TicketsMarch 22, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
GAME FACTS
UC vs. South Carolina
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2006
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176), Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati : 21-12, 8-8 BIG EAST
South Carolina: 20-15, 6-10 SEC
TV: ESPNU (Craig Coshun, Bob Valvano)
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, 7.3 reb, 1.0 ast
F 14 Eric Hicks 6-6 Sr. Greensboro, N.C. 14.8 pts, 9.7 reb, 3.3 blk
G 21 James White 6-7 Sr. Washington, D.C. 16.3 pts, 5.1 reb, 2.0 ast
G 13 Jihad Muhammad 5-11 Sr. Plainfield, N.J. 10.8 pts, 2.8 reb, 2.2 ast
G 3 Devan Downey 5-10 Fr. Chester, S.C. 11.9 pts, 2.8 reb, 4.3 ast
SOUTH CAROLINA PROBABLE STARTERS 2005-06 Statistics
F 21 Tarence Kinsey 6-6 Sr. Tampa, Fla. 15.5 pts, 4.6 reb, 2.3 ast
F 34 Renaldo Balkman 6-8 Jr. Tampa, Fla. 9.5 pts, 6.1 reb, 2.0 ast
C 33 Brandon Wallace 6-10 Jr. Jackson, S.C. 7.2 pts, 6.0 reb, 1.8 blk
G 1 Tre' Kelley 6-1 Jr. Washington, D.C. 12.2 pts, 2.9 reb, 4.4 ast
G 10 Rocky Trice 6-3 Sr. Swainsboro, Ga. 7.0 pts, 3.1 reb, 1.5 ast
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will battle South Carolina for the right to advance to the Final Four of the National Invitation Tournament in New York next week. The two teams will meet in the quarterfinal round of the NIT on Thursday, Mar. 23 at Fifth Third Arena. Game time is 6 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPNU. No. 1 seed Cincinnati, 21-12, has defeated Charlotte (86-80) and Minnesota (76-62) to reach the quarterfinals, hosting both contests. No. 3 seed South Carolina, 20-15, beat Western Kentucky (74-55) at home and edged Florida State (69-68) in overtime at Tallahassee on Tuesday.
STORY LINES:
Cincinnati is 5-1 in NIT games that the Bearcats have hosted in Cincinnati and have won their last four home NIT contests.
UC has since compiled a 235-33 record in its 17 seasons in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats are 2-1 vs. South Carolina in the building.
South Carolina holds the record for most points scored against Cincinnati in Fifth Third Arena. On Feb. 15, 1997, the Gamecocks defeated the Bearcats, 97-83.
Cincinnati has dropped its last two contests to South Carolina. In addition to the afore-mentioned 97-83 setback in Fifth Third Arena in 1996-97, the Bearcats lost a 23-point lead in the second half and fell to the Gamecocks, 67-65, on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Antonio Grant that gave USC its only lead of the game.
Eric Hicks, with 1,209 career points, needs 10 points to reach No. 23 on the Cincinnati career scoring list.
James White, with 1,088 points as a Bearcat, needs four points to reach No. 34 on the UC career scoring list and five points to reach No. 33.
A LOOK AHEAD: The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the NIT Final Four to be played at Madison Square Garden. The semifinals will be played on Tuesday, Mar. 28 with the championship game on Thursday, Mar. 30.
UC AND THE NIT: This is Cincinnati's ninth appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. UC has compiled a 7-8 ledger in NIT postseason tourneys. The Bearcats' highest finish was third place in 1955. Cincinnati's last NIT appearance occurred in 1991. UC defeated Ball State, 82-55, in Fifth Third Arena but lost an 89-81 overtime decision at Oklahoma.
MARCH MADNESS: Over the past 14 years, Cincinnati has posted a 61-28 record during the month of March, underscoring the Bearcats' reputation as a team which is primed for postseason. Since the 1957-58 season, when UC first qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Cincinnati has compiled a 121-63 (.658) ledger in games played in the month of March.
COMPUTERS LIKE THE CATS: The Bearcats were a Top 30 team most of the season in the computer ratings. UC was No. 40 in the RPI following the conclusion of the conference tournaments and No. 28 in the Sagarin Index.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: One reason for Cincinnati's lofty rankings in the Sagarin and RPI is the team's demanding schedule. The Bearcats were rated No. 5 in both the RPI and the Sagarin Index in strength of schedule rankings at the conclusion of the conference tournaments.
NOTES FROM THE NIT GAMES:
Eric Hicks is averaging 23.0 points, 14.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots over the Bearcats' two NIT wins. He has shot .552 from the field, and is 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Hicks scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds vs. Charlotte on Mar. 17.
Cedric McGowan has averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the first two NIT games, shooting a team-leading .632 from the floor. McGowan scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds vs. Charlotte.
James White has averaged 20.3 points in postseason play. White scored a career-high 32 points vs. Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament on Mar. 8.
Jihad Muhammad has averaged 13.0 points and 7.0 assists in the two NIT victories.
The Bearcats have averaged 81.0 points and shot .483 from the field.
Cincinnati, which has a minus-1.1 rebounding margin for the season, has outrebounded its two NIT opponents by an average of 3.5.
20-WIN MARK REACHED: With their 21-12 ledger, the Bearcats have reached the 20-win mark for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons. UC has reached the 20-win mark 29 times in its rich basketball history.
