TicketsFeb. 13, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
GAME FACTS
UC vs. Syracuse
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Site: Carrier Dome (33,000), Syracuse, New York
Records:
Cincinnati : 16-9, 5-6 BIG EAST
Syracuse 17-7, 5-5 BIG EAST
TV: ESPN2 (Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery, Stacey Dales-Shuman)
Radio: WLW-AM 700 (Dan Hoard, Chuck Machock)
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 30 Cedric McGowan 6-6 Jr. Miami, Fla. 8.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 14.7 pts, 9.4 reb, 3.4 blk
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 15.9 pts, 5.0 reb, 2.2 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad 5-11 Sr. Plainfield, N.J. 9.5 pts, 2.5 reb, 1.6 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 12.3 pts, 2.5 reb, 3.9 ast
SYRACUSE PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 33 Terrence Roberts 6-9 Jr. Jersey City, N.J. 11.2 pts, 8.2 reb, 1.5 blk
F 34 Demetris Nichols 6-8 Jr. Boston, Mass. 15.1 pts, 6.5 reb, 1.7 ast
C 13 Darryl Watkins 6-11 Jr. Paterson, N.J. 6.2 pts, 7.3 reb, 3.1 blk
G 3 Gerry McNamara 6-2 Sr. Scranton, Pa. 16.1 pts, 2.8 reb, 5.7 ast
G 23 Eric Devendorf 6-4 Fr. Bay City, Mich. 11.6 pts, 2.5 reb, 2.4 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to take another step toward clinching a spot in the BIG EAST postseason tournament when visiting Syracuse on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The 7:30 p.m. EST game will be televised by ESPN2. Cincinnati, 16-9 overall, is in ninth place in the BIG EAST standings with a 5-6 record, following Sunday's 89-69 loss to No. 13 Pittsburgh. The top 12 teams qualify for the tournament. Syracuse, 17-7 overall, is a notch ahead of the Bearcats in the league standings with a 5-5 ledger. The Orange defeated St. John's, 75-60, on Sunday.
STORY LINES:
Wednesday's contest will be Cincinnati's first vs. Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, but it will not be the Bearcats' first game in the building. UC is 2-0 in the Dome, having defeated Coppin State, 93-66, and New Mexico State, 92-55, in the 1993 NCAA East Regional to advance to the regional finals that season. UC went on to suffer a 75-68 overtime loss to eventual national champion North Carolina in the regional championship game.
Syracuse is 12-3 in the Carrier Dome this season and has an all-time record in the Dome of 356-69 (.838).
What a difference a month makes. When Cincinnati and Syracuse met in Cincinnati on Jan. 14, the Bearcats were No. 25 in the Associated Press poll while Syracuse was No. 24 in the ESPN rankings.
Wednesday's game will feature two of the nation's top shot-blocking teams. Syracuse was ranked No. 6 in the most recent NCAA statistics, averaging 7.0 rejections per outing. Orange junior Darryl Watkins is 12th individually (3.0). Cincinnati is ranked 15th nationally in blocked shots (5.75) with senior Eric Hicks fifth individually (3.4).
Hicks enters the game with 85 blocks, the third-highest single season total by a Bearcat. Hicks needs six more blocks to reach the second place single season total of 91 set last season by Jason Maxiell.
Hicks, with 795 career rebounds, needs five more caroms to reach the 800 rebound mark.
Cincinnati and Syracuse have played four common opponents. UC is 2-2 in games vs. those foes while Syracuse is 2-3.
UC-SYRACUSE: Wednesday's game will be only the second meeting between Cincinnati and Syracuse. The Orange won the first contest, 77-58, in Cincinnati on Jan. 14, 2006.
LAST MEETING: Gerry McNamara scored 29 points, 22 in the second half, to lead Syracuse to a 77-58 win over Cincinnati on Jan. 14, 2006 in Cincinnati. The closely-fought first half ended in a 34-all draw, but the Orange broke the game open with a 10-0 scoring run early in the second half. Syracuse dominated play inside, scoring 36 points in the paint. James White, with 16 points, was the only player to reach double figures for the Bearcats, who shot .333 from the field.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: The Bearcats have been a Top 30 team most of the season in the computer ratings. UC was ranked No. 28 in the Sagarin Index and No. 32 in the RPI following Sunday's games.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: One reason for Cincinnati's lofty rankings in the Sagrin and RPI is the team's demanding schedule. The Bearcats were rated No. 6 by the Sagarin Index and No. 7 by the RPI in strength of schedule rankings following Sunday's games.
NOTES FROM THE PITTSBURGH GAME:
The 20-point margin was Cincinnati's largest margin of defeat of the season and the largest since last season's 22-point loss (67-45) to No. 1 Illinois on Dec. 31, 2004.
Pittsburgh's .561 field goal percentage was a season high by a UC opponent.
The Bearcats' streak of consecutive free throws ended at 33 with Chadd Moore's first half miss. Cincinnati, which made its first seven foul shots in the game, had been perfect from the foul line over its previous two games (4-of-4 vs. West Virginia, 18-of-18 vs. Louisville) and made its last four free throws vs. USF.
Jihad Muhammad's 21 points marked his fourth straight double-digit scoring game. The senior has averaged 18.3 points during that span.
Eric Hicks' 6-of-6 performance at the foul line extended his streak of consecutive free throws to 16. He tied a UC single game record by making 10-of-10 free throws in the Feb. 6 win over Louisville.
