TicketsUC Tries to Keep Pace in C-USA vs. UAB
Bearcats enter Saturday's game in fifth place.
Contact: Brian Teter
2/17/2005
Jihad Muhammad broke out of a shooting slump with 15 points in Wednesday's win over Southern Miss. |
CINCINNATI vs. UAB
GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005
Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati (21USA/24AP): 19-6, 7-4 C-USA (5th)
UAB: 16-8, 6-5 C-USA (tie-7th)
TV: ESPN (Dave O?Brien, Jason Williams).
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
Tickets: Student tickets available.
Series: Cincinnati leads, 13-7.
Last Meeting: Feb. 18, 2004 in Birmingham; UAB 80, Cincinnati 69.
The Coaches:
? BOB HUGGINS (West Virginia ?77)
At Cincinnati: 16th year, 393-125 (.759)
Overall: 24th year, 561-197 (.740)
Huggins is the nation?s eighth-winningest active coach and is 11th in victories. He is 12-6 vs. UAB.
? MIKE ANDERSON (Tulsa ?82)
At UAB: 3rd year, 59-31 (.656)
Overall: 3rd year, 59-31 (.656)
Anderson directed the Blazers to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and was named C-USA Coach of the Year. He is 1-1 vs. Cincinnati.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Jr., Tyler, Texas......11.2 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.3 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Jr., Greensboro, N.C........14.3 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.4 blk
F 54 Jason Maxiell, 6-7 Sr., Carrollton, Texas...15.2 pts, 7.5 reb, 2.8 blk
G 5 Nick Williams, 6-3 Sr., Arlington, Texas.....8.0 pts, 2.4 reb, 1.7 ast
G 21 James White, 6-7 Jr., Kensington, Md........10.4 pts, 4.8 reb, 3.2 ast
UAB PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 5 Marques Lewis, 6-8 Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.......9.3 pts, 5.0 reb, 0.8 stl
F 23 Demario Eddins, 6-7 Jr., Chicago, Ill.......12.0 pts, 4.9 reb, 1.5 stl
G 0 Cardell Johnson, 5-10 Jr., New Orleans, La...4.0 pts, 2.2 reb, 4.6 ast
G 1 Donell Taylor, 6-6 Sr., Montgomery, Ala.....15.3 pts, 4.4 reb, 3.2 ast
G 5 Marvett McDonald, 6-2 Jr., Memphis, Tenn....10.3 pts, 2.5 reb, 1.7 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to keep pace in the Conference USA race when it plays host to UAB on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST. The Bearcats (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 24 AP), 19-6 overall, enter the game alone in fifth place with a 7-4 league record, trailing co-leaders Louisville and Charlotte by two games. UC broke out of a three-game C-USA losing streak with an 83-51 rout of Southern Miss on Wednesday. UAB, 16-8, is tied for seventh place with a 6-5 mark. The Blazers have dropped their last three contests, the most recent a 67-64 upset to East Carolina at home on Wednesday.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: Cincinnati is No. 21 in this week?s ESPN/USA Today poll and No. 24 in the Associated Press poll, the 12th straight week UC has been ranked this season. In the computer ratings, UC is No. 19 in the Sagarin Index (2/17/05) and No. 22 in the RPI (2/17/05).
LAST TIME VS. UAB: UAB beat Cincinnati at its own game?pressure defense and bench support, in defeating the Bearcats, 80-69, on Feb. 18, 2004 in Birmingham. The Blazers staged a 13-0 scoring run late in the second half to take a 13-point lead at intermission. Though UC outshot UAB, .440 to .393, and outrebounded the Blazers by 16, they could never recover. Mo Finley led UAB with 13 points. Jason Maxiell tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds for UC.
LAST TIME IN CINCINNATI: Leonard Stokes celebrated Senior Night with a 23-point, 12-rebound performance to lead Cincinnati to an 87-70 victory over UAB on March 5, 2003 at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats staged an 18-1 scoring run early in the second half to take command of the contest. Armein Kirkland scored a then-career-high 18 points. Mo Finley led the Blazers with 24 points.
STORY LINES:
? The Bearcats will seek their 27th 20-win season and their 14th in the last 16 seasons when they face UAB on Saturday.
