TicketsDec. 23, 2005
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GAME FACTS
UC vs. LSU
Date: Friday, Dec. 23, 2005
Time: 10:30 p.m. EST
Site: Valley Sports Complex (2,000), Las Vegas, Nevada
Records:
Cincinnati: 8-2
LSU: 7-2
TV: None.
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock).
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan 6-6 Jr. Miami, Fla. 9.3 pts, 7.2 reb, 0.9 ast
F 33 Armein Kirkland 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas 9.3 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 12.9 pts, 8.1 reb, 2.7 blk
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 18.2 pts, 5.7 reb, 2.0 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 15.1 pts, 2.5 reb, 3.3 ast
LSU PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 0 Glen Davis 6-9 So. Baton Rouge, La. 18.4 pts, 10.6 reb, 1.3 blk
F 1 Tasmin Mitchell 6-7 Fr. Denham Springs, La. 11.3 pts, 7.6 reb, 2.8 ast
F 35 Darnell Lazare 6-8 Jr. Baton Rouge, La. 9.0 pts, 4.7 reb, 0.6 ast
G 14 Garrett Temple 6-5 Fr. Baton Rouge, La. 4.4 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.4 ast
G 22 Darrel Mitchell 5-11 Jr. St. Martinville, La. 19.0 pts, 4.4 reb, 5.6 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to win at least a share of the championship of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic when it takes on LSU on Friday at 10:30 p.m. EST at the Valley Sports Complex. The Bearcats enter the final round with a 3-0 record in the round-robin tournament following Thursday's 81-63 win over Dayton. Northern Iowa, whom UC does not face in the LVHC, is also 3-0 and will play Dayton. LSU is 7-2, with a 54-50 loss to Northern Iowa on Monday. The Tigers defeated Arkansas-Monticello, 75-48, on Thursday.
THE LAS VEGAS HOLIDAY CLASSIC: The Las Vegas Holiday Classic is an exempt tournament played in a round-robin format with opponents pre-determined. UC defeated Tennessee Tech, 105-62, and Arkansas-Monticello, 84-63, last Saturday and Monday in its first two games, which the Bearcats hosted, and toppled Dayton, 81-63, in Thursday's games in Las Vegas. This is UC's third LVHC appearance. The Bearcats went 4-0 to win the tourney in 2000-01, and last year UC was 3-1 in the tournament, losing to No. 1 Illinois in the title game.
UC VS. LSU: Friday's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Cincinnati and LSU.
STORY LINES:
The Bearcats enter Friday's game with a five-game winning streak. That's UC's longest win streak since the Bearcats won the last six regular season games of the 2004-05 season.
Cincinnati has topped the 80-point mark in each of its last five games. The last time UC had a longer streak of 80-plus point games occurred in December of the 1996-97 season when Cincinnati top the 80 mark six straight times.
LSU entered the week ranked No. 1 nationally in rebounding margin. The Tigers are outrebounding their foes by an average of 19.3.
The lone opponent UC and LSU have in common is Arkansas- Monticello. Cincinnati defeated the Boll Weevils, 84-63, in Cincinnati on Dec. 19. The Tigers posted a 75-48 win over the Weevils on Thursday.
LSU is the second Southeastern Conference team that UC will face this season. The Bearcats defeated Vanderbilt, 92-83, on Dec. 10, snapping the Commodores' 28-game non-conference home win streak.
UC is 34-46 all-time vs. teams that currently comprise the Southeastern Conference. The Bearcats have won six of their last 10 meetings vs. SEC foes.
Cincinnati has a 5-1 record at the Valley Sports Complex.
STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati has ended modest win streaks of its three recent opponents. UC stopped 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 105-62 victory.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: Though receiving votes to rank No. 38 in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 46 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Cincinnati is attracting greater notice in the computer rankings. The Bearcats entered the Las Vegas Holiday Classic ranked No. 7 in the RPI and were No. 17 in the Sagarin Index following Wednesday's games.
BEARCATS ARE PLAYING THE BEST: One reason for Cincinnati's lofty rankings in the computer indexes is the team's schedule. UC had the No. 2 strength of schedule ranking in the RPI following Wednesday's games. The 10 opponents UC has faced to date have a combined won-loss record of 64-29 (.688) following Wednesday's games.
NOTES FROM THE DAYTON GAME:
One game after shooting a season-high .444 from 3-point range, Cincinnati shot a season-low .118.
The Bearcats made 25 of 27 free throw tries, tying a season high for free throws made and setting a season best for free throw percentage (.926).
It marked the second straight game in which five Bearcats scored in double figures.
UC committed a season-low seven turnovers.
Eric Hicks and Devan Downey extended their streaks for blocks and steals. Hicks recorded his ninth straight game with at least one block while Downey made a steal in his ninth consecutive contest.
NOTES ON THE FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK: The Bearcats' success in their win streak is measurable in the statistics from the last five contests:
UC has averaged 89.6 points and has posted an average victory margin of 23.8 points.
UC has shot .486 from the field, including a season-high .563 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17.
UC has averaged 9.2 turnovers and has had an average turnover margin of +9.2.
UC has averaged 9.6 steals.
The five opponents were a combined 27-6 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 five-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.
On Dec. 22, he recorded a game-high 21 points and three assists.
Downey's five-game statistics feature a 18.4 scoring average, a .531 field goal percentage, and averages of 4.4 assists and 2.6 steals.
Downey is UC's second-leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (3.3) and steals (2.4).
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
Cincinnati has shot .464 from the field in its eight victories and .380 in its two defeats.
Cincinnati has held five opponents under the .400 mark in field goal percentage, including two under 33 percent. UC has posted sub-.400 defensive field goal percentages in six of the last eight seasons, and has limited foes to .390 shooting this year.
UC's win over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17 produced a number of season milestones. The Bearcats achieved season highs in points (105), rebounds (44), rebound margin (+9), and assists (22), and tied a season high in steals (14).
In the Tennessee Tech victory, 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.
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 six games, he has tallied 18 points four times and 19 points three times. White has scored in double digits in all 10 games this season while shooting .530 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 900-point mark in career scoring (915).
HICKS HAVING A BLOCK-FEST: Eric Hicks has blocked 15 shots in his last four games. The 6-6 senior had back-to-back five-block games vs. Ohio and Tennessee Tech. Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 170, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 40 of his last 42 games. The 6-6 senior had a shot rejection in his first 20 games last season.
DOWNEY REPEATS AS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Devan Downey earned the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week award for the second straight week after averaging 20.0 points, 7.0 assists and 3.5 steals in UC's wins over Ohio (12/14/05) and Tennessee Tech (12/17/05). The 5-10 freshman from Chester, S.C. scored a career high 24 points and matched a personal best with four steals vs. Ohio, and tallied 16 points and recorded career highs of nine assists and seven rebounds vs. Tennessee Tech.
FOUL PLAY: Cincinnati has shot .798 at the foul line over its first 10 games. James White leads UC's free throw marksmen with his .920 percentage. Devan Downey is shooting .837. Even Eric Hicks is getting into the act. A .569 career foul shooter, Hicks has shot .767 this season.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats will return to Cincinnati and take a brief break for Christmas. Cincinnati will return to action to host Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at U.S. Bank Arena. Game time is at 8 p.m.