TicketsDec. 6, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati ventures out of Fifth Third Arena for the first time this season to take on Temple University at the Lenape Trail Classic on Saturday, Dec. 9. The 4 p.m. game will be played in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The Bearcats will be out to rebound from last Saturday's 59-57 loss to UAB which lowered their record to 5-2. Temple brings a 3-2 record into the game, having won its last three, including a 76-71 win over Western Michigan 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. Fran Dunphy is new at Temple after building a 310-163 record in 17 seasons at Pennsylvania.
Cincinnati will be out to snap a three-game losing streak to Temple. The Bearcats own a 13-6 lead in the series.
This will mark the ninth time in the 20-game series that the teams have met on a neutral court. In fact, six of the previous seven meetings have been at neutral sites, three of them occurring in the NCAA Tournament.
Mick Cronin will be after his 75th career coaching victory.
NOTING THE UAB GAME:
Cincinnati rebounded from 30 percent shooting in the first half (9-of-30) to shoot .519 in the second half (14-of-27) and finished with a .404 percentage.
UAB's two-point margin of victory marked the eighth time in the 22-game series that the contest was decided by three or fewer points.
Jamual Warren, with two steals, extended his streak of games with a steal to seven. He has had multiple steals in six of those contests and leads the team with his 2.1 average.
Deonta Vaughn finished with two assists, the first time in seven games in which the freshman had not had at least five assists.
BEARCAT DATA:
Deonta Vaughn has averaged 21.3 points over his last four 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.
Vaughn has dished out five or more assists in six games and leads the squad with a 5.0 average.
John Williamson leads UC in field goal percentage (.627) and 3-point field goal percentage (.667).
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 2.1 average.
After shooting just .559 at the foul line over their first three games, the Bearcats have shot a .717 percentage over their last four contests.
Cincinnati has had a double digit rebounder in four of its seven 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 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.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena to host Xavier in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Game time is 7 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.