouldn’t even lose the 1 seed
from a development point, this is also our last chance to build the bench, after cincy its tough games and 1 and done tournaments.
from a human nature stand point we are playing a team with their backs against the wall badly and us all the breathing room and just self motivation
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Man, I just don’t see it being any different than the other teams looking at us as their chance to make a statement. We’ve gotten max effort from almost every team we’ve faced, and most of those teams are better than Cincy, who has won 2 conference road games.
Crazy things can happen, but it won’t be because our guys are thinking about other games.
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at least we had 1 big 12 season in before teams had to treat us as their defacto world cup final akin to the american athletic days 
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I don’t think the Coach sees it that way, nor the players either for that matter.
Who’s to say incentive for an undisputed conference championship repeat is any less than incentive to get on the bubble. One is definitely worth more than the other anyway.
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I could see UH take a double digit lead into halftime, take the foot off the gas in the second half and let Cincy back in the game, and UH win in single digits for the Conference Championship. Overall, I would be happy, but have a slightly sour taste in my mouth.
I want UH these last few games to send a message to the conference that there is no doubt who the best team in the B12 is.
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We have three games to clinch the title—any win in the next three games will secure it for us.
I can guarantee that Cincinnati will be more intrinsically motivated. This game could very well determine whether their coach keeps his job, and it will impact the legacy of all their players.
I realize that having this conversation in the Houston forum—where we always believe we are always the most motivated team and always put our best foot forward—might not be the best place for it.
That said, I do think teams play differently when their season is on the line. It’s not just about playing hard; desperation brings out an extra gear. That’s why we see so many upsets in the NCAA tournament.
And while we play extremely hard every game, we’ve shown a willingness to experiment against weaker teams. Just look at our recent games against non-tournament teams: we played heavy four-guard lineups against Arizona State, gave Mercy his first half minutes in a close game against Colorado, and held Sharp out against lesser opponents.
Since this will be our last non-Q1 game of the season, the question is whether Sampson will be laser-focused on winning this game and securing the title at all cost (only play our core guys, letting uzan and LJ take all the shots) or if he’ll prioritize development—getting players more prepared for the tournament by like forcing Sharp and Terrance to take more shots and focusing on the bigger picture.
I’m not saying we’ll lose or even that it’ll be close, but this is more of a trap game than people want to admit. And I acknowledge that this might not be the best place to have that conversation.
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they’re in if they win their last 3 but it feels like they’d almost certainly go to dayton should they get in when you compare their teamsheet to everyone else near the cutline
Leave pesik alone, he’s right. This has a lot of markings of a trap game, he didn’t even mention all of them. Stating that doesn’t mean you believe that we will fall for the trap.
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This is just a ridiculous statement, but I guess it can neither be proven nor disproven, so there’s that. 
And don’t play off the push-back as some kind of blind homerism - the facts of how this year’s team has responded in games speak for themselves.
If the Cincy players were that concerned about their coach keeping his job, they wouldn’t have played bad games like it was their job throughout the season.
Sampson choosing to play bench guys would be the most random un-Sampson thing ever. He’s not going to do that unless there are injuries to consider. What you will see is an effort to give guys more extended rest (particularly LJ). After the bench disaster in the Arizona St. game, I’m not sure he even wants to look at those guys again this year.
I do get the concern. I just haven’t seen any indication that this year’s team will fall into that kind of thing.
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I’ve learned to trust this program. We ain’t losing to Cincy.
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i don’t think its controversial to say its a trap game when cinci knows its a “gotta have it” game while this game is sandwiched between beating an in-state rival on the road to clinch the big 12 and senior night against kansas
the chances of that coming to fruition is obviously a diff convo because we haven’t really had a game where the intensity is painfully absent to start since joining the big 12 lol
They beat baylor. The bearcats are still formidable. There’ll be no change in our approach imo.
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I can’t tell if you’re doing a commercial for CBS Sports ( where gm will be televised) or informrcial for UC Bearcats & Alums or maybe both!! 
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I think if you stick to the last paragraph, you’ll be 
on point. Last 32 Conf gms— 30-2…Trap that!!
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motivation and quality of team are different things… also this is the 1st must win game weve played against any opponent this year…
“If the Cincy players were that concerned about their coach keeping his job, they wouldn’t have played bad games like it was their job throughout the season.”
that’s culture. no one has better culture than us… long and sustaining…
we arent talking about culture but just 2 hours for a 1 game… symbolic of how good we are, and what a resume win versus us would mean for them… we are talking about getting a kid to sprint really hard 1 time, that is not the same as building a culture to wake up every morning and run
“This is just a ridiculous statement” LJ literally said after winning the big 12 title, its hard to get that excited about these when youve won it so much. the 1st one is where is magical. this was after clinching the title…
motivated does not mean better, motivated does not mean they will win… but its 100% fact they will be more motivated… this is THEIR ONLY chance to save the season, there will be no re-do or other opportunities… a coaches livelyhoold, players pro prospects and legacy… all will be shifted by 1 game… just 1 game and their only chance… now until the game they will have sleepless nights trying to figure out how to get this win.
i think its a ridiculous statement that you think they wont be motivated…
i actually think cincy has little chance to win ,they are a horrendous match up for us…our monster will work wonders on them…but its wild to think that we will be more motivated
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This definition agrees with you,
AI Overview
A trap game is a game where a high-ranked team plays a lesser opponent that is expected to be defeated easily. However, the lesser opponent may still have motivation to play hard and may have some advantages in the matchup.
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Maybe Pesik motive is try to get Justin to respond. N i can’t even began to read all that.
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