TicketsUC Opens Exhibition Play vs. NKU
Bearcats seeking fast start to 2004-05 season.
Contact: Brian Teter
11/5/2004
All-American Candidate Jason Maxiell |
CINCINNATI vs. NORTHERN KENTUCKY
GAME FACTS
Date: Monday, Nov. 8, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati 25-7 in 2003-04, Northern Kentucky 16-15 in 2003-04
TV: None.
Radio: WNKU-FM will broadcast the game for Northern Kentucky.
Tickets: Available, $25, 513-556-CATS or www.UCBearcats.com.
Series: Cincinnati leads, 7-0, in previous regular season games played and 3-0 in exhibition games.
Last Meeting: Nov. 1, 2003 in Fifth Third Arena; Cincinnati 61, Northern Kentucky 48.
The Coaches:
? BOB HUGGINS (West Virginia ?77)
At Cincinnati: 16th year, 374-119 (.759)
Overall: 24th year, 542-191 (.739)
Huggins is the nation?s seventh-winningest active coach and is 13th in victories.
? DAVE BEZOLD (Viterbo ?90)
At NKU: first year
Overall: first year
Bezold has spent the past 14 seasons as an assistant at Northern Kentucky.
SETTING THE SCENE: The Bearcats will get their first test against outside competition when they host Northern Kentucky in a preseason contest on Monday, Nov. 8. The 7:00 p.m. contest matches Cincinnati against one of the perennial powers of NCAA Division II. The Norse have been one of the winningest teams in the Division II Tournament over the past nine years, twice reaching the national championship game. After leading by as many as eight points in the first half, NKU suffered a 91-73 loss at No. 9 Kentucky on Wednesday.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2003-04 Statistics
F 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Jr., Tyler, Texas......6.0 pts, 2.6 reb, 2.3 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Jr., Greensboro, N.C........7.0 pts, 5.8 reb, 0.4 ast
F 54 Jason Maxiell, 6-7 Sr., Carrollton, Texas..13.6 pts, 6.9 reb, 2.1 blk
G 21 James White, 6-7 Jr., Kensington, Md........7.9 pts, 4.0 reb, 3.6 ast
G 1 Chadd Moore, 6-2 Jr., Huntsville, Ala.......3.2 pts, 0.9 reb, 2.0 ast
*stats from junior college
NORTHERN KENTUCKY PROBABLE STARTERS 2003-04 Statistics
F 21 Morton Harrison, 6-4 Fr., Lexington, Ky.. *16.1 pts, 6.4 reb, 2.5 stl
F 35 Derek Smith, 6-5 Jr., Silver Grove, Ky......... no college stats
C 34 Tory Reed, 6-8, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio.......*3.6 pts, 2.2 reb, 0.4 blk
G 5 Jordan Stowers, 6-1 Sr., Covington, Ky.....1.3 pts, 1.3 reb, 1.0 ast
G 11 Mike Kelsey, 6-2 Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio....16.9 pts, 3.1 reb, 3.1 ast
*Harrison?s stats from 2003-04 high school; Reed?s stats from 2002-03 at Charlotte.
FAMILIAR FACE: Though Northern Kentucky will have probably have three new starters, one of those will be a familiar face. Tory Reed, a 6-8 senior from Cleveland, played at Charlotte for three seasons before transferring to NKU.
FOURTH YEAR FOR DIVISION II: Prior to 2001-02, preseason basketball games featured touring foreign teams and amateur club squads from the U.S. A new NCAA rule was implemented to permit a Division I team to schedule exhibition contests against Division II or Division III teams. UC athletics director Bob Goin was instrumental in the new rule through his work on the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet.
In 2001-02, UC took advantage of the new rule as the Bearcats played Northern Kentucky and Kentucky Wesleyan, two teams which made a total of seven appearances in the Division II tourney title game.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: The Bearcats are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today initial poll and are two positions away from the Top 25 at No. 27. The first Associated Press poll will be released on Nov. 8.
MAXIELL ON WOODEN LIST: Jason Maxiell was named to the John Wooden Award Preseason All-American team, and as such, is a candidate for the Wooden national player of the year award. Maxiell averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, and during his three-season career as a Bearcat has averaged 11.0 points and 6.8 rebounds. He is No. 35 on the UC career scoring list with 1,060 points and second in career blocked shots with 161.
It is the third straight year in which the 6-7 forward has appeared on the Wooden Watch list, and the fifth time in the last six seasons that a Cincinnati player has been represented. Kenyon Martin was selected prior to the 1999-00 season and won the John R. Wooden Award that year. Steve Logan was on the 2001-02 list and finished as one of the top five finalists.
SEVENTH-WINNINGEST PROGRAM: Cincinnati has been college basketball?s seventh-winningest program over the past five years. The Bearcats have compiled a 127-37 record for an .774 percentage during this period.
