TicketsJan. 29, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati and Louisville renew their basketball rivalry in an 8 p.m. showdown at UC's Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 31. The Bearcats, 10-10 on the year, will hope that the energy of the rivalry helps them break a two-game losing skid and improve their 1-5 BIG EAST Conference slate. Louisville, 15-6, enters the week in a tie for third place in the BIG EAST with a 5-2 ledger. The Cardinals have a three-game winning streak and have won five of their last six contests.
STORY LINES:
Wednesday's game will match Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin against former coaching boss Rick Pitino at Louisville. Cronin served as associate head coach under Pitino for two years (2001-02--2002-03) at Louisville before becoming head coach at Murray State. Those two UofL teams compiled a 44-20 record, reaching the NIT in 2002 and the NCAA Tournament in 2003.
Rick Pitino's Louisville team defeated Mick Cronin's Murray State team, 91-69, in the only previous meeting between the two head coaches.
This will be the first time since the 1977 season that Cincinnati and Louisville face each other only once in the regular season schedule. The BIG EAST schedule format has each team playing three league opponents twice but Louisville was rotated off UC's slate of "mirror" opponents.
Louisville has four wins over Cincinnati in Fifth Third Arena, sharing with Marquette the most victories over UC on its current home court. The Cardinals are 4-9 vs. UC in Fifth Third but the Bearcats hold a 23-21 lead in all games played in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati has a 243-38 record (.865) in its 18 seasons in Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats will hope that the success of the home team in BIG EAST Conference play aids their cause. Through Sunday, the home teams have combined for a 40-20 record in BIG EAST play.
Cincinnati and Louisville have been rivals in three previous conferences; the Missouri Valley (1964-70), Metro (1975-91) and Conference USA (1995-2005).
Cincinnati and Louisville have played three common opponents--Ohio, USF and Syracuse. The Bearcats lost to all three teams while the Cardinals defeated all three.
UC-LOUISVILLE: Wednesday's game will be the 89th meeting between Cincinnati and Louisville, which will tie the series with Dayton (89 games) as the Bearcats' second-most played rivalry. UC and Miami have played 143 times. Louisville leads the all-time series, 50-38. Cincinnati has won 13 of the last 20 contests.
LAST SEASON: The teams faced off twice as mirror opponents in the BIG EAST schedule with the home team winning each contest.
Juan Palacios scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Louisville to a 67-50 win over Cincinnati on Jan. 25, 2006 in Louisville. The Cardinals took advantage of the Bearcats' cold first-half shooting (.267) to build a 14-point lead. UC cut that margin to seven early in the second half but UofL broke the game open with a 16-1 run. Eric Hicks had 15 points and a career-high tying 17 rebounds for UC.
Jihad Muhammad scored 19 points to lead Cincinnati to a 74-68 win over Louisville on Feb. 6, 2006 in Cincinnati. A layup at the 7:00 mark erased a brief UofL second half lead. The Bearcats tied a school record by going 18-of-18 at the foul line and outrebounded the Cardinals, 42-30. Brandon Jenkins scored 20 points for Louisville.
A RIVALRY OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE: In 52 of the previous 88 Cincinnati-Louisville games, at least one of the teams was nationally ranked, and in 13 of contests, including four of the last seven, both schools were ranked.
UC of UofL clashed in the consolation game of the 1959 Final Four, held in Louisville's Freedom Hall, with the Oscar Robertson-led Bearcats taking third place with a 98-85 win.
NOTING THE GEORGETOWN GAME:
Marcus Sikes' 5-of-5 performance from 3-point range tied the UC single game record for 3-point field goal percentage (minimum five made 3s). Field Williams was 5-of-5 vs. Louisville in 2001-02.
Cincinnati's .583 3-point field goal percentage matched the Bearcats' season high. UC shot .583 vs. Central Michigan on Nov. 25. The Bearcats were 7-of-12 in that game but doubled those totals for a 14-of-24 game vs. Georgetown.
Georgetown's five turnovers established a new season low by a UC opponent.
Jamual Warren, with two steals, has recorded at least one steal in 19 of Cincinnati's 20 games this season and has had multiple steals in 14 of those games.
SIKES BECOMES A SCORER: Marcus Sikes has been one of Cincinnati's top offensive performers in recent games. The 6-8 junior has averaged 15.8 points over the last four games. During that stretch, Sikes has shot a sizzling .640 (16 of 25) from 3-point range and .526 (20 of 38) from the floor.
