TicketsNov. 30, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati faces a familiar foe when the Bearcats host UAB on Saturday, Dec. 2 in Fifth Third Arena. The two teams have played 21 times over the past 22 years, most of those games as conference foes. Cincinnati brings a 5-1 record into the 4 p.m. contest, which will be telecast nationally by ESPNU. The Bearcats overcame Oakland, 68-61, on Wednesday. UAB is 3-3 following a 69-54 loss to Western Kentucky on Tuesday.
STORY LINES:
Saturday's game is a matchup of two coaches new to their respective schools. Mick Cronin became head coach at Cincinnati last March after compiling a 69-24 record in three seasons at Murray State. Mike Davis took the reins at UAB after a six-year stint at Indiana, where he was 115-79.
Cincinnati-UAB games have been known for their down-to-the-final-buzzer finishes. Seven of the previous 21 meetings were decided by three or fewer points, including their most recent clash, a 72-69 UC win in 2004-05. The very first meeting of the two schools, in 1984-85, set the tone for the series. Tony Wilson's heave from about 48 feet at the buzzer lifted Cincinnati to a 69-67 win in a contest played at Riverfront Coliseum (now U.S. Bank Arena).
UAB is shooting an astounding .425 from 3-point range and has averaged 8.0 treys per contest. Cincinnati has a .371 3-point field goal percentage (7.2 treys per game). The Bearcats had been on a 3-point roll, shooting .545 over the previous two games before suffering through .154 shooting in Wednesday's win over Oakland.
Mick Cronin will be after his 75th career coaching victory.
NOTING THE OAKLAND GAME:
John Williamson scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The 6-6 junior was 11-of-15 from the field to raise his team-leading field goal percentage to .645.
Deonta Vaughn turned in his sixth straight game of five or more assists. The freshman had six assists along with 17 points. After being held to just three points in the first half, Vaughn scored 12 in the final 10:53 to rally UC from a 44-all tie.
Jamual Warren, with three steals, extended his streak of games with a steal to six. He has had multiple steals in five of those contests and leads the team with his 2.2 average.
UC shot a season-low .154 from 3-point range.
BEARCAT DATA:
Deonta Vaughn has averaged 23.0 points and 5.7 assists over his last three games. The 6-1 freshman tallied a UC freshman single-game scoring record 33 points vs. Wofford on Nov. 21, with the aid of nine 3-pointers, second-most in UC history. He was the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week for Nov. 20-26.
To prove that he is not just a scorer, Vaughn has dished out five or more assists in each of his first six games to lead the squad with a 5.5 average.
John Williamson has averaged 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last three contests, shooting .667 (22-of-33) from the field. Williamson leads UC in 3-point field goal percentage (.727).
Jamual Warren has become the defensive spark. The 6-2 guard has had at least one steal in every game and has had multiple steals in all but one contest to lead the Bearcats with his 2.2 average. After shooting just .559 at the foul line over their first three games, the Bearcats have shot a .756 percentage over their last three contests.
Cincinnati has had a double digit rebounder in four of its six games. Marvin Gentry collected 10 rebounds in the opener vs. Howard, Marcus Sikes collected 10 boards vs. Tennessee-Martin, Cedric McGowan had 12 rebounds vs. High Point and John Williamson had 11 vs. Wofford.
UC's 17 3-point field goals vs. Wofford (11/21/06) was the third-highest single game total while its 32 attempts was fifth-most. Half of UC's baskets were from behind the arc.
The Bearcats have had three double-double performances this season. Marcus Sikes had 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. Tennessee-Martin (11/11/06), Cedric McGowan recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. High Point (11/12/06) and John Williamson totalled 19 points and 11 rebounds vs. Wofford (11/21/06).
Cincinnati has held four of its five foes to 51 or fewer points. The Bearcats limited Howard to 39 points in the season opener, the fewest allowed by the Bearcats since an 89-37 victory over Southern Miss. on Feb. 15, 2002.
Cincinnati opened the season with three straight victories to win the Jim Thorpe Association Classic on Nov. 10-12. John Williamson was named tournament most outstanding player and Marcus Sikes was elected to the all-tournament team.
Sikes celebrated his 22nd birthday by recording the Bearcats' first double-double of the season in the win over Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 11. The 6-8 junior had 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Skyhawks. He was 3-of-6 from 3-point range and is UC's top 3-point shooter, sinking 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
Mick Cronin became the 18th UC head coach out of 26 to record a victory in his Bearcats coaching debut.
Cincinnati notched its 40th-consecutive victory in home openers and upped its record to 86-19 in season home openers.
The Bearcats upped their record in season openers to 87-19. UC has won 25 of its last 26 season openers.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS:
The Bearcats boast only one returning starter, Cedric McGowan, and four lettermen from the 2005-06 team. One of those lettermen, Connor Barwin, is a sophomore tight end on the football team whose participation will be arranged around the squad's schedule of preparations for its bowl game.
McGowan averaged 7.2 rebounds last year to rank 11th in the BIG EAST, and 8.5 points.
To replenish the thin ranks, the coaching staff signed eight players for the coming season, seven of them products of the junior college ranks.
Junior college transfer John Williamson is no stranger to Cincinnati. The Columbus, Ohio native, who always dreamed of being a Bearcat, played at Cincinnati State the past two years. He averaged 27.4 points and 11.7 rebounds to help the Surge to a 26-9 record and reach the finals of the NJCAA Tournament.
The lone freshman on the squad is Deonta Vaughn. The 6-1 Indianapolis native, who was a two-time all-state selection at Arlington High, averaged 17.4 points and 6.6 assists at Harmony Community School in Cincinnati last season.
BEARCATS UNBEATABLE IN 5/3 ARENA: Cincinnati is in its 18th season in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center with a 240-35 record a .872 winning percentage. UC is 76-12 in Fifth Third over the last five-plus seasons.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats are off for a week to take Fall quarter final exams. UC returns to action on Dec. 9 against Temple in the Lenape Trail Classic in Atlantic City, N.J.