Tickets2004-05 Season: Business as Usual for UC
Contact: Brian Teter
4/29/2005
Jason Maxiell led UC in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals. |
2004-05: BUSINESS AS USUAL
The 2004-05 basketball campaign was business as usual at the University of Cincinnati.
? The Bearcats posted a 25-8 record, marking the ninth time in the past 10 seasons that UC has reached or exceeded the 25-win mark.
? UC made its 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a streak bettered by only two other teams.
? Cincinnati, as the No. 7 seed, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tourney for the 12th time in those past 14 appearances before falling to No. 2 seed Kentucky in a classic renewal of the rivalry between the two schools.
? The Bearcats were ranked in the Top 25 of the final polls for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons, finishing No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and No. 25 by ESPN/USA Today?s coaches poll.
? Though UC fell short of winning its ninth Conference USA title in the 10-year history of the league, the Bearcats? 12-4 ledger for a runner-up finish marked the ninth season in which the team had reached double digits in league victories. UC closed out its reign of C-USA as the conference?s all-time winningest team with a 123-23 (.788) record, 22 games better than the second-best C-USA school, Memphis.
? Cincinnati continued to build on its tradition of defensive excellence. The Bearcats were the nation?s second-stingiest team in field goal percentage defense, allowing foes to shoot just .373 from the field.
? Despite having no regular on its front line taller than 6-7, UC was second nationally in blocked shots (6.8), with Jason Maxiell No. 17 (2.8) and Eric Hicks No. 33 (2.3) in the individual rankings.
? Maxiell closed his UC career ranked No. 11 on the all-time scoring list with 1,566 points. His 252 career blocks is second only to Kenyon Martin. His 908 rebounds is the ninth-highest career total at UC. Maxiell?s 129 consecutive games played is the second-longest streak by a Bearcat and serves as a testimony to the endurance and toughness with which he performed on a consistent basis.
? Bob Huggins continued to enhance his credentials as one of college basketball?s elite coaches. Huggins closed his 16th season at UC with a 399-127 record (.759). His 567-199 career record and .740 winning percentage ranks eighth among the nation?s active Division I head coaches in winning percentage and 11th in victories.
? The Bearcats also continued to bolster their academic record. Jason Maxiell and Jamaal Lucas completed their degrees at the end of Winter quarter with John Meeker on schedule to receive his degree at the end of the Spring term and Nick Williams to graduate next year. Over the past four years, 11 of the 17 Bearcat seniors have earned their degrees.
CINCINNATI IN THE NCAA: Cincinnati made its 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the school?s longest streak of consecutive NCAA berths, and the third-longest active streak in the nation, trailing only Arizona and Kansas. Overall, UC has made 24 treks to the NCAAs, where they have posted a 40-23 record. Cincinnati has won six regional championships, made six trips to the Final Four, posted two third place finishes, had one runner-up showing (1963), and won national titles in 1961 and 1962.
BEARCATS IN THE POLLS: After opening the season outside of the Top 25 for only the third time in the last 13 seasons, Cincinnati climbed back into the rankings in early December and was ranked in the final 16 weekly polls. UC finished No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and No. 25 in ESPN/USA Today. In the computer indexes, UC was No. 21 in the final Sagarin Index and No. 28 in the RPI.
SEASON NOTES:
? Jason Maxiell finished with 506 points, recording the 29th 500-point season in UC history. Twenty-one UC players have scored 500 or more points in a season.
? Maxiell?s 91 blocks in 2004-05 was the second-highest single season total by a Bearcat.
? The Bearcats established a school record for blocked shots with 226, eclipsing the mark of 223 set in 1999-00.
? Cincinnati played eight games against six teams in the 2005 NCAA Tournament field, compiling a 3-5 record. UC beat Charlotte, UAB, and Northern Iowa, while losing to Louisville (twice), Wake Forest, Charlotte and Illinois.
? Over the past 13 years, Cincinnati has posted a 59-27 record during the month of March, underscoring the Bearcats? reputation as a team which is primed for postseason. Since the 1957-58 season, when UC first qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Cincinnati has compiled a 119-62 (.657) ledger in games played in the month of March.