Cincinnati tied a season low with 25 rebounds. Pitt's 32 field goals tied a season high by a UC opponent.
Connor Barwin scored a career-high six points. Branden Miller played a career-high four minutes.
HICKS DOUBLES UP: Eric Hicks is averaging a double-double (15.9 points, 10.4 rebounds) over his last 15 games. The 6-6 senior has posted nine double-doubles in his last 13 games. Hicks turned in his 11th double-double of the season and 24th of his career when he posted 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Feb. 6 win over Louisville. Hicks 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 make him a candidate for BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors.
HICKS MOVING UP BLOCKS LIST: Eric Hicks, with 85 blocks this season, has already eclipsed his last season's total of 72 and now has the third-highest single season blocks total, exceeding the previous milestone of 83 set by Kenyon Martin in 1997-98. Martin blocked 107 shots in 1999-00 to set the Cincinnati record and Jason Maxiell has the second-most, 91, set last season.
Hicks is in third place at Cincinnati in career blocks with 228, trailing Martin (292) and Maxiell (252). Hicks, who blocked a school record-tying 10 shots in the Jan. 7 win over Marquette, has blocked 42 shots in his last 10 games. He has blocked at least one shot in 54 of his last 57 games. Hicks is ranked fifth nationally in blocks in the most recent NCAA statistics.
HICKS BEGINS SCORING ASCENT: Eric Hicks, who recently became the 43rd player in University of Cincinnati history to top the 1,000-point mark in career scoring, is climbing UC's career scoring chart. The senior is currently in 34th place with 1,087 points. He needs five points to reach 33rd place, held by Bill Westerfeld (1946-49) and 10 points to reach 31st place.
MUHAMMAD TAKES OFFENSE: Since moving into the starting lineup five games ago, Jihad Muhammad has taken on a larger role in the Cincinnati offense. The 5-11 senior has averaged 18.3 points over his last four games, due in part to his marksmanship from the 3-point arc. Muahmmad has made 15 of his last 32 trey attempts. He tallied a season-high 21 points, on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, in Sunday's game vs. Pittsburgh. Muhammad ignited UC's offense in the Feb. 6 win over Louisville by sinking consecutive 3s early in the game, and tied a season best with five in the game.
McGOWAN CLEANS THE GLASS: The Bearcats have outrebounded three of their last four opponents, and Cedric McGowan has played a key role in this success on the boards. The 6-6 junior has averaged 8.8 rebounds over the last four games. He had back-to-back double-digit rebounding performances of 14 vs. USF on Jan. 31 and 11 vs. West Virginia on Feb. 4. McGowan, who is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game, is ranked in the top 10 of the BIG EAST rebounding rankings.
DOWNEY PLAYS BIG FOR THE BEARCATS: Devan Downey is attracting attention for Freshman All-American honors, primarily because he is not playing like one. The Bearcats' 5-10 point guard leads the team in assists (3.9) and steals (2.1) and is third in scoring (12.3). Downey has recorded three or more steals in 10 different games. He has 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, shooting 10-of-16 from the field, and had five assists and four steals.
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.
On Jan. 19 vs. Xavier, he scored 22 points and drilled a clutch 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds which helped send the game into overtime. He also had five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
On Jan. 22, Downey keyed the win over Rutgers with 21 points, four assists and four steals.
On Jan. 31, Downey came off the bench to score 12 points, grab six rebounds, nad hand out three assists in win over USF.
On Feb. 6, Downey scored 15 points in the win over Louisville and played a key role in the victory, hitting a trey with 2:47 to play that gave UC a four-point lead and then cutting through the lane for a layup with 20 seconds remaining that clinched the 74-68 win.
Downey averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals during UC's 10-game winning streak.
WHITE PLAYS CONSISTENT: James White, a native of the Washington, D.C. area, celebrated his return home by scoring 22 points in the Bearcats' loss at Georgetown on Jan. 28. The 6-7 senior meshed 8-of-9 free throws and had four dunks. White has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, and leads UC in scoring with his 15.9-point average. 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, who has 1,130 career points, has tallied 948 in three years at UC.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
After outrebounding its previous three opponents by an average of 11 boards per contest, the Bearcats lost the battle of the boards to Pittsburgh by 18, 43-25.
The Bearcats, ranked seventh nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.8), have been in single digits in turnovers in five of the last nine 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.
Cincinnati has held 13 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.
A SHORT BENCH: The depth-challenged Bearcats received another blow when Scott Benken suffered an elbow injury in practice requiring surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. Benken, a non-scholarship player at Wake Forest in 2002-03 and 2003-04 prior to transferring to UC, joined the Bearcats as a walk-on on Jan. 17. Two members of the Bearcats' football program, Connor Barwin and Angelo Craig, joined the team as walk-ons on Jan. 11. Barwin, a tight end in football, has been the most productive.
STREAK BUSTERS: Cincinnati has been a streak-buster this season. On Dec. 10, UC stopped Vanderbilt's unbeaten start at five games with a 92-83 win over the Commodores, and 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.
STREAK IN JEOPARDY: Cincinnati's streak of winning a conference championship each time the Bearcats have joined a new league is in jeopardy. 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 returns to Fifth Third Arena to host Providence on Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. The game, which will be UC's third in six days, will be televised by WXIX-TV 19. The Bearcats will then have a six-day break before their Feb. 23 home contest vs. No. 4 Villanova. The Villanova game will start at 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.