Sikes scored 19 points in 25 minutes of the Jan. 27 Georgetown game before fouling out. He was 7-of-9 from the floor and tied a UC single game record for 3-point field goal percentage with a perfect 5-of-5 day from behind the arc.
Sikes scored a career-high 24 points vs. Syracuse on Jan. 17, sinking eight of 12 3-pointers.
Sikes is a perimeter performer in a big man's role. He has the second-most 3-pointers on the team (34) and leads UC and is among the conference leaders in 3-point shooting percentage (.493).
WILLIAMSON ON THE BOARDS: John Williamson continues to be one of the most effective rebounders in the BIG EAST Conference, particularly under the offensive glass. The 6-6 junior is ranked second in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.7 per game. He is ranked seventh in the league in overall rebounding with his 7.9 average.
Williamson is also Cincinnati's most consistent scorer, having reached double figures in 14 of the team's 20 contests.
Williamson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the Jan. 20 win over West Virginia. His rebound total was second to the 16 rebounds he gathered vs. No. 4 Ohio State on Dec. 16.
Williamson earned BIG EAST Conference Honor Roll accolades for his play the week of Dec. 11-17, during which he averaged 17.5 points and 12.0 rebounds.
VAUGHN MAKING AN IMPRESSION: Deonta Vaughn, who has taken over the Bearcats' scoring lead (13.8), has ranked among the top freshmen scorers in the BIG EAST Conference throughout the season. He is currently second to Eugene Harvey (15.8 points) of Seton Hall.
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 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.
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.
Vaughn has dished out five or more assists in nine games with a single-game high of 10 and leads the squad with a 3.8 average.
GENTRY PROVIDES BOOST: Marvin Gentry, Cincinnati's super sixth man, has provided a scoring boost from the bench in recent games. The 6-3 junior has averaged 15.3 points over his last four games, during which he has shot .525 from the field (20 of 38) and .526 from 3-point range (10 of 19).
Gentry tallied 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field vs. Georgetown on Saturday.
Gentry played a major role in the 96-83 win over West Virginia on Jan. 20, scoring a career-high 32 points. He was 5-of-7 from 3-point range and sank nine of his dozen free throw tries. The effort helped him earn weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll laurels.
WARREN PICKING UP THE TEMPO: Jamual Warren has averaged 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 steals over his last five games. He tied his career scoring high with 16 points and set a new personal best with eight rebounds in the Jan. 20 win over West Virginia. On Jan. 17, he recorded a career-high five steals vs. Syracuse.
Warren continues to be a factor on the defensive end. The 6-2 junior leads the team in steals (2.1), having made at least one steal in all but one game this season and posting multiple steals 14 times.
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, who had a streak of 15 games with a steal, leads the Bearcats with his 2.1 average. Warren set a career high with five steals in the Jan. 17 USF contest.
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 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.
COMEBACK CATS: The Bearcats fell to an early 17-point deficit vs. West Virginia on Jan. 20 which they overcame for their 96-83 overtime win. It was the second-largest deficit that Cincinnati has come back from to win in the history of Fifth Third Arena.
UC has twice overcome 18-point margins for wins in Fifth Third. On Feb. 28, 1998, the Bearcats fought back from 18 points down to defeat Saint Louis, 61-58. They overcame the same size margin on Nov. 28, 2004 for a 76-70 overtime win over Northern Iowa.
BEARCATS DATA:
The Bearcats, have shot .379 (47 of 124) from 3-point range over their last five games, which has raised the team's season percentage from .278 to .311. UC tied a season high by shooting .583 (14 of 24) vs. Georgetown on Jan. 27.
Cincinnati's last two opponents have combined to shoot .560 (51 of 91) from the field. Pittsburgh shot .605 vs. UC on Jan. 24, setting a Fifth Third Arena record by a UC foe, and Georgetown followed that with a .528 performance on Jan. 27.
UC has made recent improvements in taking care of the basketball. The Bearcats have averaged 9.3 turnovers over their last four games, including a season-low six turnovers vs. West Virginia on Jan. 20.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats' home stand continues on Sunday, Feb. 4, when UC plays host to St. John's at noon. Cincinnati returns to the road to visit Providence on Feb. 6.