Bearcats Breakdown: Deonta Vaughn

The first entry in the series of breaking down the Bearcat players from this past season starts with Deonta Vaughn. All in all, this was a pretty disappointing season for one of the best Bearcats of all time. Deonta did, however, become the Bearcats career leader in 3 pointers made, and assists. He became the first Bearcat ever(?) or in a long time to lead the team in assists all 4 seasons. Deonta only made the post season once, but never the NCAA tournament, which will probably tarnish his legacy. He is one of the reasons that Cincinnati basketball was able to turn things around and make the NIT though, so he deserves many, many props. I bought his jersey at the Dayton game, and that's really all the levels of respect that a man needs.

Scoring: Deonta Vaughn averaged 11.7 points a game this season. That's down from 15.3, 17.3 and 14.5. He shot 37.8%, down from 38.8%, 43.6%, but up from his freshman year of 37.3%. His effective fg% was 48.9, same as last season, but down from 55.5. It was up from his freshman year at 45. Vaughn shot 33.8% from 3, same as last year. It was down from his spectacular sophomore year, 39.8, but up from 29.2 as a freshman. Vaughn shot a career best 82% at the free throw line, up from 80%, 79%, and 75%. Vaughn's offensive rating ended up being 108.5, his second best for his career. Deonta took 325 shots, which is significantly down from his past years. From freshman to junior, he took 407, 408 and 399. It's not like he made it up from the free throw line, he had 110 attempts. That's down from 128 soph and 120 junior.

Vaughn's best shooting days came in the Big East. He was 7-10 for 17 against Pittsburgh, 6-11 for 17 against UConn, and 7-13 against Seton Hall. Deonta had only 9 games shooting 50% or better. I listed the only 3 where he took double digit shots. Vaughn's top scoring game was the NIT loss to Dayton where he had 28, the 20 against Seton Hall, 20 against South Florida (the win), and 18 against Villanova. He had 17 three times, the two mentioned up top and he had 17 at Rutgers. Vaughn averaged 9.8 points non conference, and 11.8 during Big East play. It was a dramatic let down at the scoring end for Deonta Vaughn. Vaughn's worst game was the stinker against Miami where he didn't score.

Assists: Deonta lead UC in assists, but only had 3.514, which was his third best effort while at UC. His best was 4.7 last year, followed by 4.2 and 3.5 even. His best assist game was 9, against Toledo. He had 7 against Lipscomb, Marquette and Weber State. He dropped 6 in the losses to Gonzaga and Notre Dame. Vaughn had 22.5% of Cincinnati's assists on the season. That's a career low. He had 24.9%, 30.8% and 27.2%. That speaks to the team's improved passing, as well as Vaughn's decreased role in the offense.

Rebounding: Vaughn put up a second best in rebounding, gathering 3.5. Last season, he had 4. Vaughn pulled down 9 against Xavier, and 7 in the win against Notre Dame and Gonzaga loss. Vaughn pulled a rebound in every game, except Providence.

Other things: Vaughn continued to be a thief with 1.2 steals a game. His high was 4, and he hit that 3 times, against Dayton, St John's and Toledo. Vaughn blocked 2 shots, good for second best in his career. Interesting side note, in the 6 games Vaughn played the least, Cincinnati won them all. 4 were non conference blowouts, the other 2 were Vanderbilt and DePaul. Cincinnati didn't win a game the times he played the most minutes, Xavier, Villanova, Louisville, Gonzaga and Dayton. That's rather odd. In the games he played 30 minutes or more, UC was 8-11. That means UC was 11-5 in the games he played under 30 minutes. Those include wins over UConn and Louisville. That probably doesn't mean much.

Conclusion: Deonta Vaughn didn't have a great senior season. On the letter scale, his career would go B, A+, B, and C. He wasn't obviously horrible, but he wasn't great either. He never seemed to find his place. He couldn't adjust to being the off guard again, and he never wanted to take over the point guard position. He deferred to Lance Stephenson a lot, but also to the other guards who played with him. Vaughn was shut out in the Big East awards, which is something that didn't happen at all his first 3 years. In many ways, Vaughn's season was like UC's season. Higher expectations, but a failure to deliver what everyone wanted. It wasn't awful by any means, but we wanted and needed more. None the less, Deonta Vaughn had a magnificent career at Cincinnati. He'll be missed.

