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Bearcats Make First BIG EAST Road Trip

Bearcats Make First BIG EAST Road TripBearcats Make First BIG EAST Road Trip

Jan. 7, 2006

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GAME FACTS
UC vs. Marquette
Date: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006
Time: 12:00 noon EST
Site: Bradley Center (18,850)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Records:
Cincinnati:.................... 12-2, 1-0 BIG EAST
Marquette:.................. 11-3, 1-0 BIG EAST
TV: ESPN Regional (John Rooney, Bob Wenzel), game to air in Cincinnati on WXIX-TV 19
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, 7.5 reb, 0.8 ast
F 33 Armein Kirkland........... 6-8 Sr. Tyler, Texas....................... 9.1 pts, 3.4 reb, 2.2 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks................... 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C............... 14.6 pts, 8.7 reb, 3.0 blk
G 21 James White.............. 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C............... 17.9 pts, 5.4 reb, 2.1 ast
G 3 Devan Downey........... 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C.................... 14.3 pts, 2.3 reb, 4.3 ast

MARQUETTE PROBABLE STARTERS
2005-06 Statistics
F 20 Steve Novak.............. 6-10 Sr. Brown Deer, Wis............... 15.8 pts, 5.3 reb, 1.1 ast
F 43 Ryan Amoroso............. 6-8 So. Burnsville, Minn.................. 7.9 pts, 5.1 reb, 0.2 ast
G 1 Dominic James.......... 5-10 Fr. Richmond, Ind.................. 13.6 pts, 4.1 reb, 5.9 ast
G 22 Jerel McNeal............... 6-3 Fr. Country Club Hills, Ill......... 11.2 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.5 ast
G 32 Joe Chapman.............. 6-4 Sr. Chicago Heights, Ill............. 5.0 pts, 2.5 reb, 1.1 ast

SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati makes its first BIG EAST Conference road appearance in familiar surroundings when the Bearcats visit Marquette on Saturday for a 12 noon EST contest at the Bradley Center. Both Cincinnati and Marquette are in their first seasons in the BIG EAST following 14 seasons as conference rivals in the Great Midwest and Conference USA. Both were victorious in their BIG EAST openers this week. Marquette upset No. 2 Connecticut, 94-79, on Tuesday to up its record to 11-3. Cincinnati topped DePaul, 82-60, on Wednesday for its ninth straight win, giving the Bearcats a 12-2 ledger.

STORY LINES:

  • Cincinnati is 6-6 vs. Marquette in games played in the Bradley Center. UC is 9-6 in all games played in the building, winning three games to capture the Great Midwest Conference Tournament in 1994.
  • The Bearcats enter Saturday's game with a nine-game winning streak. That's UC's longest win streak since the Bearcats won the first 11 games of the 2004-05 season.
  • Saturday's game matches two of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation. Cincinnati is ranked third in this week's national stats. The Bearcats are shooting .790 from the foul line. Marquette is ranked 15th with a .766 percentage.
  • James White will be seeking his 1000th career point. The senior enters Saturday's game with 984.
  • The game will be UC's second true away game of the season. Cincinnati played at Vanderbilt on Dec. 10, capturing a 92-83 win. The Bearcats have played three games on neutral sites.

CINCINNATI VS. MARQUETTE: The Bearcats and Golden Eagles will be meeting for the 39th time. Cincinnati holds a 23-15 lead in the series, but the outcomes of recent games have been almost split, with UC owning a slight 8-7 advantage in the last 15 games since the 1997-98 season. The two schools became league rivals in the Great Midwest Conference in 1991-92, and continued when they both moved to Conference USA in 1995-96.

LAST MEETING: Eric Hicks scored 17 points and Jason Maxiell added 14 points and 10 rebounds to spark Cincinnati to an 80-68 win over Marquette on Feb. 24, 2005 in Fifth Third Arena. UC jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first five minutes of the game and led by as many as 28 points in the second half. Steve Novak tallied 25 points for Marquette.

LAST TIME IN MILWAUKEE: Tony Bobbitt led five Bearcat double-figure scorers with 18 points as No. 10 Cincinnati captured an 85-73 victory over then-No. 21 Marquette on Jan. 14, 2004 in the Bradley Center. UC closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a nine-point halftime lead. Travis Diener led Marquette with 19 points.

COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: While Cincinnati has been receiving votes in the weekly polls in each of the last three weeks, the Bearcats have been a Top 20 team most of the season in the computer ratings. UC was ranked No. 15 in the Sagarin Index and No. 15 in the RPI following Wednesday's games.

NOTES FROM THE DePAUL GAME:

  • Cedric McGowan grabbed 20 rebounds, the most by a Bearcat since Kenyon Martin gathered 23 vs. DePaul on Feb. 21, 1998. McGowan also tied a career high with 13 points, giving him his first career double-double.
  • Eric Hicks posted his second consecutive double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, giving him four this year and 17 career double-doubles. He extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to seven.
  • Hicks blocked a shot to extend his streak of games with a block to 13.
  • It was the second straight game that UC had two players achieve double-doubles.
  • Jihad Muhammad scored a season-high 20 points.
  • Chadd Moore tied a career high with four steals.
  • Cincinnati gathered a season-high 53 rebounds and also enjoyed its top rebounding margin, +18.
  • UC had a season-low six turnovers.
  • The win was Cincinnati's 12th straight conference opener victory.

