TicketsNov. 14, 2005
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CINCINNATI vs. MURRAY STATE
GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati ................ 25-8 in 2004-05
Murray State:......... 17-11 in 2004-05
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford).
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
Tickets: Available, $22, $15, youth 12-and-under $15, 513-556-CATS or www.UCBearcats.com.
Series: First meeting.
The Coaches:
Andy Kennedy (UAB '91)
At Cincinnati: 1st year
Overall: 1st year
MICK CRONIN (Cincinnati '97)
At MSU: 45-17 (2 years)
Overall: 45-17 (2 years)
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will be seeking the 1,500th victory in the basketball program's storied history and the first win as a head coach for Andy Kennedy when the Bearcats open the 2005-06 season hosting Murray State on Saturday. Nov. 19. UC will also be putting its streak of 39 consecutive victories in home season openers on the line in the 7 p.m. contest at Fifth Third Arena.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS Preseason Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan, 6-6 Jr., Miami, Fla............ 4.0 pts, 3.0 reb, 1.5 blk
F 14 Eric Hicks, 6-6 Sr., Greensboro, N.C.......... 16.5 pts, 8.0 reb, 3.0 blk
F-G 33 Armein Kirkland, 6-8 Sr., Tyler, Texas........ 13.0 pts, 4.5 reb, 4.0 ast
G 21 James White, 6-7 Sr., Washington, D.C...... 17.0 pts, 2.0 reb, 2.5 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad, 5-11 Sr., Plainfield, N.J... 9.0 pts, 1.5 reb, 3.0 ast
MURRAY STATE PROBABLE STARTERS Preseason Statistics
F 22 Shawn Witherspoon, 6-5 Jr., Oviedo, Fla.... 17.0 pts, 5.0 reb, 4.0 ast
F 25 Justin Orr, 6-6 So., Cincinnati, Ohio............. 8.0 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.0 ast
C 44 Pearson Griffith, 6-10 Sr., St. Thomas, Barbados 14.0 pts, 8.0 reb, 2.0 blk
G 0 Trey Pearson, 6-2 Jr., South Fulton, Tenn.... 5.5 pts, 4.5 reb, 4.0 ast
G 10 Keith Jenifer, 6-2 Sr., Baltimore, Md............. 2.0 pts, 2.5 reb, 2.5 ast
STORY LINES:
The Bearcats will be shooting for their 1,500th victory in the history of the program when they entertain Murray State in the 2005-06 season opener on Saturday. Cincinnati has compiled an all-time record of 1,499-855 in 104 seasons of competition.
Cincinnati will be out to keep its streak of consecutive home season opening victories intact when hosting Murray State on Saturday. The Bearcats have won their last 39 home openers. UC's last loss in a home opener occurred in 1964-65 when Miami (Ohio) defeated the Bearcats, 65-55, at Cincinnati Gardens. Cincinnati is 84-19 in home openers.
Cincinnati brings a record of 85-19 in season opening games, both home and away, into Saturday's game. UC had a streak of 21 consecutive season opening victories snapped with a loss at Oklahoma State in 2001-02.
Interim head coach Andy Kennedy will be trying for his first victory as a head coach at any level in Saturday's contest. Following his professional playing career, Kennedy launched his coaching career as an assistant at South Alabama in 1994 and served as an assistant on the UAB staff for five seasons (1996-2001) before coming to Cincinnati.
Saturday's game will match two former University of Cincinnati assistant coaches. Mick Cronin, in his second season at Murray State, originally joined the Bearcat staff as the video coordinator in 1996 while completing his undergraduate degree. He served as assistant coach from 1997-2001. UC head coach Andy Kennedy joined the UC staff in 2001 following Cronin's departure to Louisville.
The UC-Murray State contest will mark the first time since the 1973-74 season that UC has faced a team coached by a former Bearcat. Tay Baker, who played at UC and was later head coach at his alma mater, was mentor at Xavier for six seasons, during which UC was 6-0 vs. the Muskies. Mick Cronin, a 1997 UC grad who launched his career as a Bearcat assistant coach, may be only the second Cincinnati grad to take a team against his alma mater.
Cincinnati native Justin Orr, an all-city selection and MVP of the Greater Catholic League South as a senior at LaSalle High, is a sophomore at Murray State.
NOTES FROM UC'S EXHIBITION GAMES:
The Bearcats displayed ample offense in their victories over Hillsdale (99-71) and Northern Kentucky (96-60). UC averaged 97.5 points in the two games, shooting .590 from the field and .490 from 3-point range.
Six Bearcats finished the exhibition season averaging double figures in scoring, all of whom shot well over .500 from the field. James White topped the list with his 17.0 average. Eric Hicks, a close second in scoring (16.5), was the top marksman from the field (.778).
UC averaged 19.0 assists in the two exhibition contest, with freshman Devan Downey leading the way with his 5.5 average.
The Bearcats posted an average rebounding margin of +3.0, UC's good shooting from the field eliminating the opportunity for offensive rebounds.
