​The first team assembled at the University of Cincinnati by men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun’s staff has practiced since early summer, taken a short trip to the Bahamas for exhibitions and is now gearing up for three dress rehearsals in October.Calhoun has a roster of 15, but with two question marks as October begins.MJ Collins led Calhoun’s Utah State team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, but has yet to be cleared for the season by the courts in Ohio. Collins is in the category of players denied a fifth year of eligibility, with many winning an extra season in the courts. Collins did play in the Bahamas exhibitions and would make a tremendous difference.Javontae Campbell is another fifth-year player from Bowling Green who averaged 18.7 points for the Falcons. However, a foot injury was discovered in a physical, and he appears sidelined until perhaps the first of the year. UC won’t comment on those players until they are cleared; otherwise, Calhoun spoke to the media Oct. 1 and seems ready to see some competition.”We need to go play somebody else,” Calhoun said. “We have a lot of things to get cleaned up. Whatever we look like next Wednesday (Oct. 7 vs. Ohio State), obviously 30 days later will be a lot better.”After facing the Buckeyes at 3 p.m. Oct. 7 in the CareSource Invitational at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, the Bearcats will have 10 days to get ready for national semifinalist Illinois from the Big Ten. Like Calhoun, Fighting Illini coach Brad Underwood is a former Bob Huggins assistant (at Kansas State).UC and Illinois have a tentative 7 p.m. tip Oct. 17 for an exhibition at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats then entertain Oakland University in the final exhibition Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies have been to the NCAA Tournament four times since 2005.UC’s only returning player is walk-on Grant Darbyshire; everyone else is new.”We need as many reps as possible,” Calhoun said. “I think Ohio State, Illinois and Oakland, all three are a little bit different.”What’s different is Calhoun invited Ohio State’s staff into Fifth Third Arena to “live scout” them. The Buckeyes allowed the Bearcats to do the same. Calhoun says it’s unconventional, but he enjoys watching other teams practice, so much so that he’s been to Kentucky and Alabama in recent weeks.”Year one is difficult, but we have the talent to be pretty good,” Calhoun said.NCAA.com’s Andy Katz just released the Power 44, which corresponds to 44 at-large teams among the 76-team 2027 NCAA Tournament field. If you’re looking at exhibition opponents, Illinois is No. 4 and Ohio State is No. 24. The Bearcats come in at No. 41, with Xavier at No. 44.In the Big 12, Houston’s No. 11, Kansas No. 15, BYU No. 21, Iowa State No. 23, TCU No. 30, Texas Tech No. 31, West Virginia No. 32 and Baylor No. 40. “Exhibitions are more about yourself,” Calhoun said. “We’ll see how we play.”Coming from Utah State, Calhoun had the Aggies in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, while UC hadn