TicketsBearcats Face Tulane with Eye on Scoreboard
UC tries to keep on pace for first round tourney bye.
Contact: Brian Teter
3/1/2005
CINCINNATI vs. TULANE
Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati (22USA/24AP): 22-6, 10-4 C-USA (tie-3rd)
Tulane: ..... 9-16, 3-11 C-USA (13th)
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford).
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
Tickets: Available.
Series: Cincinnati leads, 20-13.
Last Meeting: Jan. 7, 2004 in New Orleans; Cincinnati 71, Tulane 44.
The Coaches:
? BOB HUGGINS (West Virginia ?77)
At Cincinnati: 16th year, 396-125 (.760)
Overall: 24th year, 564-197 (.741)
Huggins is the nation?s eighth-winningest active coach and is 11th in victories. He is 12-1 vs. Tulane
? SHAWN FINNEY (Fairmont St. ?85)
At Tulane: 4th year, 59-84 (.413)
Overall: 4th year, 59-84 (.413)
Finney previously spent 14 years as a college assistant, the last three at Kentucky before taking over at Tulane. He is 0-3 vs. Cincinnati.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics F 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Jr., Tyler, Texas........... 11.1 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.4 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Jr., Greensboro, N.C............. 13.9 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.4 blk
F 54 Jason Maxiell, 6-7 Sr., Carrollton, Texas....... 15.3 pts, 7.8 reb, 2.8 blk
G 5 Nick Williams, 6-3 Sr., Arlington, Texas.......... 8.7 pts, 2.4 reb, 1.8 ast
G 21 James White, 6-7 Jr., Kensington, Md.......... 10.4 pts, 4.6 reb, 3.2 ast
TULANE PROBABLE STARTERS 2004-05 Statistics
F 22 Kory Castine, 6-8 So., Marrero, La................. 2.2 pts, 2.6 reb, 0.9 ast
F 25 Matt Wheaton, 6-5 Fr., Houston, Texas.......... 3.4 pts, 2.3 reb, 0.6 ast
F 50 Quincy Davis, 6-9 Jr., Los Angeles, Calif...... 13.8 pts, 6.1 reb, 1.6 blk
G 10 Taylor Rochestie, 6-1 Fr., Santa Barbara, Calif. 10.6 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.5 ast
G 11 Marcus Kinzer, 5-10 Sr., Nashville, Tenn...... 10.3 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.4 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to stay in contention for a first round bye in next week?s Conference USA Tournament when it hosts Tulane on Wednesday. The Bearcats, 22-6, enter the 8 p.m. contest at Fifth Third Arena tied with DePaul for third place in C-USA, both teams sporting 10-4 records. With co-leaders Louisville and Charlotte having already clinched byes, UC is battling DePaul, Houston, Memphis and UAB for the final two spots. Tulane, 9-16, will be fighting to try to get into the C-USA tourney. The Green Wave is in 13th place with only the top 12 teams advancing to the tournament.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: Cincinnati was No. 22 in last week?s ESPN/USA Today poll and No. 24 in the Associated Press poll, the 13th straight week UC has been ranked this season. In the computer ratings, UC is No. 17 in the Sagarin Index (2/28/05) and No. 17 in the RPI (2/28/05).
LAST TIME VS. TULANE: Tony Bobbitt scored 18 points and the Cincinnati defense posted lows of 44 points allowed and a .288 field goal percentage defense in a 71-44 win over Tulane on Jan. 7, 2004 in New Orleans. UC scored the last six points of the first half and put the game away with a 15-2 run midway through the second half. Vytas Tatarunas led Tulane with 15 points.
LAST TIME IN CINCINNATI: Leonard Stokes scored a season-high 30 points to lead a 77-54 win over Tulane on Jan. 18, 2003 in Fifth Third Arena. UC shot .519 from the field and outrebounded the Green Wave, 31-24. Waitari Marsh was Tulane?s top scorer with 16 points.
STORY LINES:
? Four Bearcat seniors will be playing their final games at Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday. Jason Maxiell, Nick Williams, Jamaal Lucas and John Meeker will be recognized in pregame ceremonies. Maxiell, Lucas and Meeker have each been in the program for four years.
? Jason Maxiell, who enters the game with 1,488 career points, needs 10 more points to move into 11th place on UC?s career scoring list, currently held by Robert Miller (1975-78).
? UC is 72-7 in Fifth Third Arena in C-USA play and has an all-time record of 219-29 (.883) in the venue.
? The Bearcats have an all-time record of 713-189 (.790) in games played on 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 venues.
? Cincinnati and Tulane have played 10 common opponents. Cincinnati is 9-4 vs. those teams while Tulane is 3-10.
? Barring a matchup in the C-USA tourney, Wednesday?s game could be the last Cincinnati-Tulane meeting for some time. Next year, the Bearcats move to the BIG EAST Conference.
