TicketsFeb. 26, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will try to close out the careers of two seniors on a winning note when hosting Seton Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Fifth Third Arena. The 7 p.m. EST contest, UC's final home game of the season, will be Senior Night and tributes will be paid to Cedric McGowan and Ronald Allen. The Bearcats, 10-18 overall and 1-13 in BIG EAST play, will be out to snap a 10-game losing skid, the most-recent setback a 58-45 loss at DePaul on Saturday. Seton Hall (13-14, 4-10), like UC, has found the season challenging recently. The Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak with Saturday's 89-76 win over USF.
RING OF RED GAME: Wednesday's Cincinnati-Seton Hall contest has been declared a Ring of Red game. Bearcat fans are encouraged to wear red and ring the arena in a sea of red to help honor UC's two departing seniors. The Ring of Red tradition, in which games were designated for fans to show exceptional support, was started in 2002. To assist in creating the Ring of Red, t-shirts will be handed out to the first 8,000 entering fans.
CHARITY BENEFITS: Two charity benefits will take place in conjunction with Wednesday's game. C-PAWS, the service honorary of UC's student-athletes, are holding a clothing drive to benefit the St. George's Food Pantry. Fans are asked to bring items of old clothing and place in collection bins on the concourse of Fifth Third Arena. Cash donations are being accepted by the UC Department of Athletics for the family of junior basketball player Mike Williams, whose family lost its home and all possession in a fire last week. UC student-athletes will be at the entrances of Fifth Third Arena to accept donations for the Williams family.
STORY LINES:
Wednesday's contest will showcase the top two freshmen scorers in the BIG EAST Conference. Seton Hall's Eugene Harvey is the top frosh scorer, averaging 16.3 points. Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn is second with his 14.1 average.
Cincinnati and Seton Hall will be meeting for the eighth time and only the second time since 1979. The Pirates won last year's game, at Seton Hall, 82-62.
Wednesday's contest will be Seton Hall's first vs. UC in Cincinnati. Six of the previous seven meetings took place on neutral courts.
Seton Hall is 1-7 in road games this season, 0-6 on the road in BIG EAST Conference play.
Cincinnati is concluding its 18th season in Fifth Third Arena where the Bearcats have compiled a 244-42 ledger.
Bearcats' forward John Williamson is third in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (3.3) and 10th in total rebounds (7.2).
Cincinnati and Seton Hall have played 10 common opponents. Seton Hall is 4-8 vs. those teams with wins over Rutgers, St. John's, Providence and USF and losses to Providence, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, West Virginia (twice), Villanova and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati is 1-10 vs. those teams, defeating West Virginia but losing to Rutgers (twice), Providence, St. John's, Notre Dame, Georgetown (twice), Villanova, Pittsburgh and USF.
LAST MEETING: Donald Copeland scored 28 points to lead Seton Hall to a 72-62 win over Cincinnati on Feb. 28, 2006 in East Rutherford. Cincinnati led through much of the first half and enjoyed a 34-28 lead at intermission. The Pirates overtook UC and put the game away with a 21-10 run over the final 5:34. Jihad Muhammad scored 21 points for UC.
NOTING THE DePAUL GAME:
Cincinnati's 45 points were the second-fewest points scored by the Bearcats this season.
John Williamson reached double figures in scoring for the 21st time this season and extended his current streak of double-digit scoring games to seven.
UC outrebounded DePaul, 43-35, marking the third straight game in which the Bearcats have outrebounded their opponent.
The loss extended Cincinnati's losing streak to 10 games, the program's longest since the 1924-25 team lost 11 straight.
WILLIAMSON RETURNS TO THE OFFENSE: John Williamson has picked up the Bearcats' offense in recent games. The 6-6 junior has averaged 17.6 points over his last five games, during which he has shot .525 (32 of 61) from the field. Williamson scored 23 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds in the Feb. 18 game vs. Notre Dame. 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 21 of the team's 28 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 third in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.3 per game. He is rated 10th 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 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 (16.3 points) of Seton Hall.
Vaughn has averaged 16.3 points over his last three games. He scored 19 points vs. Georgetown on Feb. 21 and had 22 points, his fifth 20-plus points performance, in the Feb. 18 game vs. Notre Dame.
More than just a scorer, Vaughn has twice recorded a career-high eight rebounds and is the Bearcats' assists leader (3.5). He has become the Bearcats' leader in steals (1.9), having averaged 3.0 thefts over his last three games.
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 six 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 SCORES FROM OUTSIDE: 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 (42) and leads the team and is ranked seventh in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (.424).
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. He tallied 13 points vs. Rutgers on Feb. 10 and has twice recorded a career-high six assists.
Defensively, Warren has had at least one steal in all but five games this season and has had multiple steals in 16 contests. Warren, who had a streak of 15 games with a steal, is the Bearcats co-leader in steals with his 1.9 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.
BEARCATS DATA:
Though they are almost always at a size disadvantage, the Bearcats have won the battle of the boards in each of their last three contests. Cincinnati posted a 43-35 edge in rebounding in Saturday's game vs. DePaul and outrebounded Georgetown, 31-27, on Feb. 21.
The Bearcats were victims of opponents' comeback rallies in two recent 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.
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.
The Bearcats forced a season-high 32 turnovers, three shy of the school record, in their Dec. 23 win over North Carolina State.
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.
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.
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: The Bearcats close out the 2006-07 season on Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at No. 18 West Virginia. Cincinnati defeated the Mountaineers, 96-83, in overtime when the two teams met in Cincinnati on Jan. 20.