? Cincinnati posted victory margins of 10 or more points in 21 of its 25 wins and beat 16 of those foes by at least 16 points. UC ranked second in C-USA and 11th nationally in average scoring margin.
? The Bearcats held 22 opponents to sub-.400 shooting, nine to 32 percent or less. UC held five opponents, Detroit (.293), Jackson State (.239), Charlotte (.295), USF (.259) and Xavier (.298) under 30 percent.
? UC had four or more players reach double figures in scoring in 15 games this season. UC was 13-2 when that happened. Five players reached double digits in two games and six reached the twins mark in two other contests.
? The Bearcats won 27 of 35 jump balls, with Jason Maxiell doing all of the jumping. UC took the opening tip in 25 of its 33 contests and won both overtime jump balls.
? UC made more free throws (606) than its opponents attempted (598).
? Twenty of UC?s 33 foes appeared in postseason play in 2003-04.
? Five of the Bearcats losses were to ranked teams: No. 1 (Illinois), No. 3 (Wake Forest), No. 5 (Kentucky), No. 9 (Louisville) and No. 18 (Louisville) at the time the Bearcats played them.
HIGH FIVE: Cincinnati had five players average in double figures in scoring for all games (Maxiell, Hicks, Kirkland, Muhammad, White). Only five times in UC?s basketball history have Bearcat teams finished the season with five players scoring in double figures, the most recent the 1976-77 season when Robert Miller (14.2), Gary Yoder (13.6), Brian Williams (12.7), Mike Jones (12.2) and Steve Collier (12.0) accomplished the feat. The others occurred in 1956-57, 1955-56, 1954-55 and 1952-53.
TERRIFIC 25?S: Cincinnati reached the 25-win mark for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. UC has garnered 14 20-win seasons in the last 16 campaigns, and has 27 20-win seasons in school history.
BEARCATS TIE FOR SECOND: For only the second time in the league?s 10-year history, Cincinnati did not win or tie for the regular season Conference USA championship. The Bearcats finished in a tie with Charlotte for second place. UC has claimed all or a share of 26 conference basketball titles in its history, the seventh-most of any Division I institution.
KINGS OF C-USA: Cincinnati closed its reign of Conference USA as the winningest team in the history of Conference USA, both in league play and overall. The Bearcats compiled a 123-33 ledger (.788) in C-USA play, winning or sharing the regular season crown in all but two of those years. The Bearcats posted a 259-70 (.787) 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 14 seasons. UC has won either a regular season or tournament title in 12 of the past 14 seasons, and six times during that span, UC has claimed both during the same season.
UC HEADS TO THE BIG EAST: The Bearcats officially join the BIG EAST Conference on July 1, and beginning next season (2005-06), UC will be a member of the nation?s top basketball conference. The BIG EAST has produced two of the last three NCAA national champions, and the league will expand to 16 basketball teams next season with the addition of UC, Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, and USF.
2004-05 Season Recap
2004-05 Record 25-8
Conference USA 12-4
tie-second place
Conference USA Tournament 0-1
quarterfinals
NCAA Tournament 1-1
Austin Regional No. 7 Seed
Final Rankings
Associated Press 23rd
ESPN/USA Today 25th
RPI 28th
Sagarin Index 21st
All-Conference USA
Jason Maxiell second team
Eric Hicks third team
NABC All-District 10
Jason Maxiell first team
Eric Hicks second team
Bearcats Records
Overall 25-8
Home 16-2
Away 6-3
Neutral 3-3
Overtime 1-0
vs. Top 25 Teams 0-5
vs. Top 100 RPI 9-8
Conference USA 12-4
C-USA Home 7-1
C-USA Away 5-3
By the month
November 3-0
December 8-1
January 6-2
February 5-3
March 3-2
By the day
Sunday 0-0
Monday 2-0
Tuesday 0-0
Wednesday 6-1
Thursday 7-1
Friday 1-1
Saturday 9-5
By Color of Uniform
White 15-3
Black 7-4
Red 3-1