TicketsJan. 23, 2006
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GAME FACTS
UC vs. Louisville
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Site: Freedom Hall (18,865), Louisville, Kentucky
Records:
Cincinnati : 14-5, 3-2 BIG EAST
Louisville (No. 22/23): 13-5, 1-4, BIG EAST
TV: ESPN2 (Dan Shulman, Len Elmore, Doris Burke)
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, 6.8 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 14.5 pts, 9.1 reb, 3.6 blk
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 17.2 pts, 5.1 reb, 2.2 ast
G 1 Chadd Moore 6-2 Sr. Huntsville, Ala. 3.1 pts, 1.6 reb, 1.4 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 13.9 pts, 2.4 reb, 4.0 ast
LOUISVILLE PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 1 Terrence Williams 6-6 Fr. Seattle, Wash. 8.2 pts, 4.9 reb, 2.1 ast
F 3 Juan Palacios 6-8 So. Medellin, Columbia 10.1 pts, 6.1 reb, 2.2 ast
C 4 David Padgett 6-11 So. Reno, Nev. 12.6 pts, 6.5 reb, 1.6 blk
G 11 Brandon Jenkins 6-3 Jr. Detroit, Mich. 12.4 pts, 2.9 reb, 2.4 ast
G 33 Andre McGee 5-11 Fr. Moreno Valley, Calif. 5.1 pts, 1.7 reb, 2.2 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati and Louisville, which have battled 86 times in three previous conferences, bring their rivalry to the BIG EAST when they clash on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Louisville's Freedom Hall. UC and UofL, who most recently were the dominant teams of Conference USA, have found the going in their first season in the BIG EAST challenging. The Bearcats, 14-5, are 3-2 in the BIG EAST, and snapped a three-game losing skid with a 71-66 win over Rutgers on Sunday. Louisville, 13-5 and ranked No. 22 by the Associated Press/No. 23 by ESPN/USA Today, is off to a 1-4 start in the BIG EAST and brings a three-game losing streak into Wednesday's contest.
STORY LINES:
Wednesday's game will be the 87th meeting between Cincinnati and Louisville. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 49-37. Cincinnati has won 12 of the last 18 contests but Louisville took both meetings last year.
Wednesday's game will be the first between Cincinnati and Louisville as members of the BIG EAST Conference. The two schools have been rivals in three conferences; the Missouri Valley (1964-70), Metro (1975-91) and Conference USA (1995-2005).
Cincinnati is 13-25 vs. Louisville in Freedom Hall. The Bearcats are 25-40 in all appearances in the building. UC won the 1962 NCAA Championship and the 1976 Metro Conference Tournament at Freedom Hall.
Louisville is 55-9 at Freedom Hall over the last four seasons and has an all-time record of 614-129 (.826) in the building.
Cincinnati and Louisville have played one common opponent, Connecticut. Cincinnati lost to the Huskies, 70-59 on Jan. 9 in Hartford. Louisville suffered a 71-58 home setback on Jan. 21.
Eric Hicks, with 995 career points, will try to become the 43rd member of UC's 1,000 Point Club. Hicks has averaged 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in his previous six games vs. Louisville.
LAST SEASON: Louisville won both meetings. The Cardinals overcame a 17-point first half deficit to upset Cincinnati, 69-66, on Jan. 15 at Fifth Third Arena. Louisville used an 11-0 run to erase an eight-point deficit with 5:09 remaining in the game. Taquan Dean led UofL with 25 points. On Feb. 15 at Freedom Hall, Louisville held off Cincinnati's second half comeback for a 77-70 victory. UC pulled to within two points, 44-42, with 14:11 to play. The Cardinals made 12 of 14 free throws to clinch the victory. Dean had 19 points. UC's Eric Hicks had 21 points and five rebounds.
PLAY IT AGAIN: Louisville is one of three "mirror opponents" in the BIG EAST Conference that Cincinnati will play twice this season. The Bearcats will host the Cardinals on Feb. 6. In the current BIG EAST scheduling format, each team plays 13 of the 15 league opponents once and has three opponents that it plays twice on a home-and-home basis. UC's other mirror foes are Syracuse and West Virginia.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: 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. 17 in the RPI following Sunday's games.
NOTES FROM THE RUTGERS GAME:
Eric Hicks, with 13 points and 12 rebounds, recorded his seventh double-double of the season and 20th of his career. Hicks also blocked two shots, giving him at least one block in 48 of his last 51 games.
Chadd Moore scored a season-high 11 points. He tied a career high by playing 27 minutes.
James White, with 14 points, extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 19.
Devan Downey made four steals, the ninth time this season that the freshman has had three or more steals in a game.
UC committed a season-low five turnovers. It was the third straight game in which the Bearcats had finished with fewer than 10 turnovers.
Walk-on Connor Barwin recorded career highs with four points and four rebounds, playing a career-best 12 minutes.