FOX 19 BEGINS TV COVERAGE: Saturday`s season opener will mark the beginning of WXIX-TV 19's extensive schedule of coverage of Bearcat basketball. Fox 19 will origininate 16 games and air two others from the BIG EAST Game of the Week syndicated package withe ESPN Regional. WXIX has been the local television home of Bearcat basketball for 22 of the past 25 years.
CHANGES IN THE ARENA: Fans attending Cincinnati home games will see some major changes in Fifth Third Arena. The a new scoreboard/videoboard has been hung over center court. The video display area is nearly 50 percent greater than that of the old unit. New video boards have been installed at each end of the arena. There are new courtside tables with video displays. The court has been resurfaced and contains the new UC and BIG EAST logos. Operationally, the game clock will be started and stopped by the officials via the Precision Timing system, and LED lighting behind the backboards will help signal the end of periods.
UC IN THE BIG EAST: Cincinnati makes its debut as a member of the expanded BIG EAST Conference this season after playing the past 10 years in Conference USA. In the preseason polls of both the league's coaches and media, the Bearcats were picked to finish ninth among the 16 teams. Senior Eric Hicks was an honorable mention selection to the BIG EAST preseason all-league team. The Bearcats have compiled a record of 131-96 for a .577 winning percentage against the current BIG EAST membership.
CONFERENCE DEBUTS GOOD FOR UC: The Bearcats can expect to enjoy success in their inaugural season in the BIG EAST, if the past is any precursor. Every time Cincinnati has begun play in a new conference, it has claimed the championship in that initial year. UC captured the Buckeye Athletic Association title in 1925-26, the Mid-American Conference championship in 1946-47, the Missouri Valley Conference crown in 1957-58, the Metro Conference Tournament championship in the league's first season of play in 1975-76, the regular season and tournament title in the Great Midwest Conference in 1991-92, and the regular season and tourney championships of Conference USA in 1995-96.
NINTH-WINNINGEST PROGRAM: Cincinnati has been college basketball's ninth-winningest program since the turn of the century. Over the past six years, the Bearcats have compiled a 152-45 record for an .772 percentage.
Cincinnati's 152 wins are the ninth-most among Division I teams over this period.
Cincinnati has won 25 or more games nine of the last 10 seasons.
The Bearcats have won a conference regular season and/or tournament title in 12 of the past 14 seasons, and six times during this period have claimed both during the same season.
UC's 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the third-longest active streak in Division I, trailing only Arizona (21) and Kansas (17).
ERIC'S SUMMER TRIP: Eric Hicks did not have your typical summer vacation. The Bearcats' senior forward helped the United States to the Gold Medal at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey. Hicks was one of 15 players invited to the USA Basketball Trials in Colorado Springs to participate in tryouts for the team in late July. He made the 12-player roster for the games and travelled to Turkey in August. Hicks averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds at the games, shooting .576 from the field. He had a team-leading 24 points in the 117-61 win over China.
VETERAN TEAMThe Bearcats will open the season with a combined total of 145 games of starting experience. For comparison, last year's team brought 160 games of starting experience into the 2004-05 campaign. The 2003-04 team had 108 games of starting experience while the 2002-03 team began with only 59 career starts.
105th CAMPAIGN: The 2005-06 season will be Cincinnati's 105th year of basketball competition. The school has compiled a 1,499-855 record for a .637 percentage.
BEARCATS STRONG IN 5/3 ARENA: Cincinnati enters its 17th season in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center with a 220-29 record a .884 winning percentage. UC is 56-6 in Fifth Third over the last four seasons, and compiled a 73-7 mark vs. Conference USA teams during its 10 years in that league.
BEARCATS NO. 1 AMONG CONFERENCE RULERS: Cincinnati shares with Valparaiso the distinction of having won the most conference regular season championships over the last 11 seasons. The Bearcats have been regular season champions nine times in the past 11 seasons, eight in Conference USA and once in the Great Midwest Conference.
UC'S DEFENSIVE REPUTATION: Cincinnati teams have earned a reputation for their defense and rebounding emphasis, and the success of last year's team is evidence of this. UC held its foes to a .373 field goal percentage to rank second in the nation. The Bearcats have held their opponents to sub-.400 shooting in eight of the past 10 seasons and have been annually ranked among the nation's teams in fewest points allowed.
TICKET UPDATE: Single game tickets to all University of Cincinnati men's basketball home games are on sale to the general public.
The tickets may be purchased by phone (513-556-CATS) or online via UC's athletic web site: www.UCBearcats.com, as well as in person at the Athletic Ticket Office at One Edwards Center. Ticket office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Single game tickets are priced at $22, $15 for the corner sections of Fifth Third Arena and $15 for youth 12 and under. Groups of 15 or more may qualify for a discounted ticket of $15 to selected games.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats open the regular season with four home games in 10 days. Following Saturday's opener vs. Murray State, Cincinnati hosts Illinois State on Nov. 22, Holy Cross on Nov. 25 and Dayton on Nov. 29.