TicketsBearcats Guard Against Upset vs. Pesky Pirates
Cincinnati shoots for third straight C-USA win.
Contact: Brian Teter
1/11/2005
CINCINNATI vs. EAST CAROLINA
GAME FACTS
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Williams Arena (8,000), Greenville, N.C.
Records:
Cincinnati (13USA/18AP): 13-1, 2-0 C-USA (tie-1st)
East Carolina: 5-9, 0-2 C-USA (tie-12th)
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford.
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
Tickets: Available at the site.
Series: Cincinnati leads, 6-0.
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2004 in Cincinnati; Cincinnati 80, East Carolina 57.
The Coaches:
? BOB HUGGINS (West Virginia ?77)
At Cincinnati: 16th year, 387-120 (.763)
Overall: 24th year, 555-192 (.743)
Huggins is the nation?s sixth-winningest active coach and is 12th in victories.
? BILL HERRION (Merrimack ?81)
At ECU: 6th year, 66-88 (.429)
Overall: 14th year, 233-159 (.594)
Herrion was 167-71 in eight seasons at Drexel, guiding the school to postseason play four times and earning league coach of the year honors four times. He is 0-5 vs. Cincinnati.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Jr., Tyler, Texas.....14.2 pts, 4.1 reb, 2.3 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Jr., Greensboro, N.C.......13.2 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.4 blk
F 54 Jason Maxiell, 6-7 Sr., Carrollton, Texas..15.6 pts, 8.4 reb, 3.4 blk
G 21 James White, 6-7 Jr., Kensington, Md.......10.1 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.5 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad, 5-11 Jr, Plainfield, N.J...11.2 pts, 3.2 reb, 2.5 ast
EAST CAROLINA PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 23 Corey Rouse, 6-8 Jr., Kinston, N.C..........9.6 pts, 9.6 reb, 0.7 stl
C 25 Moussa Badiane, 6-10 Sr., Les Ulis, France.11.9 pts, 7.5 reb, 3.0 blk
G 10 Japhet McNeil, 6-0 So., Brooklyn, N.Y.......6.1 pts, 3.6 reb, 4.1 ast
G 21 Tom Hammonds, Jr., 6-4 Fr., Roselle, N.J....7.4 pts, 2.0 reb, 0.9 ast
G 34 Mike Cook, 6-4 So., Philadelphia, Pa.......16.4 pts, 4.0 reb, 3.4 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will be out to guard against an upset when visiting East Carolina on Wednesday. Though the Bearcats have won all six previous meetings by an average margin of 17.2 points, the two prior games at Williams Arena have been close shaves, with UC winning by only an average of 8.0 points. Cincinnati, ranked No. 13 by ESPN/USA Today and No. 18 by the Associated Press, takes a 13-1 record into the 7 p.m. EST contest, which includes a 2-0 mark in Conference USA. The Bearcats defeated Saint Louis, 69-53, on Saturday. East Carolina, 5-9, will be seeking it first C-USA win in three tries. The Pirates lost at Charlotte, 72-60, on Saturday.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: Cincinnati climbed seven spots, to No. 13, in this week?s ESPN/USA Today poll and rose five spots to No. 18 in the Associated Press poll. In the computer ratings, UC is No. 10 in the Sagarin Index (1/10/05) and No. 28 in the RPI (1/10/05).
LAST TIME VS. EAST CAROLINA: James White scored 15 points and Jason Maxiell added 14 to pace Cincinnati to an 80-57 win over East Carolina on Jan. 28, 2004 in Cincinnati. The Bearcats blew the game open with a 14-1 scoring run late in the first half, while holding the Pirates to .328 shooting.
LAST TIME IN GREENVILLE: Leonard Stokes tallied 16 points to lift Cincinnati to a 59-53 win over East Carolina on Jan. 22, 2003 in Greenville. The Bearcats went scoreless from the field over the final 4:44 but made 10 of 11 free throws to clinch the win. UC got 27 of its 59 points from the bench.
STORY LINES:
? Wednesday?s game looms as a block party. Cincinnati senior Jason Maxiell is the leading shot blocker in Conference USA, averaging 3.4 rejections, but East Carolina senior Moussa Badiane is a close second, averaging 3.0. UC?s Eric Hicks is fourth at 2.4. Maxiell is ranked sixth nationally in blocks with Badiane 10th.
