TicketsSept. 17, 2010
Complete Release including printable schedule in PDF Format
CINCINNATI - The 2010-11 University of Cincinnati men's basketball season is highlighted by eight nationally televised games on the ESPN family of networks and 16 match-ups vs. teams that participated in postseason action last March.
The Bearcats open the regular season with four straight home games in Fifth Third Arena. The season opener on Nov. 15 vs. Mount St. Mary's is the first of four games which are part of the Global Sports Main Event, an exempted tournament. Following the game vs. IPFW on Nov. 20, Cincinnati concludes play in the Global Sports Main Event with games vs. Florida A&M (Nov. 22), Savannah State (Nov. 24), and Dayton (Nov. 27). The finale vs. Dayton on Nov. 27 will be played in downtown Cincinnati at the U.S. Bank Arena.
Cincinnati continues action vs. regional rival Wright State on Dec. 1 in Fifth Third Arena and then travels to Toledo on Dec. 4. The game vs. Wright State will be UC's first vs. the Raiders since 2001.
After returning home for a quick two-game homestand vs. Utah Valley State and Georgia Southern on Dec. 11 and 14, respectively, UC heads off to Oklahoma City to take part in the 75th Annual All-College Classic vs. the University of Oklahoma on Dec. 18. The All-College Basketball Classic is the world's oldest basketball tournament, predating the NCAA, NIT, NAIA, and NBA tournaments. It has been played in a doubleheader format since 2001. The other game of the doubleheader features Oklahoma State vs. Alabama.
Three days after returning from Oklahoma, the Bearcats will make their first visit since 1993 to Miami University's Millett Hall on Dec. 21 to take on the RedHawks in the 146th meeting between the two schools.
Following Miami, the Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena for a four-game homestand that includes St. Francis (PA) (Dec. 23) before opening up BIG EAST Conference action. Cincinnati opens its 18-game BIG EAST schedule on Dec. 28 when DePaul visits the Queen City. The Blue Demons are one of three teams UC will face at home and on the road in BIG EAST play. The others are St. John's (A - Jan. 22; H - Feb. 13) and Georgetown (A - Feb. 23; H - March 5). Cincinnati will face the remaining 12 teams in the conference once.
UC will ring in the New Year on Dec. 31 with a New Year's Eve match-up with Seton Hall on ESPN2. The Bearcats then play their first game of 2011 at home in the annual Crosstown Shootout vs. Xavier on Jan. 6 also on ESPN2.
Including Xavier, the Bearcats will face eight teams from the 2010 NCAA Tournament field, with home contests vs. NCAA Final Four participant West Virginia (Jan. 29), Louisville (Feb. 16), and Georgetown (March 5). St. John's and Connecticut, who both made the field of the NIT last season, come to UC on Feb. 13 and Feb. 27, respectively.
Playing in the BIG EAST, UC's road schedule does not get any easier at it faces additional trips to Villanova (Jan. 9), defending regular-season BIG EAST Champion Syracuse (Jan. 15), Notre Dame (Jan. 19), St. John's (Jan. 22), Pittsburgh (Feb. 5), Providence (Feb. 19), and Marquette (March 2).
After rebuilding the program since taking over in 2006, head coach Mick Cronin looks to capitalize on the momentum of being one of five teams from the major basketball conferences to post increasing wins totals in each of the last four years (11 in 2006-07; 13 in 2007-08; 18 in 2008-09; 19 in 2009-10). The other teams on the list are 2010 NCAA Champion Duke, Baylor, California, and Purdue.
Cincinnati enters the 2010-11 season with three starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 19-16 and made its first appearance in the NIT under Cronin. The Bearcats top returning scorer and rebounder is junior forward Yancy Gates (10.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg), a 2008-09 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team selection. Fellow returning starters include senior center Ibrahima Thomas (5.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and sophomore guard JaQuon Parker (4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg). The Bearcats will add depth to the front court with the additions of 6-foot-8 freshman forward Justin Jackson and 6-foot-10 freshman center Kelvin Gaines.
"As a coach in the BIG EAST you know you begin with one of the toughest schedules in the country when you look at just your league schedule," said Cronin. "This year we have a team that has been through those rigors for three full seasons. The maturity and chemistry the team displayed in Canada has me excited. This group of guys has been through some tough times, some big wins and some tough losses to great teams. Those experiences have helped us mature as a team and we can't wait to get started."
Season tickets for Bearcats basketball are now available to the public. Season tickets begin at $538 for lower level UCATS Reserved seats, $482 for upper level UCATS Reserved chairback seats, $344 for Bearcats Lair seats behind the baselines in the lower level, and $166 for the upper level Bearcats Lair season ticket options (for UCATS requirements, please click HERE).
Fans interested in ordering Bearcats Basketball season tickets should call 1-877-CATS-TIX to speak with a member of the Bearcats Fan Development team.