TicketsDec. 15, 2005
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GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati - 5-2
Tennessee Tech - 6-1
TV: WXIX-TV 19 (Jeff Piecoro, Anthony Buford) will produce the game, which will air on WBQC-TV (UPN 38).
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan......... 6-6 Jr. Miami, Fla.......................... 8.7 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks................... 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C............... 12.1 pts, 9.3 reb, 2.4 blk
F-G 33 Armein Kirkland........... 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas....................... 9.0 pts, 3.0 reb, 2.1 ast
G 21 James White.............. 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C............... 18.0 pts, 5.4 reb, 2.3 ast
G 3 Devan Downey........... 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C.................... 14.4 pts, 2.0 reb, 2.6 ast
TENNESSEE TECH PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 21 Derek Stribling............. 6-6 Sr. Winter Haven, Fla............. 13.4 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.0 ast
F 33 Francis Kabore............ 6-7 Jr. Burkina Faso, Africa........... 3.3 pts, 3.7 reb, 0.3 blk
F 42 Jonathan Jones............ 6-8 Jr. Tinton Falls, N.J................. 3.0 pts, 3.1 reb, 0.9 blk
G 22 Milone Clark................ 6-4 Sr. Gibson, N.C....................... 9.3 pts, 4.6 reb, 1.4 ast
G 24 Keyon Boyd................ 6-3 Sr. Marietta, Ga....................... 7.6 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.4 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to break up another opponent winning streak when the Bearcats host Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Dec. 17 in Fifth Third Arena. The 7 p.m. game is part of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. The Golden Eagles, 6-1, are riding a six-game win streak, their most recent win a 79-65 decision over Southeast Missouri State last Saturday. The Bearcats, who upped their record to 5-2 with Wednesday's 86-58 victory over Ohio University, have ended win streaks of five and four games in their last two outings against Vanderbilt and Ohio, respectively.
THE LAS VEGAS HOLIDAY CLASSIC: The Las Vegas Holiday Classic is an exempt tournament played in a round-robin format with opponents pre-determined. Following Saturday's game vs. Tennessee Tech, UC will face Arkansas-Monticello on Dec. 19 at Fifth Third Arena in a 7 p.m. contest. The teams will convene in Las Vegas for the final two rounds, in which Cincinnati will face Dayton on Dec. 22 and LSU on Dec. 23. Tipoff for both games is 10:30 p.m. EST at the Valley Sports Complex. UC was 3-1 in last year's Las Vegas Holiday Classic, losing to No. 1 Illinois in the title game.
LAST MEETING: Leonard Stokes rallied Cincinnati from a six-point deficit in the second half to a 54-48 win over Tennessee Tech in the 2002-03 season opener. Stokes scored 15 straight UC points over a seven-minute span and finished with 21 points. UC, which had endured a 9:38 scoring drought prior to Stokes' heroics, shot just .279 from the field for the game. Cameron Crips led Tennessee Tech with 16 points. The win upped UC's home opener win streak to 37. That streak has since reached 40.
STORY LINES:
Tennessee Tech head coach Mike Sutton will be making his first road game appearance of the season on Saturday. Sutton was stricken in April by Guillain-Barre's Syndrome, an inflamatory disorder of peripheral nerves which causes paralysis. Sutton is in a wheelchair as he rehabilitates from the condition.
Both Cincinnati and Tennessee Tech have suffered losses to Dayton, their only common opponent this season. UC dropped a 75-66 decision at home on Nov. 29. TTU lost at Dayton, 81-60, in its season opener on Nov. 18.
Cincinnati already has a win over an Ohio Valley Conference team this season. The Bearcats defeated Murray State, 79-75 in overtime, in their season opener, to up their all-time record vs. OVC teams to 32-3.
Armein Kirkland will be seeking his 400th career rebound. He enters the game with 391.
STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati has ended modest win streaks of its last two opponents. In fact, the Bearcats were responsible for the first loss of the season for both of those foes. UC ended Vanderbilt's unbeaten start at five games with a 92-83 win over the Commodores on Dec. 10. The Bearcats also snapped Vandy's 28-game home non-conference win streak. Cincinnati halted Ohio's 4-0 start with an 86-58 win on Dec. 17.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: Though not receiving any votes in the weeky polls, Cincinnati is attracting notice in the computer rankings. The Bearcats are ranked No. 10 in the RPI, following Wednesday's win over Ohio, and are No. 20 in the Sagarin Index.
