TicketsDec. 19, 2005
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UC vs. Ark.-Monticello
Date: Monday, Dec. 19, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati: 6-2
Arkansas-Monticello: 4-2
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. 9.1 pts, 6.6 reb, 0.9 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 13.0 pts, 9.0 reb, 2.8 blk
F-G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 18.1 pts, 5.8 reb, 2.4 ast
G 1 Chadd Moore 6-2 Sr. Huntsville, Ala. 6.3 pts, 2.3 reb, 1.7 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 14.6 pts, 2.6 reb, 3.4 ast
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 11 Torre Doty 6-5 Jr. Austin, Texas 4.0 pts, 2.0 reb, 0.5 ast
F 21 Brandon Mayweather 6-4 Sr. Crossett, Ark. 5.5 pts, 5.7 reb, 1.0 ast
C 24 Billy McDaniel 6-7 Sr. Hearne, Texas 16.2pts, 8.0 reb, 1.7 ast
G 23 Nate Newell 6-4 Jr. Monticello, Ark. 20.8 pts, 3.5 reb, 4.3 ast
G 25 MJumbe Williams 6-0 Jr. Compton, Calif. 11.5 pts, 4.7 reb, 4.3 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will seek its second victory in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic when the Bearcats host Arkansas-Monticello on Monday, Dec. 19. Tipoff is 7 p.m. UC launched play in the round-robin four-game tourney with a 105-62 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday, upping its overall record to 6-2. The Weevils, 4-2, dropped their LVHC opener to Dayton, 63-46, on Saturday.
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 Monday's game vs. Arkansas-Monticello, UC will travel to Las Vegas for the final two rounds of the tourney. 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. This is UC's third LVHC appearance. The Bearcats went 4-0 to win the tourney in 2000-0a, and last year UC was 3-1 in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, losing to No. 1 Illinois in the title game.
STORY LINES: Monday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Cincinnati and Arkansas-Monticello. The Weevils are a Division II team.
Both Cincinnati and Arkansas-Monticello have suffered losses to Dayton, their only common opponent this season. The Bearcats dropped a 75-66 decision at home on Nov. 29. The Weevils lost at Dayton, 63-46, last Saturday.
James White will be seeking a pair of milestones. The senior will be seeking his 900th career point and his 400th career rebound. He enters the game with 878 points and 399 rebounds.
STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati has ended modest win streaks of its three recent opponents that have lost to the Bearcats. 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. 14. On Dec. 17, UC ended Tennessee Tech's six-game win streak with a 105-52 victory.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: Though not receiving any votes in the polls last week, Cincinnati is attracting notice in the computer rankings. The Bearcats enter Monday's game ranked No. 6 in the RPI and are No. 13 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 entering last weekend's games and is currently No. 2. The eight opponents UC has faced to date have a combined won-loss record of 45-17 (.723). Things will not get any easier in the near or far futures. The Bearcats' next four foes had a combined record of 21-8 (.724) following the games of Dec. 18. UC's BIG EAST Conference schedule includes four games against teams ranked in the top four of last week's polls.
NOTES FROM THE TENNESSEE TECH GAME: Cincinnati shot a season-high .563 from the floor.
The Bearcats also achieved season highs in points (105), rebounds (44), rebound margin (+9), and assists (22), tied a season high in steals (14) and committed a season-low nine turnovers.
UC topped the century mark in scoring for the first time since a 102-63 win over Elon on Dec. 30, 2003. The 105 points was the most by the Bearcats since their 105-57 win over Tulane on Jan. 29, 2001.
Devan Downey recorded career highs of seven rebounds and nine assists.
NOTES ON THE THREE-GAME WIN STREAK: The Bearcats' success in their three-game win streak is measurable in the statistics from the last three contests:
UC has shot .520 from the field, including a season-high .563 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17.
UC has averaged 94.3 points.
UC has averaged 16.7 assists, and has had an assist on 50 of its 104 baskets.
UC has averaged 9.7 turnovers and has had an average turnover margin of +9.3.
UC has averaged 12.3 steals.
The three opponents, which UC beat by an average margin of 29.7 points, were a combined 15-1 at the time they played the Bearcats.
DOWNEY PLAYING A BIG ROLE: Devan Downey, the Bearcats' 5-10 freshman point guard, has played a large role in Cincinnati's three-game winning streak.
On Dec. 10, Downey keyed UC's 92-83 win over Vanderbilt by scoring 18 points, 16 in the second half, and recording four steals and a pair of assists, earning BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week honors.
On Dec. 14, Downey scored a career-high 24 points--a Bearcat high for the 2005-06 season--shooting 10-of-16 from the field, and had five assists and four steals.
On Dec. 17, he tallied 16 points while posting career highs with seven rebounds and nine assists.
Downey's three-game statistics feature a 19.3 scoring average, a .568 field goal percentage, and averages of 5.3 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.3 rebounds.
Downey is UC's second-leading scorer, averaging 14.6 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (3.4) and steals (2.8).
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
Cincinnati has shot .474 from the field in its six victories and .380 in its two defeats.
The Bearcats are averaging 21.6 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 and accounted for 35 points in the Dec. 17 win over Tennessee Tech.
Cincinnati has held five opponents under the .400 mark in field goal percentage, including the last two under 35 percent.. 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.
WHITE'S SCORING CONSISTENT: James White not only leads Cincinnati in scoring, but he is tops in scoring consistency. The 6-7 senior has scored as many as 21 points in one game and has had lows of 15 and 17 points in two others. In the remaining five games, he has tallied 18 points three times and 19 points twice. White has scored in double digits in all eight games this season while shooting .544 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 is approaching the 900-point mark in career scoring.
HICKS HAVING A BLOCK-FEST: Eric Hicks has blocked five shots in each of his last two games, giving him 22 blocks over the last seven games. Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 165, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 38 of his last 40 games. The 6-6 senior had a shot rejection in his first 20 games last season.
CHADD's BACK: Chadd Moore returned to action for the first time since Feb. 24 last season when he played 22 minutes in the Dec. 10 victory over Vanderbilt. Moore played 19 minutes in the Dec. 14 win over Ohio, and last Saturday started in the win over Tennessee Tech. 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.
FOUL PLAY: Cincinnati has shot .774 at the foul line over its first eight games. James White leads UC's free throw marksmen with his .900 percentage (36-of-40). Devan Downey is shooting .810 (34-of-42). Even Eric Hicks is getting into the act. A .569 career foul shooter, Hicks has shot .750 this season.
BLOUNT RETURNS TO ALMA MATER: Corie Blount, the starting center on the University of Cincinnati basketball teams which reached the NCAA Final Four in 1992 and Elite Eight in 1993, has returned to his alma mater as interim assistant coach. A first round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls following his UC career, Blount is an 11-year veteran of the National Basketball Association, playing for Chicago (1993-95), the Los Angeles Lakers (1995-98), Cleveland (1998-99), Phoenix (1999-2001), Golden State (2001), Philadelphia (2002), Chicago (2003-04) and Toronto (2004). Blount retired prior to the start of the 2004-05 season but attempted a comeback last fall with the Lakers. He had career averages of 3.6 points and 4.2 rebounds. Blount averaged 9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots during his two seasons as a Bearcat.
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.
BEARCATS STRONG IN 5/3 ARENA: Cincinnati is in its 17th season in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, and has compiled a 225-31 record a .879 winning percentage.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats depart for Las Vegas for the final two rounds of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. UC will face Dayton on Dec. 22 and LSU on Dec. 23. Following a brief break for Christmas, Cincinnati will return to host Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at U.S. Bank Arena.