TicketsDec. 1, 2005
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Bearcats Seek Rebound vs. Memphis
Date: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005
Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati: - 3-1
Memphis (9 AP/9 ESPN): - 5-1
TV: ESPN (Dave O'Brien, Rick Majerus).
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS - 2005-06 Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan......... 6-6 Jr. Miami, Fla.......................... 8.8 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks................... 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C............... 12.3 pts, 8.5 reb, 2.7 blk
F-G 33 Armein Kirkland........... 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas....................... 6.8 pts, 3.3 reb, 1.5 ast
G 21 James White.............. 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C............... 18.3 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.5 ast
G 3 Devan Downey........... 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C.................... 11.3 pts, 2.3 reb, 2.3 ast
MEMPHIS PROBABLE STARTERS - 2005-06 Statistics
F 4 Shawne Williams.......... 6-8 Fr. Memphis, Tenn................. 17.2 pts, 6.0 reb, 3.0 ast
F 10 Rodney Carney............ 6-7 Sr. Indianapolis, Ind................ 17.0 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.0 stl
F 32 Joey Dorsey................ 6-9 So. Baltimore, Md..................... 7.2 pts, 8.5 reb, 2.5 blk
G 12 Antonio Anderson......... 6-6 Fr. Lynn, Mass........................ 5.2 pts, 3.2 reb, 3.7 ast
G 35 Darius Washington....... 6-2 So. Winter Park, Fla.....15.2 pts, 2.4 reb, 3.3 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will attempt to rebound from Tuesday's loss to area rival Dayton against another longtime foe when the Bearcats host No. 9 Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Fifth Third Arena. The 3 p.m. EST game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Cincinnati brings a 3-1 record into the game following the 75-66 setback to the Flyers. Memphis raised its record to 5-1 following Wednesday's 97-70 win over Jackson State.
THE RIVALRY: Saturday's game will be the first between Cincinnati and Memphis in which conference standings are not at stake. The two schools have played 63 times as foes in the Missouri Valley, Metro, Great Midwest and Conference USA conferences, with UC holding a 36-27 lead in the series. The Bearcats have won eight of the last nine meetings and are 11-1 in games played in Fifth Third Arena.
LAST MEETING: James White corralled an offensive rebound and sank a jumper with 16.2 seconds to play to lift Cincinnati to a 62-60 win over Memphis at the FedEx Forum on March 5, 2005. White, who finished with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, hit the game-winner after Memphis' Darius Washington had tied the game with 51 seconds remaining. Jason Maxiell came up with a steal to end the Tigers' hopes of a game-winning shot.
LAST TIME IN CINCINNATI: Tony Bobbitt scored 20 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, to key Cincinnati's 83-79 win over Memphis on March 6, 2004 at Fifth Third Arena. Bobbitt's trey with 36 seconds to play gave UC an 81-79 lead. He iced the game with a pair of free throws with 19 seconds remaining. UC made 16 of 18 free throws and committed just six turnovers. Sean Banks tallied 28 points for the Tigers.
STORY LINES:
Memphis is the first Top 25-ranked foe to face the Bearcats this season and the highest-ranked opponent to enter Fifth Third Arena since No. 3 Wake Forest last season (Jan. 22, 2005). The Tigers are ranked No. 9 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.
A long-running Cincinnati streak will be on the line when the Bearcats host the Tigers on Saturday. UC has never lost back-to-back games in Fifth Third Arena in the 17-year history of the building. The Bearcats are 223-30 (.881) in the building since it became their home in 1989-90.
Cincinnati has suffered back-to-back losses (home and away) only seven times since the 1997-98 season.
Eric Hicks is closing in on his 600th career rebound. He enters Saturday's game with 593. With two more blocked shots, Hicks, who enters Saturday's game with 151 rejections, will move into third place on the UC career chart.
FANTASTIC FINISHES: Four of the last six Cincinnati-Memphis clashes have been decided in the final minute or in overtime, with the Bearcats claiming all four of those games.
Last year, James White hit a jumper with 16.2 seconds to play to give UC a 62-60 win.
In 2003-04, Tony Bobbitt's 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play lifted UC to a two-point lead in an eventual 83-79 win.
In 2001-02, Steve Logan drove the length of the court to score on a layup with two seconds to play to send the game into overtime, which UC won, 80-75.
Kenny Satterfield's jumper with .9 seconds left gave Cincinnati a 66-65 victory in 2000-01.
CINCINNATI-MEMPHIS SHOWDOWNS: Over the past 14 seasons, Cincinnati and Memphis have met in 11 contests which have determined league titles or tourney advancement.
