TicketsFinal Bash for Bearcats and Billikens?
Longtime baskeball rivals in C-USA clash in St. Louis
Contact: Brian Teter
1/7/2005
Jihad Muhammad rejoined the starting lineup in Thursday's win over DePaul. |
CINCINNATI vs. SAINT LOUIS
GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005
Time: 8:10 p.m. EST
Site: Savvis Center (20,000), St. Louis, Mo.
Records:
Cincinnati (20USA/23AP): 12-1, 1-0 C-USA (tie-1st)
Saint Louis: 3-10, 1-0 C-USA (tie-1st)
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford.
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Ken Broo, Chuck Machock).
Tickets: Available at the site.
Series: Cincinnati leads, 58-19.
Last Meeting: Mar. 12, 2004 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati (C-USA Tournament semifinals); UC 66, Saint Louis 46.
The Coaches:
? BOB HUGGINS (West Virginia ?77)
At Cincinnati: 16th year, 386-120 (.763)
Overall: 24th year, 554-192 (.743)
Huggins is the nation?s sixth-winningest active coach and is 12th in victories.
? BRAD SODERBERG (Wis.-Stevens Point ?85)
At SLU: 3rd year, 38-37 (.507)
Overall: 10th year, 166-110 (.606)
Soderberg directed Saint Louis to the NIT in each of the past two seasons. He is 1-3 vs. Cincinnati.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Jr., Tyler, Texas......13.5 pts, 3.9 reb, 2.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Jr., Greensboro, N.C........13.8 pts, 9.1 reb, 2.3 blk
F 54 Jason Maxiell, 6-7 Sr., Carrollton, Texas...15.5 pts, 8.3 reb, 3.5 blk
G 21 James White, 6-7 Jr., Kensington, Md.........9.8 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.5 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad, 5-11 Jr, Plainfield, N.J....11.6 pts, 3.2 reb, 2.2 ast
SAINT LOUIS PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 23 Justin Johnson, 6-8 So., Merrillville, Ind...3.6 pts, 3.1 reb, 0.1 stl
F 30 Izik Ohanon, 6-9 Sr., Tel Aviv, Israel......11.1 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.3 blk
G 00 Dwayne Polk, 5-9 Fr., St. Louis, Mo..........6.4 pts, 2.2 reb, 3.0 ast
G 20 Anthony Drejaj, 6-2 Jr., West Orange, N.J....6.8 pts, 3.5 reb, 2.5 ast
G 21 Reggie Bryant, 6-2 Sr., Baltimore, Md.......14.0 pts, 4.3 reb, 2.2 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: Two longtime conference rivals will clash for perhaps the final time when the University of Cincinnati visits Saint Louis on Saturday. The Bearcats and Billikens, who have squared off 77 times as counterparts in four conferences, play for the last time in Conference USA play at the Savvis Center, with tipoff at 8:10 p.m., as both head off to new leagues next year. Both won their league openers this week. Cincinnati, ranked No. 20 by ESPN/USA Today and No. 23 by the Associated Press, upped its overall record to 12-1 with an 83-54 romp over DePaul on Thursday. Saint Louis, 3-10, snapped a four-game losing skid with a 57-41 win over Tulane on Wednesday.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: Cincinnati fell to No. 20 in last week?s ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, and No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. In the computer ratings, UC is No. 11 in the Sagarin Index (1/7/05) and No. 21 in the RPI (1/7/05).
LAST TIME VS. SAINT LOUIS: Cincinnati defeated Saint Louis, 66-46, in the semifinals of last year?s Conference USA Tournament, played in Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Arena. The Bearcats broke open a one-point game with a 19-0 scoring run early in the second half. UC held SLU to .275 shooting and outrebounded the Billikens, 43-30.
LAST TIME IN ST. LOUIS: Cincinnati held off a late comeback attempt to top the Billikens, 66-56, at the Savvis Center on Jan. 15, 2003. The Bearcats built a 16-point lead with 9:04 to play but Saint Louis cut the margin to six points in the final minute.
STORY LINES:
? Saint Louis is Cincinnati?s second-most frequently played Conference USA opponent. The Bearcats have faced Louisville 84 times and played Saint Louis 77 times. Cincinnati?s 58-19 record vs. Saint Louis ties the Billikens with Dayton (58-29) as the second-most frequently beaten UC opponent to Miami (Ohio), over which UC has an 88-53 mark.
? The two teams met 71 times as conference rivals in the Missouri Valley (26 games; UC 21, SLU 5), Metro (14 games; UC 11, SLU 3), Great Midwest (10 games; UC 8, SLU 2) and Conference USA (21 games; UC 18, SLU 3). After this season, both will enter new conferences, Cincinnati joining the BIG EAST and Saint Louis going to the Atlantic 10.
? Saturday?s game matches two of the top three defensive teams in Conference USA. Saint Louis boasts the league?s stingiest defense, allowing a mere 59.2 points per game. Cincinnati is third, allowing 60.3 points per game.
? Cincinnati tops Conference USA and is fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.353). Saint Louis is last in C-USA in field goal percentage offense (.381).
? Eric Hicks needs one more blocked shot to reach the century mark in career rejections.
? Jason Maxiell, with 1,261 career points, needs 18 more points to move into 19th place on UC?s career scoring list, currently held by Kenyon Martin (1997-00).
? Saint Louis assistant coach Jason Grunkemeyer is a Cincinnati native. The former Moeller High School standout and 2001 Miami University grad is in his third season with the Billikens.