? A victory over UAB would also assure Cincinnati a berth in the Conference USA Tournament. Only the top 12 of the league?s 14 teams advance to the tournament and a win would assure that UC would finish with a better record than at least two teams.
? The Bearcat defense will be tested by one of C-USA?s top offensive teams. UAB is ranked second in scoring offense (79.8) and is second in field goal percentage (.457). Cincinnati is fourth in scoring defense (63.6) and first in both C-USA and nationally in field goal percentage defense (.365). The Bearcats are also second nationally and first in C-USA in blocked shots (7.2).
? UAB leads the nation in steals, averaging 12.1 thefts per game. The Blazers could be cited as having the best guard play in C-USA, leading the league in assists (16.3), steals, turnover margin (+7.6, and assist/turnover ratio (1.20:1).
? Cincinnati has won six straight games over UAB in Fifth Third Arena and are 7-1 vs. UAB in the building. UC is 70-7 in Fifth Third Arena in C-USA play and has an all-time record of 217-29 (.882) in the venue.
? Cincinnati and UAB have played five common opponents. Both teams have 4-3 records vs. these foes.
? The Bearcats have an all-time record of 711-189 (.790) in games played on its campus. Cincinnati compiled a 247-29 (.894) record in Armory Fieldhouse, which borders the north wall of Fifth Third Arena, and was 247-131 in other gyms.
? Cincinnati associate head coach Andy Kennedy was UAB?s No. 2 all-time leading scorer when he concluded his playing career in 1991. He served as a Blazer assistant coach for five seasons before joining the UC staff in 2001.
? Bearcat backup point guard Chadd Moore is an Alabama native. The 6-2 junior was a first team all-state honoree as a senior at Lee High in Huntsville.
? Jason Maxiell, who enters Saturday?s game with 1,441 career points, needs 10 points to reach 12th place on Cincinnati?s career scoring list, currently held by Dwight Jones (1979-82).
RECAPPING THE SOUTHERN MISS GAME:
? The Bearcats shot .525 from the field to match their season high, which they established in a mid-December win over Vanderbilt.
? UC shot .421 from 3-point range, a dramatic improvement over the .294 the Bearcats had shot from behind the arc in their previous six games. Cincinnati, which had shot just .636 at the foul line during the same span, made 13-of-16 free throws for a .813 percentage.
? In shooting .525 from the field, UC recorded its first back-to-back .500 shooting performances (the Bearcats shot .510 at DePaul last Saturday) since last season when they achieved the feat vs. Saint Louis (2/25/04) and Charlotte (2/28/04).
? Cincinnati outrebounded Southern Miss, 44-19. The Bearcats? +25 rebound margin is their largest of the season.
? Eric Hicks, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, recorded his 10th career double-double and seventh of the season.
BEARCAT BITES:
? Cincinnati has posted victory margins of 10 or more points in 17 of its 19 wins and has beaten 15 of those foes by at least 16 points. UC is second in C-USA and 17th nationally in average scoring margin.
? The Bearcats have held 17 opponents to sub-.400 shooting, nine to 32 percent or less. UC has held five opponents, Detroit (.293), Jackson State (.239), Charlotte (.295), USF (.259) and Xavier (.298) under 30 percent.
? UC has had four or more players reach double figures in scoring in 12 games this season. Five players have reached double digits in two games and six reached the twins mark in two other contests.
? Cincinnati is ranked No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage defense (.365) and No. 2 in blocked shots (7.2).
? The Bearcats have won 22 of 27 jump balls, with Jason Maxiell doing all of the jumping. UC has taken the opening tip in 20 of its 25 contests and won both overtime period jump balls.
? UC has made more free throws (466) than its opponents have attempted (447).
? The Bearcats have five players with double-figure scoring averages, Jason Maxiell (15.2), Eric Hicks (14.3), Armein Kirkland (11.2), James White (10.4) and Jihad Muhammad (10.0).
? Fifteen of UC?s 25 opponents appeared in postseason play in 2003-04.
? Four of the Bearcats losses were to ranked teams: No. 1 (Illinois), No. 3 (Wake Forest), No. 9 (Louisville) and No. 18 (Louisville) at the time the Bearcats played them, and including the one-point loss at now No. 23 Charlotte, and the loss to 16-6 DePaul, the combined record of the five teams to beat the Bearcats is 118-22.