Dayton 81 Cincinnati 66

(Enquirer/Gary Landers)

This is a late recap of the final game of the Cincinnati Bearcats season. As so, I will spice up the action with personal stories of my experience at 5/3. It was the first game of the season that I had the pleasure of attending. The night got off to an ominous start. I met up with one of my friends and his parents at Mecklenberg Gardens only to find out that it was a UD alumni gathering. Sure, there was a UC side on the other half of the top level, but I was surrounded by Dayton fans. I did get a towel and basketball necklace, which was nice. Mecklenberg Gardens 2 meat dish should come with a paddles for the heart attack you are going to suffer later by the way. After the nice dinner, we took a bus over to the big fraction. I snapped this photo from section 209.

That was during warm ups obviously. Shout out to section 209. Not only was I there being handsome, but there were a couple of guys behind me who knew their shit, and there was a foxy lady sitting next to me that was also very knowledgeable. I bought a Deonta Vaughn jersey before the game. I think my not wearing it until about 3 minutes left was cause for the loss. Let's see how we got to the loss.

Yancy Gates scored the first basket of the game. It was the only thing Yancy would do positively all night. He got in foul trouble like 3 minutes in, and vanished the rest of the night. Kurt Huelsman, not liked by my friend Justin, but apparently loved by 2 kids wearing Huelsman jerseys, got a tip in for UD, before Chris Wright dunk made it 4-2. Jaquan Parker drilled a trey for UC's last lead. Rod Lowery connected for Dayton, starting an 11-2 run. Wright made a jumper, Stephenson a lay up for UC, and Paul Williams and Mickey Perry made 3 pointers. Deonta Vaughn added to his 3 pointers made number by netting one to make it 15-10 as we hit the under 12. The Flyers pushed the lead to 10 on a Williams jumper and a Luke Fabrizius 3 that brought out a Luuuuuuuuuke from the UD fans in attendance. The crowd was roughly a 1/4 UD fans. UC was putting up a ton of three point shots to no success, but Jaquan Parker connected on his second to bring the lead to 7. Huelsman scored inside, inciting a "That's his career high," from my UD friend Justin. Vaughn answered with free throws to make the score 22-15. That's when the Dayton 3 point party started. Lowery hit one, Stephenson drew a foul making both for the Cats, Perry made another, Lowery another, and Paul Williams another. From my recollection, they were all wide open. Dayton went up 34-17. The lead stayed at 15 to the under 3 timeout, with a Wilks jam, 2 Cashmere Wright free throws, a Marcus Johnson tip, a Thomas dunk, and a Wright jumper for UD. I should point out that Lance Stephenson got banged up and went down for a few minutes. Then, Jaquan Parker got hurt at the 7:30 mark or so, and didn't return. With the score 38-23, Cincinnati made a run. Larry Davis hit a pair of free throws after the break, and then Deonta Vaughn took over. Vaughn hit back to back 3s to cut the lead to 7, before Chris Johnson hit a 3 to push it back to 9. With 1 minute to go, Lance Stephenson was intentionally fouled by London Warren. Vaughn filled in, iced both foul shots, and on the subsequent UC possession, hit a jumper to make the score 41-36. That stayed the score though halftime.

