TicketsDec. 6, 2008
CINCINNATI PLAYS ILLINOIS IN SECOND ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Bearcats play site host and No. 9 seed Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Western Kentucky in the opening round in five sets. UC and Illinois meet at 8 p.m. (ET) at Huff Hall, with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16 in the University Park regional.
LIVE STREAMING: Live streaming for tonight's NCAA Tournament match between Cincinnati and Illinois can be viewed on www.NCAA.com. To view live streaming, click here. Gametracker will also be available for tonight's matches. To view game tracker, .
ABOUT ILLINOIS: The Fighting Illini enter tonight's match as the No. 9 seed in the Tournament after finishing in third place in the Big Ten with a 15-5 conference record. Laura DeBruler leads the team with 4.59 kills per set, while Johannah Bangert leads the team with 1.65 blocks per set, which also ranks first in the nation.
THE SERIES WITH THE FIGHTING ILLINI: Saturday marks the eighth meeting between Illinois and Cincinnati, with the Bearcats owning a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. The last meeting between the two schools was in 1980, with Illinois defeating UC, 2-0.
UC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Last night's win over Western Kentucky was the second NCAA Tournament win in program history. The last time the Bearcats advanced to the second round was in 2001. That season, the Bearcats defeated Xavier in the first round before dropping a four-set match to No. 10 Ohio State.
ROAD WARRIORS: After starting the season with a 1-4 record on the road, Cincinnati has won six straight decisions on the road. The six road wins have come over Western Kentucky, Syracuse, Marquette, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and UAB, and five of those six wins have come in three sets.