? Cincinnati?s 127 wins are the eighth-most among Division I teams over this period.
? Cincinnati has won 25 or more games eight of the last nine seasons.
? The Bearcats have won a conference regular season and/or tournament title in 12 of the past 13 seasons, and six times during this period have claimed both during the same season.
? UC?s 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the third-longest active streak in Division I.
? Cincinnati has been a top-four seed nine times during this streak and seven times in the last nine seasons.
CONFERENCE RULERS: Cincinnati shares with Valparaiso the distinction of having won the most conference regular season championships over the last 10 seasons. The Bearcats have been regular season champions nine times in the past 10 seasons, eight in Conference USA and once in the Great Midwest Conference. The Bearcats have won either a regular season or tournament title in 12 of the past 13 seasons, and six times during that span, UC has claimed both during the same season.
MAXIELL EARNS C-USA HONORS: Jason Maxiell was named to the Conference USA preseason all-league team for the third straight year. Maxiell joined Louisville?s Francisco Garcia, who was named Preseason Player of the Year, Memphis forward Sean Banks, Marquette guard Travis Diener and Charlotte forward Curtis Withers on the all-league team. Cincinnati, which has won eight of the previous nine C-USA regular season championships, was picked to finish third behind Louisville and Memphis.
VETERAN TEAM: The Bearcats will open the season with a combined total of 160 games of starting experience. For comparison, last year?s team brought 108 games of starting experience into the 2003-04 campaign while the 2002-03 team began with 59 career starts.
104th CAMPAIGN: The 2004-05 season will be Cincinnati?s 104th year of basketball competition. The school has compiled a 1,474-847 record for a .635 percentage.
HUGGINS SEVENTH WINNINGEST: Bob Huggins enters the 2004-05 season as the nation?s seventh winningest active coach. Huggins has compiled a 542-191 record for a .739 winning percentage in his 23 seasons as a head coach. His 542 victories is tied for 13th place on the wins list.
BEARCAT NEWCOMERS TOP 10: The University of Cincinnati's men's basketball recruiting class for this season has achieved a top 10 ranking for the third straight year. The Bearcats' incoming class was ranked No. 10 by All Star Sports and received a No. 16 rating from PrepStars. All Star Sports' final individual rankings placed Roy Bright No. 47 among high school graduating seniors, Vincent Banks No. 3 among prep school players, and Jihad Muhammad No. 7 among junior college transfers. PrepStars rated Bright No. 18 and Banks No. 120 among high school seniors and Muhammad a top 10 junior college prospect. UC's 2002 recruiting class was ranked No. 5 by All Star Sports and No. 9 by both ESPN.com and FutureStars. The 2003 newcomers were rated No. 7 by PrepStars and No. 8 by HoopStars.
FIVE BEARCATS IN THE NBA: Five former Bearcats were on the rosters of NBA teams when the pro season opened.
Last Draft NBA
UC Yr. Pos. Season Team____________
Danny Fortson 1997 10 8th Seattle Super Sonics
DerMarr Johnson 2000 6 4th Denver Nuggets
Kenyon Martin 2000 1st 5th Denver Nuggets
Ruben Patterson 1998 31 7th Portland Trail Blazers
Nick Van Exel 1993 37 12th Portland Trail Blazers
UC?S DEFENSIVE REPUTATION: Bob Huggins-coached Cincinnati teams have earned a reputation for their defense and rebounding emphasis, and the success of last year?s team is evidence of this. UC held its foes to a .374 field goal percentage, second in the NCAA team statistics. The Bearcats were eighth in points allowed, surrendering 60.4 per game. Cincinnati was No. 2 in average scoring margin (+17.8 points) and No. 18 in rebounding margin (+5.9). The Bearcats were also pretty successful at taking care of the ball, their 11.9 turnover average ranking 11th nationally.
TICKET UPDATE: Single game tickets for all University of Cincinnati home games except the Feb. 10 Xavier contest are on sale at the UC Athletic Ticket Office at One Edwards Center. Groups of 15 or more qualify for discounted prices of $15 adult and $12 youth for every game in November and December except Vanderbilt and Miami, plus the Conference USA games vs. Houston and Southern Miss.
Season tickets for the Bearcats? 20 home games are $405 plus a $100 donation to UCATS (donation allows the purchase of two season tickets). High Five discounted season tickets, for seating in the upper five rows of designated sections of Fifth Third Arena, are available for $291 plus a $50 donation to UCATS.
Tickets may be ordered by phone using American Express, VISA, MasterCard or Discover, by calling 513-556-CATS during office hours. They may also be purchased on-line via the university's athletic web site: UCBearcats.com.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats play their second preseason contest on Saturday, Nov. 13, hosting Southern Indiana at 7 p.m. Cincinnati opens the 2004-05 regular season hosting Valparaiso on Friday, Nov. 19. Tipoff for the opener is at 8 p.m.