TicketsFeb. 16, 2006
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GAME FACTS
UC vs. Providence
Date: Friday, Feb. 17, 2006
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati : 17-9, 6-6 BIG EAST
Providence: 11-11, 4-7 BIG EAST
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. 8.5 pts, 7.5 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 14.4 pts, 9.5 reb, 3.5 blk
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 16.0 pts, 5.0 reb, 2.2 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad 5-11 Sr. Plainfield, N.J. 9.9 pts, 2.7 reb, 1.6 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 12.4 pts, 2.5 reb, 4.0 ast
PROVIDENCE PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 11 Geoff McDermott 6-7 Fr. New Rochelle, N.Y. 9.4 pts, 8.2 reb, 2.5 ast
F 33 Charlie Burch 6-6 So. Dorchester, Mass. 4.8 pts, 2.7 reb, 0.8 ast
G 15 Herbert Hill 6-10 Jr. Kinston, N.C. 8.5 pts, 4.7 reb, 1.8 blk
G 1 Donnie McGrath 6-4 Sr. Katonah, N.Y. 15.4 pts, 1.9 reb, 2.7 ast
G 4 Sharaud Curry 5-10 Fr. Gainesville, Ga. 11.2 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.6 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to take another step toward clinching a berth in the BIG EAST Tournament and boost its chances for a 15th straight NCAA Tournament appearance when hosting Providence on Friday, Feb. 17 at Fifth Third Arena. The 8 p.m. contest will be televised by WXIX-TV 19. The Bearcats gave their postseason hopes a major boost by winning at Syracuse, 82-65, on Wednesday, upping their record to 17-9 and moving into eighth place in the BIG EAST standings with a 6-6 ledger. Providence, 11-11, fell into a tie for 10th place with a 4-7 record following Wednesday's 85-77 loss to No. 9 Pittsburgh.
STORY LINES:
Friday's game will be the first ever between Cincinnati and Providence.
UC is 11-3 in Fifth Third Arena this season and has compiled a mark of 231-32 (.878) in its 17 seasons in the building.
With one more block, Eric Hicks will equal the second-highest single season total by a Bearcat. Hicks enters Friday's game with 90 blocks, one shy of the total amassed by Jason Maxiell, now with the Detroit Pistons, last season.
Hicks, with 1,095 career points, needs two points to move up to No. 31 on UC's career scoring list, and three to reach No. 30.
Cincinnati enters Friday's contest having outrebounded four of its last five opponents, posting a +7.2 margin during that span.
Cincinnati and Providence have played eight common opponents. Both teams are 3-6 vs. those opponents.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: The Bearcats have been a Top 30 team most of the season in the computer ratings. UC was ranked No. 23 in both the RPI and the Sagarin Index following Wednesday'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 in both the RPI and the Sagarin Index in strength of schedule rankings following Wednesday's games.
NOTES FROM THE SYRACUSE GAME:
Cincinnati's 44-25 rebound advantage was its largest margin of the season, topping the 18-rebound edge over DePaul in early January.
UC shot .515 from the field, its best mark in 12 conference games this season and the fourth time the Bearcats have shot better than 50 percent in a game this year.
Cedric McGowan's 19 points topped his previous career high of 18 set vs. USF on Jan. 31. The junior had scored just eight points in the three games since the previous high.
Eric Hicks' five blocked shots upped his season total to 90, one off the second-place single season total of 91 set by Jason Maxiell last season. Kenyon Martin holds the school single season record of 107 set in 1999-00.
Hicks upped his career point total to 1,095 points and moved from No. 34 to No. 32 on the Cincinnati career scoring list.
Hicks topped the 800 mark in career rebounding and closed the game with 806.
Devan Downey extended his streak of games with at least one steal to 12.
Jihad Muhammad, who entered the game having averaged 18.3 points over his previous four contests, has now averaged 18.4 points over his last five games while shooting .486 from the field and .463 from 3-point range. Muhammad recorded a career high with eight rebounds.
James White upped his career point total to 1,149, 966 scored during his three seasons as a Bearcat.
HICKS MOVING UP BLOCKS LIST: Eric Hicks, with 90 blocks this season, 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 233, trailing Martin (292) and Maxiell (252). Hicks, who blocked a school record-tying 10 shots in the 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 DOUBLES UP: Eric Hicks is averaging a double-double (15.4 points, 10.4 rebounds) over his last 16 games. The 6-6 senior has posted nine double-doubles in his last 14 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 CLIMBS SCORING LADDER: 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 32nd place with 1,095 points. He needs three points to reach 30th place, held by Dick Dallmer (1947-50).
MUHAMMAD TAKES OFFENSE: Since moving into the starting lineup six games ago, Jihad Muhammad has taken on a larger role in the UC offense. The 5-11 senior has averaged 18.4 points over his last five games, due in part to his marksmanship from the 3-point arc. Muahmmad has made 19 of his last 41 trey attempts. He tallied a season-high 21 points, on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, in last Sunday's game vs. Pittsburgh, and followed that with a 19-point performance in Wednesday's win at Syracuse. 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 that game.
McGOWAN CLEANS THE GLASS: The Bearcats have outrebounded four of their last five opponents, and Cedric McGowan has played a key role in this success on the boards. The 6-6 junior has averaged 9.2 rebounds over the last five 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 7.5 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 (4.0) and steals (2.0) and is third in scoring (12.4). Downey has recorded three or more steals in 10 different games, and has a streak of 12 games with at least on steal. 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.
On Feb. 15, Downey had 16 points and seven assists in the win at Syracuse.
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 tallied 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the win at Syracuse on Wednesday. White has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, and leads UC in scoring with his 16.0 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 1,148 career points, has tallied 966 in three years at UC.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
The Bearcats have outrebounded four of their last five opponents and have posted an average margin of +7.2 rebounds during this span.
The Bearcats are ranked 11th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.9).
UC has committed single digit turnovers eight times this season.
Cincinnati set a school and BIG EAST Conference record with 18 blocked shots in the Jan. 7 win at Marquette, topping the old UC 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 nine 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 had 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 a season high for rebounds (53) 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, 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: The Bearcats will have a six-day break before their next contest. No. 4 Villanova invades Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, Feb. 23. The game will start at 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN. Cincinnati visits Seton Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (WXIX-TV) before returning home for to host No. 11 West Virginia on Saturday, Mar. 4 (ESPN) in the regular season finale.