BEARCATS ARE PLAYING THE BEST: One reason for Cincinnati's lofty rankings in the computer indexes is the team's schedule. UC had the top strength of schedule ranking in the RPI following Wednesday's victory over Ohio. The seven opponents UC has faced to date have a combined won-loss record of 35-14 (.714). Things will not get any easier in the near or far futures. The Bearcats' next five foes had a combined record of 19-7 (.731) following the games of Dec. 14. UC's BIG EAST Conference schedule includes four games against teams ranked in the top four of this week's polls.
NOTES FROM THE OHIO GAME:
Cincinnati shot a season-high .507 from the field, accomplishing that by making 20 of 32 field goal tries for a .625 percentage in the second half.
The Bearcats recorded season bests of 14 steals, 17 assists, only 10 turnovers and 12 personal fouls.
Ohio, which entered the game ranked 28th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting .466, managed to shoot just .323 vs. UC.
Cincinnati had a direct effect in 16 of Ohio's 18 turnovers, coming up with 14 steals and forcing two shot clock violations.
Freshman Devan Downey posted career highs of 24 points and five assists and matched his personal best in steals with four.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
The Bearcats have righted their shooting slump by posting a .496 field goal percentage over the last two games, including a season-high .507 vs. Ohio on Dec. 14.
UC has averaged 89.0 points over its last two contests.
Cincinnati has shot .454 from the field in its five victories and .380 in its two defeats. From 3-point range, the Bearcats have shot .344 in their wins and .256 in their losses.
The Bearcats are averaging 20.2 points, 26 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.
Cincinnati has held four opponents under the .400 mark in field goal percentage. UC has posted sub-.400 defensive field goal percentages in six of the last eight seasons, and has limited foes to .392 shooting this year.
DOWNEY MAKES A STATEMENT: In his first game after earning BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week honors, Cincinnati freshman Devan Downey showed that additional honors are forthcoming. Downey scored a career-high 24 points in Wednesday's win over Ohio (12/14/05). He was 10-of-16 from the field, and also posted a career-high five assists. Downey, who was making his fifth start at point guard, sparked the team with his defensive play. He matched his personal best with four steals, many leading directly to baskets in UC's transition game.
Downey is UC's second-leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (2.6) and steals (2.7).
DOWNEY EARNS ROOKIE HONORS: Cincinnati freshman Devan Downey earned BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week honors for his efforts in the Bearcats' 92-83 victory over Vanderbilt. The 5-10 point guard scored 18 points, 16 in the second half of Saturday's win, and tied a career high with four steals. Downey also held Vanderbilt senior Mario Moore, a preseason All-Southeastern Conference selection, to five points, half of his season average.
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. He has scored in double digits in all seven games this season while shooting .513 from the field. 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.
CHADD's BACK: Chadd Moore returned to action for the first time since Feb. 24 last season when he played 22 minutes in last Saturday's victory over Vanderbilt, and played 19 minutes in Wednesday's win over Ohio. The Bearcat senior guard gave up basketball late last season due to chronic back problems, but made significant recovery over the summer to give the sport one more try. Moore, who scored nine points vs. Vanderbilt and six vs. Ohio, has been credited with his defensive play. Moore, who because he was not expecting to play again at UC played on a summer basketball league team without proper approval, was required to sit out the first five games of the season.
HICKS ON THE BLOCK: Eric Hicks recorded a season-high five blocked shots in Wednesday's win over Ohio, giving him 17 blocks over his last six games. Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 160, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 37 of his last 39 games. The 6-6 senior had a shot rejection in his first 20 games last season.
FOUL PLAY: Cincinnati has shot .771 at the foul line over its first seven games. James White leads UC's free throw marksmen with his .892 percentage (33-of-37). Devan Downey is shooting .833 (30-of-36). Even Eric Hicks is getting into the act. A .569 career foul shooter, Hicks has shot .724 this season.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats play host to Arkansas-Monticello on Monday, Dec. 19, in a 7 p.m. contest which is part of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. Cincinnati will depart for Las Vegas for the finals of the round-robin tournament. UC will face Dayton on Dec. 22 and LSU on Dec. 23, with both games starting at 10:30 p.m. EST.