TicketsJan. 11, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will seek its first BIG EAST Conference victory of the season and an end to a three-game losing streak when the Bearcats visit USF on Sunday, Jan. 14. Game time at the USF Sun Dome is 2 p.m. UC enters the contest with a 9-6 record but has been idle since its 54-42 loss to Rutgers on Jan. 7 in its league opener. USF is 9-8 overall and 0-3 in BIG EAST play. The Bulls lost to Louisville, 81-55, on Wednesday.
STORY LINES:
Sunday's game will feature two of the top freshmen in the BIG EAST Conference. Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn is ranked 20th in the BIG EAST in scoring (13.3) and is 13th in assists (3.9). USF's Solomon Bozeman is ranked 21st in scoring (13.2) and is 10th in assists (4.6).
Cincinnati and USF have played one common opponent. Both have lost to UAB. UC incurred a 59-57 setback to the Blazers on Dec. 4 while USF fell, 78-62, on Dec. 27.
The Bearcats will be out to avert their longest losing streak in 19 seasons. UC last dropped four in a row in February of the 1987-88 season.
LAST SEASON: Cedric McGowan and Jihad Muhammad each scored 18 points to propel Cincinnati to a 73-60 win over USF on Jan. 31, 2006. Trailing by seven points early in the second half, the Bearcats cut the margin to one point and then took command of the game with an 11-1 scoring run. Solomon Jones led USF with 14 points.
NOTING THE RUTGERS GAME:
Cincinnati's 42 points scored was the fewest since the Bearcats' 40-38 win over UAB on Jan. 23, 1993.
Jamual Warren recorded a career high for assists with six. Warren saw his streak of consecutive games with at least one steal snapped at 14.
The setback ended two Cincinnati streaks. UC's string of consecutive victories in conference openers was halted at 12. Also ceased was the five-game win streak over Rutgers.
WARREN ON A ROLL: Jamual Warren, who tallied 15 points on Dec. 30 vs. Ohio, has scored in double figures in five of his last eight games. The 6-2 junior has averaged 11.6 points during that span. Warren has achieved career highs in four categories during his last seven contests, recording personal bests for points (16 vs. Temple), rebounds (7 vs. Temple), assists (6 vs. Rutgers) and steals (4 vs. Xavier).
WILLIAMSON WINNING PRAISE: John Williamson continues to draw attention for his play. The 6-6 junior and newcomer from the junior college tallied 15 points in vs. Ohio on Dec. 30 and narrowly missed his fourth double-double when he finished with nine rebounds.
Williamson, who ranks fifth in the BIG EAST Conference in rebounding with his 7.9 average, has averaged 8.4 rebounds over his last eight games. He grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, the most by a Bearcat and the fourth-most this season in the BIG EAST Conference, vs. No. 4 Ohio State on Dec. 16, and with 17 points, recorded his third double-double of the season.
Williamson's forte is on the offensive glass. He is second in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (3.4).
Williamson earned BIG EAST Conference Honor Roll honors for his play the week of Dec. 11-17, during which he averaged 17.5 points and 12.0 rebounds.
VAUGHN MAKING AN IMPACT: Deonta Vaughn has twice earned BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week honors. He was recognized most recently for his performance in Cincinnati's victory over North Carolina State on Dec. 23, in which he scored 25 points and reached career highs with nine assists and six steals.
Vaughn has ranked among the top freshmen scorers in the BIG EAST throughout the season. He is Cincinnati's second-leading scorer with his 13.3-point average.
Vaughn has shown that he does not play like a freshman when the stakes are high. In the 67-57 win over crosstown rival Xavier on Dec. 13, the 6-1 guard led all scorers with 24 points. Against North Carolina State on Dec. 23, Vaughn scored 25 points and achieved career highs with nine assists and six steals.
Vaughn tallied a UC freshman single-game scoring record of 33 points vs. Wofford on Nov. 21. He connected on nine 3-pointers, the second most by any Bearcat in UC history. His 33-point effort is the third-highest scoring performance by any BIG EAST Conference player this season.
Since his promotion to the starting lineup in the fourth game of the season, Vaughn has averaged 14.7 points.
Vaughn has dished out five or more assists in eight games, with a single-game high of nine, and leads the squad with a 4.5 average.
Vaughn has the fourth-best scoring average at the 15-game mark of the season of any Cincinnati freshman.
VAUGHN MORE THAN A SCORER: Throughout his debut season, Deonta Vaughn has shown that he is more than just a scorer. The 6-1 freshman has ramped up the other facets of his game in recent contests. Vaughn has averaged 4.1 assists and 3.0 steals over his last four games. He dished out nine assists vs. North Carolina State on Dec. 23, the most by a Bearcat this season, and recorded six steals, which tied the third-highest single game mark by a Bearcat.
A STEAL IN TIME: Jamual Warren has had at least one steal in all but one game this season and has had multiple steals in all but six contests. The 6-2 junior leads, who had a streak of 14 games with a steal, the Bearcats with his 1.9 average. Warren set a new career high when he recorded four steals in the Dec. 13 win over Xavier.
Perhaps no steal was more timely than the one in which Warren made to extend his streak during the Dec. 27 win over Miami. After sinking a short jumper to give UC a 54-52 lead with 2:14 to play, Warren stole the ball and dunked on a break-away layup to present the Bearcats with an insurmountable lead. The 6-2 junior finished with 15 points.
McGOWAN MAKING GOOD: Cedric McGowan has the hottest hand among the Bearcats. The 6-7 senior has shot .682 from the field (15-of-22) over his last three games. McGowan tied his career scoring high with 20 points vs. No. 22 Memphis, going 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
In the Dec. 13 contest vs. Xavier, McGowan picked an opportune time to come out of his 3-point shooting slump. In the final 1:20 of the first half, McGowan, who was a mere 1-of-18 in 3-point field goals on the season, sank a pair of 3s, the second with 10 seconds to play putting UC in the lead for good.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats continue on the road for a Jan. 17 date at Syracuse. Cincinnait returns home to host West Virginia on Jan. 20.