KINGS OF C-USA: Cincinnati is the winningest team in the history of Conference USA, both in league play and overall. The Bearcats have compiled a 118-33 ledger (.781) in C-USA play, winning or sharing the regular season crown in all but one of those years. The Bearcats have posted a 253-68 (.788) 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.
BEARCATS COLLEGE BASKETBALL?S NO. 10 PROGRAM: The University of Cincinnati's rich basketball history, tradition and success has been recognized with the naming of UC as college basketball's No. 10 program of all time. The ranking was done by Street & Smith's in its latest publication, Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time. The rankings were based on over 100 years of men's basketball history, using the criteria: NCAA and NIT Tournament performance, conference success, and all-time winning percentage. Other factors considered were first round NBA draft picks, graduation rates, NCAA infractions and mascot ferocity. Among its accomplishments, Cincinnati made a then-unprecedented five consecutive trips to the Final Four (1959-63), won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962 and was runner-up in 1963, has six total Final Four appearances, boasted college basketball's first three-time national scoring leader (and one of only two) in Oscar Robertson, who concluded his career in 1960 as the sports top career scorer, and two national players of the year in Robertson and Kenyon Martin.
HICKS A HERO: Eric Hicks has been one of Cincinnati?s most productive players in recent weeks:
? Hicks has been the team?s leading scorer over the past eight games (18.1).
? The 6-6 junior has averaged 19.4 points and 9.2 rebounds over the last five games, shooting .689 (42-of-61) from the field.
? Hicks ranks third in C-USA and 24th nationally in rejections (2.4).
? His defensive performance was credited with the effort that limited C-USA scoring leader Quemont Greer to 12 points, 10 under his average, in the Jan. 6 win over DePaul.
? Hicks held USF?s Terrence Leather, C-USA?s No. 3 scorer, scoreless in the Jan. 27 win over the Bulls.
MAX?S MILESTONES: Jason Maxiell continues to rack up milestones:
? The 6-7 senior is in 13th place on UC?s career scoring list with 1,441 points and 15th on the all-time C-USA list.
? Max has played in 121 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Cincinnati history.
? Maxiell?s 232 career blocks ranks second at UC to Kenyon Martin and fourth in C-USA.
? He ranks sixth in C-USA in career rebounds with 838.
UC?S POINT FORWARD: James White, a forward by trade, is Cincinnati?s assist leader. The 6-6 junior has averaged 4.8 assists over his last four games to boost his season average to 3.2. White has also been a productive scorer, averaging 13.2 points over his last five games while shooting .532 (25-of-47) from the field.
BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati leads Conference USA and is ranked second nationally in blocked shots (7.2). Jason Maxiell leads C-USA and is 11th nationally in blocks (2.8), with Eric Hicks (2.4) third in C-USA and 24th nationally. The Bearcats recorded a season-high 13 blocks in their Dec. 27 win over Miami (Ohio) and had 10 or more blocks on six other occasions. Maxiell has had five or more rejections in six games this year, highlighted by a career-high eight blocks vs. Houston on Jan. 29.
DIFFERENT LOOK: UC has started new lineups in each of its last four games and has now used 10 different lineups this season. In Wednesday?s win over Southern Miss, senior Jamaal Lucas made only the third start of his career, joining Jason Maxiell, Eric Hicks, James White and Nick Williams in the lineup. Against DePaul on Feb. 12, Chadd Moore made his first start in 11 games, joining Maxiell, Hicks, White and Williams. Armein Kirkland was inserted into the starting lineup for the Xavier contest on Feb. 10.
MAXIELL?S AWARDS LIST: 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. Additionally, the 6-7 senior from Carrollton, Texas is one of 30 college basketball seniors nominated for the fourth annual Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, honoring the nation?s top senior player. Maxiell was named to the Conference USA preseason all-league team for the third straight year.
KIRKLAND EARNS C-USA HONORS: Armein Kirkland became the first Bearcat to earn Conference USA Player of the Week honors (Jan. 10) after averaging 20.0 points in leading Cincinnati to a pair of C-USA victories over DePaul and Saint Louis. 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.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats? homestand continues next Thursday, Feb. 24 when Cincinnati hosts Marquette. The 9 p.m. EST contest will be televised nationally by ESPN2. UC hits the road for a Saturday, Feb. 26 game at TCU (3 p.m. EST, ESPN Plus/WXIX-TV 19).