TicketsFeb. 16, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will hope that home will be sweet home when the Bearcats host Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 18 in a 2 p.m. EST contest. UC, 10-15 overall and 1-10 in BIG EAST Conference play, will be out to snap a seven-game losing skid. The Bearcats' last win was a 96-83 overtime decision over West Virginia on Jan. 20. Notre Dame, 19-6 overall and 7-5 in league play, is 16-0 at home this year but 1-5 on the road. The Fighting Irish defeated Providence, 81-78, on Thursday.
THROWBACK JERSEYS: Cincinnati will don replica uniforms of those used by the Bearcats' 1961 national championship team for Sunday's game. The uniforms are white with Cincinnati in block letters across the chest and black numbers, trimmed in red. As a concession to contemporary styles, the uniforms will use the lengthier shorts.
STORY LINES:
Sunday's game is the first meeting between Cincinnati and Notre Dame as BIG EAST Conference members. The two teams did not play last season, UC's first in the league. Notre Dame holds a 3-1 lead in the series. The teams last met at the John Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis in 2000-01 with the Fighting Irish winning, 69-51.
Sunday's contest will be the first time the two teams play in Cincinnati. Three of the previous four meetings were on neutral courts. UC and UND played in the NCAA Tournaments in 1975 and 1976. The series began with a game in South Bend in 1939-40.
The Bearcats will have the challenge of defending the BIG EAST's top offensive team. Notre Dame is ranked first in the league and eighth nationally in scoring offense (81.8). Senior Russell Carter is second in the BIG EAST in individual scoring (17.7).
Bearcats' forward John Williamson is second in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (3.3) and seventh in total rebounds (7.2).
Cincinnati continues to be one of the BIG EAST's best in taking care of the basketball. UC is ranked third in turnover margin (+3.3).
Cincinnati and Notre Dame have played eight common opponents. Cincinnati is 1-7 in games vs. those teams, having defeated West Virginia but losing to Louisville, Georgetown, Villanova, USF, St. John's, Providence and Syracuse. Notre Dame is 6-4 vs. those foes, having defeated Louisville, West Viriginia, USF, Villanova, Providence and Syracuse but losing to Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's and USF.
LAST MEETING: Troy Murphy scored 30 points to boost Notre Dame to a 69-51 win over Cincinnati on Nov. 25, 2000 at the John Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis. The game was closer than the final outcome. The Fighting Irish scored the final five points of the first half to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room. Cincinnati closed the gap to one point four times early in the second half. Cold shooting (.338 from the field, .059 from 3-point range) by the Bearcats ultimately was their demise. Notre Dame scored 14 unanswered points in the final 5:30.
NOTING THE VILLANOVA GAME: John Williamson, with 15 points, reached double digits in scoring for the 18th time this season and his fourth straight contest.
UC's 13 field goals was a season low and tied for the third-lowest single game total in records kept since the 1946-47 season.
The loss extended the Bearcats' losing streak to seven games, the longest since the 1983-84 season.
AT HOME ON THE ROAD: The Bearcats have found life on the road to be a little better than life at home recently. UC has shot .450 (69 of 153) from the field and averaged 62.3 points over its last three road games, compared to .333 shooting (58 of 174) and 56.0 points over its previous three home contests.
WILLIAMSON RETURNS TO THE OFFENSE: John Williamson has picked up the Bearcats' offense in recent games. The 6-6 junior has averaged 16.3 points over his last three games, during which he has shot .545 (18 of 33) from the field. He tallied 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the Feb. 10 game at Rutgers and had 15 points vs. Villanova on Feb. 14.
Williamson is Cincinnati's most consistent scorer, having reached double figures in 18 of the team's 25 contests.
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 3.3 per game. He is rated seventh in the league in overall rebounding with his 7.2 average.
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 AMONG BEST FROSH: Deonta Vaughn continues to lead the Bearcats in scoring with his 13.9-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 (15.7 points) of Seton Hall.
Vaughn has reached the 18-point mark three times in the last six games, the most recent vs. Rutgers on Feb. 10.
More than just a scorer, Vaughn has twice recorded a career-high eight rebounds 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.
GENTRY BECOMES A STARTER: Marvin Gentry, Cincinnati's super sixth man most of the season, has moved into the starting lineup for the last three games. The 6-3 junior has provided a scoring boost in recent contests.
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 is a perimeter player who has been forced to see action around the basket. Sikes, who at 6-8 is the tallest Bearcat regular, nonetheless has the second-most treys among the Bearcats (40) and leads the team and is ranked eighth in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (.430). 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.
WARREN SHINES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT: Jamual Warren continues to spark the Bearcats at both ends of the court. The 6-2 junior has averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 assists over his last four games. He tallied 13 points vs. Rutgers on Feb. 10 and had a career-high six assists in each of his two previous contests.
Defensively, Warren has had at least one steal in all but four games this season and has had multiple steals in all but nine contests. Warren, who had a streak of 15 games with a steal, leads the Bearcats with his 2.0 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.
BEARCATS DATA:
Cincinnati has averaged 9.3 steals over its last four games. The Bearcats tied a season high when they recorded 13 steals vs. Providence on Feb. 6.
UC has made recent improvements in taking care of the basketball. The Bearcats have averaged 10.2 turnovers over their last nine games, including a season-low six turnovers vs. West Virginia on Jan. 20.
The Bearcats were victims of opponents' comeback rallies in two of their last three games. Cincinnati held a 70-62 lead with 1:41 to play in its Feb. 7 game at Providence, but the Friars scored nine straight points--a pair of treys and a 3-point play--for a 71-70 defeat. UC held a 67-61 advantage over Rutgers with 4:04 remaining, but the Scarlet Knights scored nine unanswered points to take a 70-67 lead with 1:14 on the clock for an eventual 73-69 win on Feb. 10.
Cincinnati's 96-83 overtime win over West Virginia on Jan. 20 featured the second-largest deficit that the Bearcats had overcome in their history in Fifth Third Arena. UC trailed by 17 points in the first half of the West Virginia contest. Cincinnati 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.
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 will host Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The 7 p.m. EST contest will be televised by ESPNU. The Bearcats take to the road to face DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 25.