TicketsFeb. 8, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will seek that elusive first road victory of the season when visiting Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 10 for a 4 p.m. contest. The Bearcats thought they had that victory on Tuesday at Providence, but the Friars overcame an eight-point deficit in the final 1:41 for a 71-70 win, lowering UC's records to 10-13 overall and 1-8 in the BIG EAST Conference. Rutgers, 9-15 overall, is 2-9 in BIG EAST play following Wednesday's 67-46 loss to No. 11 Marquette
STORY LINES:
Saturday's game is the second of the season between Cincinnati and Rutgers. The two teams opened their BIG EAST slates on Jan. 7 in Cincinnati with the Scarlet Knights winning, 54-42.
Rutgers is 7-6 in home games this season but has a 318-137 record in its 30 seasons in the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
After facing high-scoring Providence, the second-ranked offensive team in the BIG EAST, on Tuesday, Cincinnati will face a Rutgers team that is ranked last in the conference in scoring (59.8). The Bearcats are ranked 14th in the BIG EAST with their 65.7-point scoring average.
Bearcats' center Marcus Sikes is ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (.452). Forward John Williamson is second in offensive rebounds (3.5) and seventh in total rebounds (7.5).
Cincinnati and Rutgers have played seven common opponents. Rutgers is winless vs. those foes while Cincinnati is 3-4 with wins over Miami (Ohio), Temple and West Virginia and losses to Syracuse, Georgetown, Providence and USF.
LAST MEETING: Rutgers posted a 54-42 win in a defensive battle the first time the two teams met this season, in the BIG EAST opener, on Jan. 7 in Cincinnati. The Scarlet Knights broke open a one-point game with a 16-2 scoring run in the second half. Adrian Hill, Jaron Griffin and Marquis Webb each tallied 13 points for Rutgers. Marcus Sikes led the Bearcats with 17 points.
NOTING THE PROVIDENCE GAME:
Jamual Warren tied a career high with six assists, the second consecutive game that he has reached that figure.
John Williamson, with 15 points, reached double digits in scoring for the 16th time this season.
Cincinnati's 13 steals tied a season high. UC made 13 steals vs. North Carolina State on Dec. 23. It marked the fifth time UC had reached double digits in steals this season.
UC's nine turnovers was the seventh time that the Bearcats finished in single digits in miscues.
The Bearcats' .500 field goal percentage was their second-highest of the season.
VAUGHN BACK ON TRACK: Deonta Vaughn has stepped up his points production in recent games. The 6-1 freshman has averaged 16.8 points over his last four games to take over the team scoring lead with his 14.1-point average. Vaughn has ranked among the top freshmen scorers in the BIG EAST Conference throughout the season. He is currently second to Eugene Harvey (16.0 points) of Seton Hall.
Vaughn posted back-to-back 18-point performances vs. Georgetown (1/27/07) and Louisville (1/31/07) and a 17-point effort vs. St. John's (2/4/07).
More than just a scorer, Vaughn has twice recorded a career-high eight rebounds during the last eight games and is the Bearcats' assists leader (3.6).
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 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 10 games with a single-game high of nine and leads the squad with a 3.6 average.
GENTRY PROVIDES BOOST: Marvin Gentry, Cincinnati's super sixth man most of the season, moved into the starting lineup for Tuesday's game at Providence. The 6-3 junior has provided a scoring boost in recent contests. Gentry has averaged 14.5 points over his last six games.
Gentry tallied 22 points while playing all but three minutes of the Jan. 31 game vs. Louisville.
Gentry scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field vs. Georgetown (1/27/07).
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.
SIKES BECOMES A SCORER: Marcus Sikes has been one of Cincinnati's top offensive performers in recent games. The 6-8 junior has averaged 14.0 points over the last seven games.
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 (38) and leads UC and is ranked fifth in the BIG EAST Conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.452).
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 3.5 per game. He is rated seventh in the league in overall rebounding with his 7.5 average.
Williamson is also Cincinnati's most consistent scorer, having reached double figures in 16 of the team's 23 contests. He has recovered from a brief scoring slump to average 14.0 points over his last two games, shooting .632 (12 of 19) from the field.
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.
A STEAL IN TIME: Jamual Warren has had at least one steal in all but two games this season and has had multiple steals in all but seven 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.
Warren has made seven steals over his last two games.
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.
On the offensive end, Warren tied a career scoring high when he tallied 16 points in the win over West Virginia (1/20/07). He has tied his career assists high of six in each of the last two contests.
BEARCATS DATA:
Cincinnati has averaged 12.0 steals over its last two games. The Bearcats tied a season high when they recorded 13 steals vs. Providence on Feb. 6. UC's pressure defense has forced 40 turnovers over the last two contests.
UC has made recent improvements in taking care of the basketball. The Bearcats have averaged 9.4 turnovers over their last seven games, including a season-low six turnovers vs. West Virginia on Jan. 20. UC had eight turnovers vs. Louisville on Jan. 31 and nine vs. Providence on Feb. 6.
UC tied a season high by shooting .583 (14 of 24) from 3-point range vs. Georgetown on Jan. 27.
Marcus Sikes' 5-of-5 performance from 3-point range vs. Georgetown (1/27/07) 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.
IT'S ACADEMIC: Two Bearcats, Marcus Sikes and Branden Miller, qualified for the Dean's list academic honors after Fall quarter for having grade point averages of 3.5 or above. Three others, John Williamson, Connor Barwin and Mike Williams, posted GPAs of 3.0 or above. The team's GPA was 2.875, a shade lower that the 2.965 of the UC general student body.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cincinnati concludes its three-game road run on Wednesday, Feb. 14 with a visit to Villanova for a 9 p.m. contest. The Bearcats retuen to Fifth Third Arena to host Notre Dame on Feb. 18.