? Cincinnati has a 7-4 record in the Savvis Center. UC is 7-3 vs. Saint Louis in the building and lost to Marquette in the semifinals of the 1997 C-USA Tourney.
COMMON FOES: Cincinnati and Saint Louis have played one common opponent, Dayton. Cincinnati downed the Flyers, 65-55, at Dayton on Dec. 4. Saint Louis lost to Dayton, 62-54, in St. Louis on Dec. 18.
TOPS IN C-USA: Cincinnati is the winningest team in the history of Conference USA, both in league play and overall. The Bearcats have compiled a 112-29 ledger (.794) in the previous nine seasons in C-USA play, winning or sharing the regular season crown in all but one of those years. The Bearcats have posted a 246-63 (.796) overall record during this span. With the inclusion of Cincinnati?s four previous seasons in the Great Midwest Conference, the Bearcats have been regular season champions 10 times in the past 13 seasons. UC has 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.
RECAPPING THE DePAUL GAME:
? The Bearcats? 83 points marked the seventh time this season that UC topped the 80-point mark, and the team?s .508 shooting percentage was the fourth time that UC shot over 50 percent from the floor.
? Armein Kirkland hauled down a career-high nine rebounds.
? Jihad Muhammad tied a career high with three steals.
? The victory was Cincinnati?s 11th straight league opening game win, 10 in Conference USA and one in the Great Midwest Conference.
BEARCAT BITES:
? Cincinnati has beaten 11 of its first 13 opponents by 10 or more points, and 10 of those foes by at least 16 points.
? The Bearcats have held 10 opponents to sub-.400 shooting, six to 32 percent or less. UC held two opponents, Detroit (.293) and Jackson State (.239) under 30 percent.
? Over the last seven games, UC foes have managed to shoot just .337 (168 of 498) from the field.
? Cincinnati has out-rebounded its opponents by an average margin of 12.4 rebounds over the past five games.
? UC has had four or more players reach double figures in scoring in eight of the 13 games. Five players have reached double digits in two games and six reached the twins mark in two other contests.
? Cincinnati is ranked No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage defense (.353) and is third in blocked shots (7.7).
? Seven of UC?s first 13 opponents appeared in postseason play in 2003-04.
BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati entered the week ranked third nationally in blocked shots, with Jason Maxiell sixth and Eric Hicks 29th in the individual rankings. The Bearcats recorded a season-high 13 blocks in their Dec. 27 win over Miami (Ohio) and had 10 blocks on four other occasions. Maxiell was responsible for six rejections vs. Miami and has twice matched his career high of seven blocks. UC has averaged 8.0 blocked shots over its last seven games, and Maxiell has averaged 4.4 blocks during that span.
WAY TO START: Cincinnati has won 13 of 15 jump balls the Bearcats have encountered this season. UC has captured the opening tip in 11 games, and captured the tipoffs of both overtime periods of its Nov. 24 victory over Northern Iowa. Jason Maxiell has been the jumper in each of the tipoffs.
MAXIELL REACHES MORE MILESTONES: Jason Maxiell?s 30 points in the Dec. 30 win over Longwood was the most by a Bearcat since Leonard Stokes tallied 31 vs. Louisville on Feb. 22, 2003.
? Maxiell, with 1,261 points, ranks 20th on the UC career scoring list.
? Maxiell has 207 career rejections, fifth on the C-USA career list and second to Kenyon Martin at UC.
HICKS IS HOT: Eric Hicks has averaged 14.5 points and 9.2 rebounds over his last six games, shooting .517 (31-of-60) from the field.
? He had career highs of 21 points and 17 rebounds in the Dec. 27 win over Miami (Ohio).
? Hicks tallied 18 points, matching his previous career high, in the Dec. 20 win over Jackson State, going 7-of-10 from the field.
? Hicks has taken over the team rebounding (9.1) lead.
ABSENCE DOESN?T CHILL KIRKLAND: Armein Kirkland was playing the best basketball of his college career when an ankle injury sidelined him for two games. The 6-8 junior had been the team?s scoring leader in four of the previous five contests, which included a career-high 23 points in the win over Dayton (12/4/04).
Kirkland returned to action during the Dec. 27 win over Miami (Ohio), and scored 18 points, sinking 4-of-5 treys. He had 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds in Thursday?s win over DePaul.
MOORE ASSISTS THE OFFENSE: Chadd Moore recorded career assists highs, dishing out nine in the Dec. 20 win over Jackson State and garnering 10 assists to go with 10 points?his first career double-double?in the Dec. 22 win over LaSalle. Moore has averaged 4.3 assists over his last six games to up his season average to 3.6. On the defensive end, he has made nine steals over his last six games.
MUHAMMAD TAKING CHARGE: Jihad Muhammad has wasted little time making an impact at Cincinnati. The junior college transfer, who has taken over the point guard duties, is the Bearcats? fourth-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points. He has also quickly become the team?s top long-distance scoring threat, with 29 treys in 78 attempts from behind the arc.
Muhammad tallied 23 points in the Nov. 24 win over Northern Iowa, keying UC?s late comeback by scoring 12 points in the final 6:46 of regulation. He turned in a four-point play, connecting on a 3-pointer and then adding a free throw, to tie the game at 56 with 1:23 to play and send it into overtime. He was 5-of-6 at the foul line in the second overtime to help clinch the victory.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cincinnati is back on the road next Wednesday with a visit to East Carolina on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. (WXIX-TV). UC returns to Fifth Third Arena to host No. 16 Louisville on Jan. 15 (CBS). Please note that the starting time of that contest has been changed to 1 p.m. EST.