TicketsDec. 6, 2005
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UC vs. Vanderbilt
Date: Saturday, Dec. 10, 2005
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Site: Memorial Gym (14,168), Nashville, Tenn.
Records:
Cincinnati: 3-2
Vanderbilt: 5-0
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford)
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan 6-6 Jr. Miami, Fla. 8.6 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 12.8 pts, 9.6 reb, 2.2 blk
F-G 33 Armein Kirkland 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas 7.4 pts, 3.2 reb, 1.8 ast
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 18.0 pts, 4.8 reb, 2.4 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 11.8 pts, 2.2 reb, 2.2 ast
VANDERBILT PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 33 Julian Terrell 6-9 Sr. Nashville, Tenn. 10.6 pts, 8.0 reb, 2.2 blk
F 4 Derrick Byars 6-7 Jr. Memphis, Tenn. 11.2 pts, 3.6 reb, 3.8 ast
C 54 Ted Skuchas 6-11 Jr. Audubon, Penn. 7.4 pts, 4.8 reb, 1.2 ast
G 32 Shan Foster 6-6 So. Kenner, La. 16.6 pts, 2.4 reb, 2.2 ast
G 1 Mario Moore 5-11 Sr. Nashville, Tenn. 10.3 pts, 1.0 reb, 1.3 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati hits the road for the first time this season with a visit to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Dec. 10. The 6 p.m. EST contest will be the first for both teams following layoffs. The Bearcats, 3-2, have been idled by Autumn quarter exams following their 91-81 setback to Memphis on Dec. 3. After starting the season with three victories, UC is seeking to end a two-game losing skid. Vanderbilt, 5-0, has not played since a 76-75 win over Oregon on Nov. 30. The battrle vs. Oregon was out of the ordinary, in terms of closeness for Vandy, which has an average scoring margin of 16.4 points
LAST MEETING: All five Bearcat starters scored in double figures to lead Cincinnati to an 88-72 win over Vanderbilt on Dec. 9, 2004 in Fifth Third Arena. Armein Kirkland, with 19 points, and Jason Maxiell, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, paced UC, which shot .525 from the field. Uc erased a nine-point deficit with an 11-0 run midway through the first half to build a 46-31 halftime lead.
LAST TIME IN NASHVILLE: Clark Ballard scored 10 points and Carl Austing added seven to lead Cincinnati to a 46-20 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 5, 1935. Ten Bearcats reached the scoring column. It was UC's second win over Vanderbilt in a week. The two teams met in Cincinnati on Dec. 31, with the Bearcats notching a 47-20 win.
STORY LINES: Cincinnati enters Saturday's game having suffered back-to-back losses for only the eighth time since the 1997-98 season and for the first time ever at Fifth third Arena. The Bearcats have incurred three straight losses only three times during this span.
Eric Hicks is closing in on his 800th career point. The senior, who topped the 600-rebound plateau in last Saturday's game vs. Memphis, enters the Vanderbilt contest with 784 points.
Cincinnati will be seeking its first road victory vs. a Southeastern Conference foe since Dec. 9, 1995 when the Bearcats won at Arkansas, 82-67s. UC has faced only one SEC team on the road since, losing at South Carolina, 67-65, on Feb. 1, 1998.
NOTES FROM THE MEMPHIS GAME:
Eric Hicks, with 15 points and 14 rebounds, recorded his second double-double of the season and the 15th of his career.
Jihad Muhammad and Armein Kirkland, who entered the game shooting .263 and .243, respectively, showed signs of ending their early season slumps. Muhammad scored a season-high 17 points, going 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Kirkland was 4-of-8 from the field to finish with 10 points.
Memphis shot .524 from 3-point range, the highest by a UC opponent in Fifth Third Arena since USF shot .529 on Feb. 11, 2004. Antonio Anderson tied an arena record by an opponent with seven 3-point field goals.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
Cincinnati has shot .380 in its last two games, both losses, after posting a .425 field goal percentage in its three victories.
The Bearcats are averaging 20.6 points, 27 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 6.0 blocked shots over its last four 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.
MORE CHADD: Chadd Moore will be eligible to compete for the Bearcats for the first time this season when UC visits Vanderbilt. The Bearcat senior guard gave up basketball late last season due to chronic back problems. Not expecting to play again at UC, Moore played on a summer basketball league team with two current Bearcats, exceeding the limit imposed by NCAA rules. Feeling strong enough to try to resume his UC career, Moore rejoined the team this fall, but as a penalty for his summer league participation, was required to sit out the first five games of the season.
HICKS ON THE BLOCK: Eric Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 154, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 35 of his last 37 games. The 6-6 senior had a shot rejection in his first 20 games last season.
WHITE'S SCORING CONSISTENT: James White not only leads Cincinnati in scoring, but he is tops in scoring consistency. The 6-7 senior has had scoring performances of 21, 18, 19 and 17 points to date, giving him an 18.0 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 has topped the 800-point mark in career scoring.
FRESHMAN BREAKS THE LINEUP: Devan Downey broke into the starting lineup for the last three 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 contributed 14 points, two assists and a steal vs. Memphis last Saturday. Downey has vaulted into third place on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points, and is second in assists, averaging 2.2. The lightning-quick Downey leads UC in steals (2.2).
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.
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 returns to Fifth Third Arena to host Ohio University on Dec. 14. Tipoff is 8 p.m. It is the first of three straight home games on the Cincinnati schedule. The Bearcats will entertain Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17 and Arkansas-Monticello on Dec. 19, with both games to start at 7 p.m., and both games are part of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.