TicketsCINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team returns to the NCAA Championship for the eighth-straight season with a first-round game against Georgia State on Friday, March 16, at Bridgestone Arena (20,000) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Cincinnati is one of six schools in the nation to play in eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments, along with Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State and North Carolina.
UC (30-4) is the No. 2 seed in the South Region while the No. 15 seed is Georgia State (24-10). No. 7 Nevada (27-7) and No. 10 Texas (19-14) are the other South Region teams playing in Nashville.
The game will tipoff at 2 p.m. ET and be televised by TBS with Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Steve Lappas (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline) calling the action. The game will also air on 700 WLW AM with Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Terry Nelson (analyst) on the call.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats finished the regular season 30-4, sweeping the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. UC finished with 30 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history and the conference postseason tournament title was the first for the Bearcats since 2004. Head Coach Mick Cronin was named as the Sporting News' National Coach of the Year and senior Gary Clark was the American's Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sportsmanship Award Winner, First-Team All-AAC and AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Jacob Evans III was tabbed as a First-Team All-Conference selection and Kyle Washington was named Honorable Mention All-AAC. UC had a pair of the nation's longest win streaks in 2017-18, rattling off 16-consecutive overall wins from Dec. 12 to Feb. 11 along with a 39-game home court winning streak which spanned the better part of two seasons.
// SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Georgia State finished the regular season 24-10 after winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament title. The Panthers earned a runner-up finish during the league's regular season to finish in the top two in the conference standings for the fourth time in the last five years. Georgia State has won 20 or more games in five of the seven seasons under head coach Ron Hunter who has the Panthers in the NCAA tournament for the second time in four years. Georgia State is led by Sun Belt Player of the Year and conference Tournament MVP D'Marcus Simonds who averaged a league-best 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He became the first player in program history to score 700 or more points in a single-season when he reached the mark during the Sun Belt Championship. Game All-Sun Belt Third Team member Devin Mitchell has knocked down 96 3-pointers this year, second-most in school history, and is among the top 20 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. Georgia State is among the top 10 in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense and has knocked down more than 300 3-pointers for the first time in program history. The Panthers had a 10-game winning streak during the middle of Sun Belt play and will enter the NCAA tournament on a four-game winning streak. GSU has a pair of Ohio natives on its roster, F Jordan Tyson (Walnut Hills HS) and F Jeff Thomas (Norwalk, Ohio). GSU HC Ron Hunter is a Miami (Ohio) graduate.
// THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH GEORGIA STATE
The two teams will meet for the first time on Friday.
// NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Bearcats are making their 32nd overall appearance in the NCAA Championship, eighth consecutive and 22nd in the past 27 seasons. UC has compiled a 45-30 record on the way to winning two National Championships (1961 & 1962), making eight regional finals (1959-63, 1992-93, 1996) and six Final Fours (1959-63, 1992).
UC is a No. 2 seed for the fifth time in its postseason history and the first time since 2000. It marks the highest postseason seed under Head Coach Mick Cronin and the second-straight year in the South Region. UC is 6-4 all-time in South Region play.
// CINCINNATI'S NASHVILLE TIES
Friday will make UC's fifth NCAA Tournament game in Nashville. The Bearcats are 3-1 in those games and also have a 2-0 record against Vanderbilt in Nashville. UC played in Nashville in the 2012 South Regional, knocking off Texas and Florida State to advance to the Sweet 16. In 2000, the Bearcats defeated UNC Wilmington in South Regional action before falling to Tulsa. The driving distance between Fifth Third Arena and Bridgestone Arena is 276.2 miles.
// TICKET INFORMATION
While fans are encouraged to purchase tickets through the UC Athletics Ticket Office, UC was allocated a very limited number of tickets for the first-round game in Nashville.
Based on such limited availability, all orders will be allocated based upon UCATS Priority, first by giving level and then by priority point order. All season ticket holders are able to place a ticket request through www.gobearcats.com/tickets by logging into their online account. Fans can also call the Athletics Ticket Office at 513-556-2287 on Monday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.
First and second-round tickets are $100 apiece at the Bridgestone Arena. Part of UC's ticket allotment will include upper-level tickets and fans will be notified ahead of time of their seat location. All tickets will be available at the will-call window in Nashville beginning approximately two hours prior to tipoff. The location will be determined at a later date and sent via e-mail to all patrons who purchase tickets. A photo ID will be required to claim the tickets. Ticket purchase rights are non-transferable.
// UCATS MEMBERS
On Monday, March 12, UC will continue to accept and finalize NCAA ticket requests from UCATS Presidential Society members, George Smith Society members and patrons contributing at the All-American level and above as well as all other UCATS members and men's basketball season ticket holders.
Members of the Presidential Society are eligible for up to six tickets and George Smith Society are eligible for up to four tickets to the first and second-round games. Patrons contributing at the All-American level are eligible for up to two tickets for the first and second-round games. All other UCATS members and season ticket holders are eligible to request up to two tickets. Those eligible UCATS members may request tickets by logging into their account at http://www.gobearcats.com/tickets and clicking "Request My NCAA Tournament Tickets". All requests must be finalized by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, March 12.
UCATS members who are not men's basketball season ticket holders will have to call the athletics ticket office at 1-877-CATS-TIX to make their request.
The credit card that is entered will be charged for the first-round game Friday, and provided the Bearcats move on, will then be charged for the second round game Sunday.