Scott Benken, the latest walk-on to join the team, saw his first action as a Bearcat, playing two minutes.
BIG WEEK FOR DOWNEY: Devan Downey enjoyed a week in which he posted two more 20-plus point scoring performances. The 5-10 freshman had 22 points in Cincinnati's 73-71 overtime loss to Xavier (1/19/06), then keyed the win over Rutgers (1/22/06) with 21 points, four assists and four steals. Downey has made 17 steals over his last five contests (3.4 average).
DOWNEY NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN: Devan Downey is attracting attention for Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American honors, primarily because he is not playing like one. The Bearcats' 5-10 point guard added another stellar performance to his season accomplishments when he exploded for 22 points vs. Xavier (1/19/06). Downey, who made a career-high four 3-pointers, drilled a trey to help UC overcome a six-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of regulation. He also had five rebounds, five assists and three steals, the ninth time this season he has had three or more steals. He has also had the following noteworthy performances:
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 scored 21 points and had 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 averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals during UC's recent 10-game winning streak.
Downey is UC's third-leading scorer, averaging 13.9 points. He leads the Bearcats in assists (4.0) and steals (2.3).
HICKS IS HOT: Eric Hicks is one of the hottest players in the BIG EAST Conference and is playing like an All-American candidate. The 6-6 senior is averaging a double-double over his last nine games (16.2 points, 10.2 rebounds). Hicks recorded his seventh double-double of the season, and fifth in the last seven games, with 13 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's win over Rutgers. The senior averaged 21.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks in a pair of victories to earn BIG EAST co-Player of the Week honors on Jan. 9. Hicks notched a triple double, with 22 points, 12 rebounds and a school record-tying 10 blocked shots in a victory over Marquette (1/7/06). Hicks' rebounding and shot-blocking prowess made him a candidate for BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors.
HICKS HAVING A BLOCK-FEST: Eric Hicks, who blocked a school record-tying 10 shots in the Jan. 7 win over Marquette, has blocked 26 shots in his last five games. With 66 blocks already this season, he is closing in on the total of 72 he reached last year, the fifth-highest single season total in UC history. Hicks has blocked at least one shot in 48 of his last 51 games. The 6-6 senior is ranked sixth nationally in blocks. Hicks has moved into third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 211, trailing Kenyon Martin (292) and Jason Maxiell (254).
WHITE'S SCORING CONSISTENT: James White not only leads Cincinnati in scoring with his 17.4 average, but he is tops in scoring consistency. He has scored 17, 18 or 19 points in 11 of his 17 games this season. White has scored in double digits in all 19 games while shooting .493 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.
BENCH GETS A BOOST: Cincinnati has gotten a recent boost to its bench with the addition of three walk-ons. Two members of the Bearcats' football program, Connor Barwin and Angelo Craig, joined the team as walk-ons on Jan. 11. Scott Benken, who was a non-scholarship player on the 2002-03 and 2003-04 Wake Forest teams prior to transferring to UC to pursue his pharmacy degree, joined the program on Jan. 17. Barwin, a tight end in football, has been the most productive in games to date. The 6-4 true freshman has averaged 9.0 minutes over the last three games and had four points and four rebounds vs. Rutgers (1/22/06).
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
Rebounding continues to be a problem for the size-challenged Bearcats. Cincinnati has been outrebounded by an average margin of 16.5 over its last four games.
Cincinnati set a school and BIG EAST Conference record with 18 blocked shots in the Jan. 7 win at Marquette, topping the old mark of 15 set by the 1999-00 team vs. Iowa State. Eric Hicks tied a UC record with 10 blocks and James White had a career-best four rejections vs. Marquette.
Since surrendering a season-high .528 field goal percentage to LSU on Dec. 23, Cincinnati has held its last seven foes to .400 shooting.
Cincinnati has held eight 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 shot a season-high .563 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17 and a .552 effort vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
Cincinnati has had at least five double-figure scorers 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.
UC recorded a season-high 25 assists vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
The Bearcats set season highs for rebounds (53) and rebounding margin (+18) in the Jan. 4 win vs. DePaul, while committing just six turnovers.
BEARCATS TAKE LEAGUE HONORS:
Eric Hicks was named BIG EAST co-Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after averaging 21.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks in wins over DePaul and Marquette. Hicks previously earned BIG EAST Honor Roll recognition on Dec. 5 and Jan. 2.
Devan Downey earned the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 10, Dec. 17).
James White was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26.
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's win at Marquette on Jan. 7 snapped MU's home winning streak at seven and overall win streak at five.
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.
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. 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 1975-76, the regular season and tournament titles in the Great Midwest Conference in 1991-92, and the regular season and tourney championships of Conference USA in 1995-96.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cincinnati visits No. 21 Georgetown on Saturday, Jan. 28 for a 12 noon contest (ESPN2). The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena for a Jan. 31 game vs. USF.