NOTES ON THE NINE-GAME WIN STREAK: The Bearcats' success in their win streak is measurable in the statistics from the last nine contests:

  • UC has averaged 87.2 points and has posted an average victory margin of 21.2 points.
  • UC has shot .489 from the field, including a season-high .563 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17 and a .552 effort vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
  • UC has averaged 10.3 turnovers and has had an average turnover margin of +7.4.
  • UC has averaged 8.3 steals.
  • The nine opponents were a combined 45-25 at the time they played the Bearcats, including an 0-9 team in that number.

DOWNEY PLAYING A BIG ROLE: Devan Downey, the Bearcats' 5-10 freshman point guard, has played a large role in Cincinnati's nine-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 recorded 16 points and nine assists while posting a career-high seven rebounds.
  • 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.
  • On Dec. 30 vs. North Carolina A&T, he passed for a career-high 11 assists and scored 13 points for his first career double-double.
  • Downey's nine-game statistics during the streak feature a 15.7 scoring average, a .471 field goal percentage, and averages of 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals.
    Downey is UC's second-leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (4.3) and steals (1.9).

WHITE'S SCORING CONSISTENT: James White not only leads Cincinnati in scoring with his 17.9 average, but he is tops in scoring consistency. The 6-7 senior has recorded game highs of 23 and 21 points and has had lows of 10, 15 and a pair of 17-point performances in four 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 14 games this season while shooting .523 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.

HICKS HAVING A BLOCK-FEST: Eric Hicks, who blocked a season-high seven shots--one shy of his career high--vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30, has blocked 30 shots in his last eight games. The 6-6 senior has moved up to ninth place nationally in blocks. Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 185, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254). Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 44 of his last 46 games, and has a current string of 13 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 shot .417 from 3-point range over their last four games, and recorded their top three 3-point shooting percentages of the season during this period. UC shot a season high .474 vs. LSU on Dec. 23, then topped that with a best of .545 vs. Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 28 and had a .455 percentage vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.

OTHER BEARCAT BITS:

  • Cincinnati has held seven 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.
  • The Bearcats have scored 80 or more points in eight games this season, topping the 100-point mark twice. UC tallied 105 points vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17, then matched that with 105 points vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
  • UC has had at least five double-figure scorers in five of the last seven games, and seven times during the course of the season. Six Bearcats reached double figures in scoring in the Dec. 30 win over North Carolina A&T.
  • Cincinnati recorded a season-high 25 assists vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
  • Cincinnati has shot .473 from the field in its 12 victories and .380 in its two defeats.

FOUL PLAY: Cincinnati has shot .790 at the foul line this season, and has moved up to No. 3 in the national rankings. James White leads UC's free throw marksmen with his .877 percentage. Devan Downey is shooting .848. Even Eric Hicks is getting into the act. A .569 career foul shooter, Hicks has shot .727 this season. UC has made almost as many free throws (260) as its opponents have attempted (266).

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 won honor roll honors on Dec. 5 and Jan. 2.

STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati ended modest win streaks of three 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. UC 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.

UC ENDS PRE-CONFERENCE WITH 11 WINS: Cincinnati topped the 11-win mark in November-December play for the fifth time in school history with its 11-2 mark. The 1998-99 and 2001-02 teams each posted 12 victories while UC recorded 11 pre-conference victories in 2004-05 and 1999-00.

BLOUNT RETURNS: 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, returned to the Bearcat bench as interim assistant coach in early December. A first round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls following his UC career, Blount is an 11-year veteran of the National Basketball Association. 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.

CONFERENCE DEBUTS GOOD FOR UC: The Bearcats can expect to enjoy success in their inaugural season in the BIG EAST, if the past is any precursor. Every time Cincinnati has begun play in a new conference, it has claimed the championship in that initial year. UC captured the Buckeye Athletic Association title in 1925-26, the Mid-American Conference championship in 1946-47, the Missouri Valley Conference crown in 1957-58, the Metro Conference Tournament championship in the league's first season of play in 1975-76, the regular season and tournament title in the Great Midwest Conference in 1991-92, and the regular season and tourney championships of Conference USA in 1995-96.

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.

NINTH-WINNINGEST PROGRAM: Entering the 2005-06 season, Cincinnati has been college basketball's ninth-winningest program since the turn of the century. Over the past six years, the Bearcats have compiled a 152-45 record for a .772 percentage.

  • Cincinnati's 152 wins are the ninth-most among Division I teams.
  • Cincinnati has won 25 or more games nine of the last 10 seasons.
  • The Bearcats have won a conference regular season and/or tournament title in 12 of the past 14 seasons, and six times during this period have claimed both during the same season.
  • UC's 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the third-longest active streak in Division I, trailing only Arizona (21) and Kansas (17).

105th CAMPAIGN: The 2005-06 season is Cincinnati's 105th year of basketball competition. The school has compiled a 1,511-857 record (.638).

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats continue their first BIG EAST Conference road trip. Cincinnati will depart after the Marquette contest for Hartford to prepare for Monday's contest with Connecticut. The 7 p.m. contest vs. the No. 2 Huskies will mark UC's BIG EAST Big Monday debut on ESPN. The Bearcats will return home to host Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 14.