Mar. 6, 2004 Final regular season game. Cincinnati clinches a tie for the C-USA title with an 83-79 win.
Mar. 3, 2002 Final regular season game. Cincinnati needed a win to clinch the C-USA title outright. Memphis would tie with a win. UC 80, Memphis 75, ot.
Mar. 9, 2001 Semifinals of C-USA Tournament in Louisville. UC 89, Memphis 79.
Feb. 29, 1996 Next-to-last regular season game. Teams were tied for best C-USA record. UC 71, Memphis 66. UC lost to Marquette two days later.
Mar. 10,1995 Semifinals of Great Midwest Conference tourney. UC 77, Memphis 66.
Mar. 2, 1995 Next-to-last regular season game. Memphis clinches Great Midwest title with an 83-73 win.
Mar. 12, 1994 Championship game of Great Midwest Tournament. UC 68, Memphis 47.
Mar. 13, 1993 Championship game of Great Midwest Tournament. UC 77, Memphis 72.
Mar. 7, 1992 Last game of regular season. UC clinches co-championship with a 69-59 win.
Mar. 14, 1992 Championship game of Great Midwest Tournament. UC 75, Memphis 63.
Mar. 29, 1992 NCAA Midwest Regional final. UC 88, Memphis 57.
NOTES FROM THE DAYTON GAME:
Dayton became the first team this season to shoot over .400 against Cincinnati. The Flyers, after shooting .607 in the first half, finished with a .491 percentage.
Cedric McGowan achieved a career scoring high with 13 points.
The Bearcat bench, which averaged 30.0 points over the previous two games, scored just eight points.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
The Bearcats are averaging 21.5 points, 29 percent of the team's scoring, from their bench. The UC subs scored a season-high 36 points in the Nov. 23 win over Illinois State.
UC is averaging 6.3 blocked shots over its last three games.
UC has held three opponents to sub-.400 field goal shooting. The Bearcats have posted sub-.400 defensive field goal percentages in eight of the past 10 seasons.
HICKS ON THE BLOCK: Eric Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 34 of his last 36 games. The 6-6 senior had a shot rejection in his first 20 games last season. Hicks has moved into fourth place in career blocks with 151, and needs two more blocks to reach third place, held by Donald Little (153, 1998-02).
WHITE'S SCORING CONSISTENT: James White not only leads Cincinnati in scoring, but he is tops in scoring consistency. The 6-7 senior tallied 21, 18 and 19 points in UC's first three games and has an 18.3 point scoring average. The production is a significant boost for White, who averaged 10.2 points last season and entered the campaign with an 8.1 career scoring average. White topped the 800-point mark in career scoring in Tuesday's game vs. Dayton.
FRESHMAN BREAKS THE LINEUP: Devan Downey broke into the starting lineup for the last two games, and in so doing, became the first freshman starter since Roy Bright last season (Dec. 27, 2004 vs. Miami, Ohio), and the first frosh to start in the backcourt since Chadd Moore on Jan. 2, 2003 vs. Chattanooga. Downey responded to the promotion with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals in his first outing vs. Holy Cross on Nov. 25. He vaulted into third place on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points, and is third in assists, averaging 2.3. The lightning-quick Downey leads UC in steals (2.5).
MORE ASSISTS FOR MUHAMMAD: Jihad Muhammad's responsibilities for handling the ball have been reduced for the senior this season, who is spending more time at shooting guard, contrary to last season when he was utilized at point guard. As a result of the move, the 5-11 senior has become a more effective passer and is the team co-leader in assists, averaging 2.5 per game.
CLOSE SHAVES THE NORM FOR COACHING DEBUTS: The overtime victory over Murray State in Andy Kennedy's debut as head coach should not have been a total surprise. Each of Cincinnati's previous two head coaches had similar nerve-racking beginnings. After trailing the entire contest, UC rallied in the final minute and a half to defeat Eastern Kentucky, 68-65, in Tony Yates' first game as the Bearcats' head coach in 1983-84. Bob Huggins' first game at UC, in 1989-90, was turned into a victory when Minnesota turned the ball over with 0.9 seconds remaining and Steve Sanders hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 66-64 victory.
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).
105th CAMPAIGN: The 2005-06 season is Cincinnati's 105th year of basketball competition. The school has compiled a 1,502-856 record for a .637 percentage.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD: UC will begin final exams on Monday, then return to action on Saturday, Dec. 10, with a game at Vanderbilt. It's the Bearcats' first road game of the year and will tip off at 6 p.m. EST.