? Maxiell needs one more point to overtake Bearcat great Kenyon Martin and move into 19th place on Cincinnati?s career scoring list. Martin, who was the consensus choice as National Player of the Year in 1999-00, currently occupies 19th place, with 1,279 points.
? The Bearcats enter Wednesday?s contest as Conference USA?s top defensive team in fewest points allowed (59.8) and lowest defensive field goal percentage (.354). UC is ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
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 113-29 ledger (.796) 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 247-63 (.797) 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 SAINT LOUIS GAME:
? Armein Kirkland?s 22 points were one shy of his career high.
? Jihad Muhammad set a new career high with six assists. The junior complemented that by having no turnovers.
? The Bearcats? nine turnovers marked the third game this season in which UC has finished in single digits in miscues. Cincinnati?s season low is six turnovers, set in the opener vs. Valparaiso.
? Saint Louis became the fifth consecutive opponent which UC has held under the .400 mark in field goal percentage.
? Cincinnati equalled a season-low of .500 (6-of-12) at the foul line, while the FTs and attempts were both season lows.
BEARCAT BITES:
? Cincinnati has beaten 12 of its opponents by 10 or more points, and 11 of those foes by at least 16 points.
? The Bearcats have held 11 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 five games, UC foes have managed to shoot just .349 (106 of 304) from the field.
? Cincinnati has out-rebounded its opponents by an average margin of 11.0 rebounds over the past six 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 (.354).
? Eight of UC?s first 14 opponents appeared in postseason play in 2003-04.
KIRKLAND EARNS C-USA HONORS: Armein Kirkland became the first Bearcat to earn Conference USA Players of the Week honors after averaging 20.0 points in leading Cincinnati to a pair of C-USA victories last week. Kirkland scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the Jan. 6 win over DePaul, and tallied 22 points in the Jan. 8 win over Saint Louis. Kirkland shot .593 from the field and averaged 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the two games.
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 14 of 16 jump balls the Bearcats have encountered this season. UC has captured the opening tip in 12 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 1,278 points, ranks 20th on the UC career scoring list.
? Maxiell has 209 career rejections, fifth on the C-USA career list and second to Kenyon Martin at UC.
MAX RESPONDS: Jason Maxiell seems to play at his best when the game is on the line. In the Dec. 18 win over Northwestern State, after the Tigers had whittled Cincinnati?s lead to one point midway through the second half, the 6-7 senior scored all nine points in a 9-2 run which enabled the Bearcats to regain control of the game. Maxiell finished with 21 points, tying his season high. His other 21-point performance occurred in the Nov. 24 win over Northern Iowa, during which he also pulled down a career high-tying 15 rebounds. Maxiell sealed the victory with 1:03 remaining in the second overtime by stealing the ball and going in for a dunk which gave UC an insurmountable seven-point lead.
MAXIELL ON WOODEN, NAISMITH LISTS: Jason Maxiell has been named to the watch lists of both the John Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, both honoring college basketball?s player of the year. Maxiell was named to the John Wooden Award Preseason All-American team for the third year in a row. His selection marks 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. This is the first time Maxiell has earned early consideration for the Naismith Award, which Martin won in 2000.
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.
KIRKLAND FINDING THE MARK: Armein Kirkland is one of the hottest shooters and scorers in Conference USA. The junior from Tyler, Texas has averaged 20.0 points, shooting .593 (16-of-27) from the field, over his last two games. Kirkland has become a major scoring threat from the perimeter. He has shot .500 from 3-point range (12-of-24) over his last five games to up his season 3-point percentage to .468, fourth-best in Conference USA.
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 leads the Bearcats in assists, averaging 3.4. On the defensive end, he shares the team lead in steals (1.3).
MUHAMMAD TAKING COMMAND: Since regaining the starting assignment at point guard, Jihad Muhammad has shown that he is more comfortable running the Cincinnati offense. The junior college transfer has had 10 assists and four turnovers in his last two games, including a career-high six assists vs. Saint Louis (1/8/05). He tallied 16 points in the C-USA opener victory over DePaul and has averaged 11.0 points over his last two contests.
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 returns home to host No. 16 Louisville on Saturday. The 1 p.m. contest will be televised to half of the country by CBS. The Louisville contest is the first of three tough home games for the Bearcats. UC hosts C-USA rival Charlotte on Jan. 19 and No. 3 Wake Forest on Jan. 22.