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GAME FACTS
Date: Friday, Dec. 30, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati:.10-2
North Carolina A&T: 0-9
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, 6.7 reb, 0.9 ast
F 33 Armein Kirkland........... 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas....................... 9.5 pts, 3.5 reb, 2.3 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks................... 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C............... 13.4 pts, 8.1 reb, 2.8 blk
G 21 James White.............. 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C............... 17.6 pts, 5.4 reb, 1.8 ast
G 3 Devan Downey........... 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C.................... 15.1 pts, 2.3 reb, 3.6 ast
NORTH CAROLINA A&T PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 4 Trahern Chaplin............ 6-6 So. Chapel Hill, N.C.................. 4.7 pts, 3.0 reb, 0.4 ast
F 31 Greg Roberts............... 6-6 Sr. Charlotte, N.C.................... 8.2 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.8 ast
F 20 Jason Wills.................. 6-6 So. Upper Marlboro, Md........... 11.7 pts, 6.9 reb, 2.1 ast
G 5 Leslie Powell............... 6-0 Sr. Louisville, Ky...................... 1.8 pts, 1.8 reb, 1.2 ast
G 15 Derek Crumpton........... 6-2 Jr. Livingston, Ala.................... 5.3 pts, 1.7 reb, 0.0 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will have its final tune-up befor the start of BIG EAST Conference play when it hosts North Carolina A&T on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats enter the game riding a seven-game winning streak, after defeating Miami (Ohio), 75-65, on Wednesday. North Carolina A&T is winless in nine contests. The Aggies suffered a hard-fought 66-60 defeat at Hawaii on Tuesday.
STORY LINES:
The Bearcats enter Friday's game with a seven-game winning streak. That's UC's longest win streak since the Bearcats won the first 11 games of the 2004-05 season.
Armein Kirkland will be seeking his 700th career point. The senior enters Friday's game with 694 points.
Eric Hicks needs 19 more points to become the second 900-point career scorer on this year's Bearcats. James White earlier topped the 900-point plateau.
North Carolina A&T head coach Jerry Eaves was the starting point guard on the Louisville team that won the 1980 NCAA Championship and later served on the Cardinals' coaching staff (1996-99) under Denny Crum.
The Aggies have played seven of their nine games away, during which they have faced Miami (Fla.), Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Southern California and Hawaii. Friday's game completes a six-game road trip.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: Though receiving votes to rank No. 36 in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 43 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Cincinnati is attracting greater notice in the computer rankings. The Bearcats were ranked No. 9 in the RPI and were No. 13 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's strength of schedule was ranked No. 10 in the RPI following Wednesday's games.
UC SEEKS 11-WIN PRE-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: Cincinnati will seek its third 11-win pre-conference schedule when it takes on North Carolina A&T on Friday. The Bearcats' 10 victories tie the mark for the fifth-most wins preceding league play. The 1998-99 and 2001-02 teams each posted 12 victories while UC recorded 11 pre-conference victories in 2004-05 and 1999-00.
NOTES FROM THE MIAMI GAME:
Eric Hicks, with four blocks, extended his streak of games in which he has recorded a blocked shot to 11.
James White extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 12.
Armein Kirkland recorded his 300th career rebound and now has 303.
The Bearcats shot a season-high .545 from 3-point range, bettering the season high they set the previous game vs. LSU.
UC won for the first time this season after trailing at halftime.
UC won for the first time this season after having more turnovers (14) than its opponent (12).
NOTES ON THE SEVEN-GAME WIN STREAK: The Bearcats' success in their win streak is measurable in the statistics from the last seven contests:
UC has averaged 85.4 points and has posted an average victory margin of 18.9 points.
UC has shot .483 from the field, including a season-high .563 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17.
UC has averaged 10.6 turnovers and has had an average turnover margin of +7.6.
UC has averaged 8.1 steals.
The seven opponents were a combined 38-12 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 seven-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 vs. Ohio, 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 vs. Tennessee Tech, he tallied 16 points while posting career highs with seven rebounds and nine assists.
On Dec. 22 vs. Dayton, he recorded a game-high 21 points and three assists.
On Dec. 23 vs. LSU, he recorded eight assists and 11 points.
On Dec. 28 vs. Miami, he tallied 19 points, on 4-of-7 shooting.
Downey's seven-game statistics during the streak feature a 17.4 scoring average, a .506 field goal percentage, and averages of 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals.
Downey is UC's second-leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (3.6) and steals (2.1).
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 10, 15 and 17 points in three others. In the remaining eight games, he has tallied 18 points four times and 19 points four times. White has scored in double digits in all 12 games this season while shooting .511 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 (944).
HICKS HAVING A BLOCK-FEST: Eric Hicks has blocked 22 shots in his last six 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 177, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 42 of his last 44 games, and has a current string of 11 games with at least one rejection. The 6-6 senior opened last season with a streak of 20 games with a blocked shot.
TREYS ARE FALLING: The Bearcats have set a season high in 3-point field goal percentage in each of their last two games. Cincinnati shot .545 from behind the arc in Wednesday's win over Miami (Ohio), bettering the previous best of .474 set vs. LSU on Dec. 23. Over the last two games, UC is shooting .500 (15-fo-30) from 3-point range.
DOWNEY TAKES BIG EAST ROOKIE HONORS: Devan Downey earned the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week in back-to-back weeks. Downey captured the 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. He was chosen after keying the Dec. 10 win over Vanderbilt with 18 points and four steals.
MORE LEAGUE HONORS: Seniors James White and Eric Hicks have also been recognized by the BIG EAST this season. White was named to the weekly honor roll twice (Dec. 19, Dec. 26), while Hicks was named to the honor roll Dec. 5.
STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati ended modest win streaks of 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.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
Cincinnati has shot .465 from the field in its 10 victories and .380 in its two defeats.
Cincinnati has held six 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 .404 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.
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 on Dec. 17 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 while on medical hardship, was required to sit out the first five games of the season.
FOUL PLAY: Cincinnati has shot .799 at the foul line over its first 12 games. James White leads UC's free throw marksmen with his .896 percentage. Devan Downey is shooting .862. Even Eric Hicks is getting into the act. A .569 career foul shooter, Hicks has shot .750 this season. UC has almost made as many free throws (230) as its opponents have attempted (235).
BEARCATS STRONG IN 5/3 ARENA: Cincinnati is in its 17th season in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, and has compiled a 226-31 record, a .879 winning percentage.
DePAUL GAME TIME CHANGED: The starting time of the Jan. 4 home game vs. DePaul, UC's BIG EAST opener, has been moved up one hour, to 7 p.m.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats launch play in the BIG EAST Conference on Wednesday, Jan 4 hosting DePaul at 7 p.m. UC will visit Marquette, another BIG EAST newcomer, on Jan. 7 and continue a two-game road swing to No. 2 Connecticut on Jan. 9.