MUHAMMAD TAKES OFFENSE: Jihad Muhammad has taken on a larger role in the offense. The 5-11 senior has averaged 15.8 points over his last 12 games. In the Mar. 17 NIT win over Charlotte, Muhammad scored 12 of his 17 points in the final 11:49 of the game to help UC overcome an eight-point deficit in the 86-80 victory. He matched his season scoring high with 21 points vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 28, making 7-of-10 shots from the field including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He had a 19-point performance in the Feb. 15 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.
HICKS SETS BLOCKS RECORD: Eric Hicks, with 110 blocks this season, has broken the season record of 107 set by Kenyon Martin in 1999-00. Hicks, with 253 career blocks, has topped Jason Maxiell's second place career blocks total of 252 set over the 2001-05 seasons. Hicks, who blocked a school record-tying 10 shots in the win over Marquette, has blocked at least one shot in 62 of his last 65 games. Hicks is ranked eighth nationally in blocked shots in the NCAA stats (Mar. 13).
HICKS CLIMBS SCORING LADDER: Eric Hicks is climbing UC's career scoring chart. The senior is currently in 24th place with 1,209 points. In 23rd place is LaZelle Durden with 1,219 points.
HICKS DOUBLES UP: Eric Hicks is averaging a double-double (15.7 points, 10.5 rebounds) over his last 23 games. The 6-6 senior has posted 12 double-doubles in his last 21 games. Hicks turned in his 14th double-double of the season and 27th of his career when he posted 23 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's win over Minnesota. He tallied 23 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds in the NIT win over Charlotte on Mar. 17. 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).
WHITE JOINS UC 1,000 POINT CLUB: James White became the 44th UC player to top the 1,000-point mark in career scoring. The 6-7 senior has 1,088 points as a Bearcat, putting him in 35th place on UC's career scoring list. He needs four points to reach 34th place.
DOWNEY PLAYS BIG FOR THE BEARCATS: It might be said that as Devan Downey goes, so go the Bearcats. Downey has played key roles in several Bearcat victories this season, and on the year, has averaged 14.2 points and 4.9 assists in Cincinnati's wins. When put in critical situations, Downey has performed unlike the freshman he is.
Downey has made game-clinching free throws in the final seconds of Cincinnati's last two victories. He made two free throws (in a one-and-one situation) with 1.3 seconds to play in the Mar. 4 win over No. 16 West Virginia. He scored the game-winning points, breaking a tie with a pair of foul shots with 3.4 seconds remaining in the 66-64 win over Providence on Feb. 17.
Downey finished with 17 points and 10 assists in the win over West Virginia, his second double-double.
On Feb. 15, Downey had 16 points and seven assists in the win at Syracuse.
On Feb. 6, Downey scored 15 points in the win over Louisville, 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 Jan. 22, Downey keyed the win over Rutgers with 21 points, four assists and four steals.
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 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 Dec. 10, Downey keyed UC's 92-83 win over Vanderbilt by scoring 18 points, 16 in the second half, 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.
Downey averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals during UC's 10-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Bearcats' 5-10 point guard leads the team in assists (4.3) and steals (2.0) and is third in scoring (11.9).
DOWNEY GRAND LARCENY: Devan Downey, who leads the Bearcats in steals (1.9), has recorded three or more steals in 12 different games and has made at least one steal in all but six games this season. He once had a streak of 14 games with at least one steal.
WHITE TURNS IT ON: James White has consistently been a leader to UC's success in 2005-06. The 6-7 senior, who leads the team in scoring with his 16.3-point average, has been a consistent point producer. White has scored in double figures in all but four contests. The production is a significant boost for White, who averaged 10.0 points last season and entered the year with an 8.1 career scoring average. He has had the following game-setting performances:
White scored a career-high 32 points, the most by a Bearcat in four seasons, vs. Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament (3/8/06), making a career-high five 3-pointers.
White exploded for 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory over Providence on Feb. 17. His trey with 2:57 to play gave UC a 64-62 lead.
He tallied 18 points, five rebounds, and finished with four assists and a pair of steals in the Feb. 15 win at Syracuse.
On Dec. 23, White rallied UC from a five-point deficit in the final two and a half minutes for a 75-72 win over LSU. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers at the 2:27 and 1:51 marks and sank a pair of clinching free throws with 17 seconds to play.
White tallied 17 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, and had three steals in the win over Vanderbilt on Dec. 10, that snapped Vandy's 28-game non-conference home win streak.
OTHER BEARCAT BITS:
The Bearcats are shooting .747 at the foul line this season, well on their way toward crushing the existing season record of .717 set in 1979-80.
UC has committed single digit turnovers 11 times this season, most recently vs. No. 16 West Virginia (Mar. 4) and No. 2 Villanova (Feb. 23).
Cincinnati's 188 blocks is the third highest team single season total.
Four times this season, Cincinnati has avenged an earlier defeat to an opponent. The Bearcats lost to Dayton, Louisville, Syracuse, and West Virginia the first time they played these teams, then rebounded to beat each of these teams the next time they played.
Cincinnati set a school 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 15 opponents under the .400 mark in field goal percentage. 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 10 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 eight times during the course of the season, and is 7-1 in those games. 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.