RECAPPING THE TCU GAME:
? The Bearcats shot .612 from the field, their highest field goal percentage since Cincinnati shot .625 in a 75-65 win over Louisville on Jan. 27, 2000 (160 games). UC shot .700 in the second half of the win over TCU.
? UC had assists on 23 of its 30 baskets. Nick Williams tied a career high with six assists.
? Cincinnati recorded 10 blocked shots, the eighth game this season in which the team has had double figures in blocks.
? The Bearcats? 22 turnovers tied a season high. UC has averaged 18.0 turnovers over its last three games.
? Jihad Muhammad came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points, one point shy of his career high, which he set in November.
? Jason Maxiell, with 11 points and 11 rebounds, notched his third straight double-double, his seventh of the season and 21st of his career.
? Jamaal Lucas played a career-high 28 minutes.
BEARCAT BITES:
? Cincinnati has posted victory margins of 10 or more points in 19 of its 22 wins and has beaten 15 of those foes by at least 16 points. UC is second in C-USA and 11th nationally in average scoring margin.
? After suffering a slight slump, during which they shot .657 at the foul line over a five-game period, the Bearcats have posted a free throw percentage of .785 in their last four games, all wins.
? UC has averaged 16.8 assists over its last four games. The Bearcats have had an assist on 67 of their 104 field goals during this span, a .644 percentage.
? The Bearcats have held 19 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 14 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. 2 nationally in field goal percentage defense (.368) and No. 3 in blocked shots (7.1).
? UC has posted an average rebounding margin of +11.3 over its last four games. Cincinnati is second in C-USA in rebounding margin (+4.4).
? The Bearcats have won 25 of 30 jump balls, with Jason Maxiell doing all of the jumping. UC has taken the opening tip in 23 of its 28 contests and won both overtime period jump balls.
? UC has made more free throws (537) than its opponents have attempted (505).
? Seventeen of UC?s 28 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. 21 Charlotte, and the loss to 16-7 DePaul, the combined record of the five teams to beat the Bearcats is 125-20.
TERRIFIC 20?S:
? The Bearcats have clinched their 14th 20-win season in the last 16 campaigns and their 27th 20-win season in school history. Since 1955, UC has advanced to postseason play in every season in which it reached or exceeded the 20-win mark, appearing in 21 NCAA Tournaments and three NITs.
? Cincinnati has won nine or more games in C-USA play in each of the 10 seasons of the league?s existence, the only team to do so.
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 121-33 ledger (.786) in C-USA play, winning or sharing the regular season crown in all but one of those years. The Bearcats have posted a 256-68 (.790) 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.
MAX?S MILESTONES: Jason Maxiell continues to rack up milestones:
? Maxiell has averaged 16.7 points over his last seven games, shooting .6031 from the field.
? He has reached double figures in rebounding in each of his last three contests.
? The 6-7 senior is in 12th place on UC?s career scoring list with 1,488 points and 15th on the all-time C-USA list.
? Max has played in 124 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Cincinnati history.
? Maxiell?s 240 career blocks ranks second at UC to Kenyon Martin and fourth in C-USA.
? He ranks fourth in C-USA in career rebounds with 873, recently passing former Bearcat great Kenyon Martin (869).
HICKS A HERO: Eric Hicks has been one of Cincinnati?s most productive players in recent weeks:
? The 6-6 junior has averaged 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds over the last eight games, shooting .621 (54-of-87) from the field.
? Has reached double digits in rebounding in three of his last six games.
? Has scored in double figures 19 times, including nine of his last 11 games.
? Hicks ranks third in C-USA and 27th nationally in rejections (2.4).
? He ranks fourth in C-USA and 29th nationally in rebounds (8.9).
? 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.
UC?S POINT FORWARD: James White, a forward by trade, is Cincinnati?s assist leader. The 6-6 junior has averaged 3.9 assists over his last seven games to boost his season average to 3.2. White ranks eighth in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.68:1).
BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati leads Conference USA and is ranked third nationally in blocked shots (7.1). Jason Maxiell leads C-USA and is 15th nationally in blocks (2.8), with Eric Hicks (2.4) third in C-USA and 27th nationally. The Bearcats recorded a season-high 13 blocks in their Dec. 27 win over Miami (Ohio) and have had 10 or more blocks in eight games this season. Maxiell has had five or more rejections in six games this year, highlighted by a career-high eight blocks vs. Houston on Jan. 29. As a team, UC has 200 rejections.
DIFFERENT LOOK: UC has started new lineups in six of its last seven games and has used 11 different lineups this season. Jason Maxiell, Eric Hicks and Nick Williams have been staples in the lineup during the recent changes. Others who have rotated into the starting five are Armein Kirkland, James White, Jihad Muhammad, Chadd Moore and Jamaal Lucas.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats close out regular season play on Saturday, March 5 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. The 4 p.m. EST game will be telvised nationally by ESPN. Next week?s C-USA Tournament, March 9-12, will also be held in Memphis.