The second half started with Stephenson getting to the basket, drawing a foul, making a free throw and cutting the lead to 2 a minute in. It was a very loud crowd for 6,300 or so. We can thank Dayton being our opponent, and their traveling fans for that. Anyway, UD got their first point on a Wright free throw, but UC cut the lead to 1 on a Thomas dunk from Stephenson. Chris Wright got it back for Dayton on a wide open dunk off an inbound play. The Bearcats cut the lead to 1 once again, when Cash got a steal, and passed to Stephenson for an emphatic dunk. Stephenson had a shot blocked by Wright for the lead, that turned into a Lowery lay up to push it back to 3, and started a 6-0 UD run. Matt Kavanaugh scored on a lay up, as did London Warren. All 3 lay ups were after UC missed 3 pointers. The Cats kept it close after a 3 minute draught with another Thomas dunk. Marcus Johnson answered that with a jumper, but UC got a 5 point spurt on a Cash lay up and a Vaughn 3 to make it 52-50. Paul Williams hit a 3 off an offensive rebound for the Flyers. Yancy Gates was stripped by Wright, which lead to a missed 3 by Marcus Johnson, but a rebound by Paul Williams, who found Devin Searcy, who in turn, dunked on Ibrahima Thomas' face. It was pretty impressive. Deonta drew a foul while shooting a triple, made all 3, cutting the lead back to 4. Cincinnati would go another 3 minutes without scoring, setting up a 6-0 UD run. Marcus Johnson hit a pair of 2 point jumpers, and Luuuuuuuuuuuke Fabrizius one for himself, causing a UC timeout with 6:24 left. There was no scoring until the 5 minute mark, when Stephenson scored a lay up. Off another UD offensive rebound, Chris Johnson scored a lay up. Ibby Thomas fought hard in the post, the only UC player who did, got 2 offensive boards and a bucket to cut the lead to single digits for the last time. Wright hit 2 free throws, got a steal, made another free throw to make it an 11 point game. After a Cash miss, Marcus Johnson made 1. Vaughn drew a foul and made both. London Warren made 1 of 2, Cash missed a lay up attempt, Warren ended up with the ball and made 1 of 2 again. It was all free throws late, Marcus Johnson 2, Wilks 1 for UC, Marcus 2 more, Vaughn 2, and Chris Johnson 1. The free throws stopped when Stephenson scored a lay up, Vaughn got a steal and a lay up, and UD a Marcus Johnson lay up, but continued when Marcus Johnson made 1, and Lowery 2. Before Lowery's second, Deonta Vaughn checked out of the game for the last time in his Cincinnati career to a standing ovation. It was not the way he, and all UC fans, wanted him to go out, but at least he got a big reception. The Lowery free throws were the last points, making it 81-66 Flyers for their biggest win over UC in 15 years.

Dayton was 28-58 48%, 10-29 from deep, 15-24 at the stripe with 39 rebounds, 11 offensive. Marcus Johnson had 16-7-4 assists, Lowery 13, Wright 11-5-3 steals, Williams 11, Chris Johnson 7-7, Perry 6, Luuuuuuke Fabrizius 5, Huelsman 4-5, Warren 4-8, Searcy 2, and Kavanaugh 2. Cincinnati shot 20-60 33%, 6-31 from 3, 20-23 at the stripe, with 31 boards, 9 offensive. Vaughn lead the way with 28 points, 4 assists, 4 steals. He got 12-13 at the stripe, while shooting 6-18, 4-15 deep. But, Deonta Vaughn moved into third place all time in points in Cincinnati history, passing Danny Fortson. Congratulations on your achievement 5, and thank you for the great career. Stephenson had 13-6-4 assists, Thomas 8-9, Parker 6, Cash 4, Wilks 3, Gates 2.

A couple of bullet point thoughts to close this out.

• Thanks for nothing Yancy Gates. I know you were in foul trouble, but c'mon son. UC should have dominated inside, but got nothing from everyone not named Ibrahima Thomas. 
• Hey Darnell Wilks, stop shooting the 3.
• Hey Larry Davis, I like you a whole lot, more than section 209 did, but please work on that jump shot this summer. I don't think anyone, you included, had any faith in any of your shots falling. You d up hard, but you need to score.
• Lance Stephenson said after the game that UC took Dayton lightly. I don't understand how this team, who was favored to lose on the projections I saw, could take anyone lightly. That's on the players, and on the coaching staff. This is a rival who had a better record. UC shouldn't take Arkansas Pine Bluff lightly, let alone a 21 win team. 
• It's performances like that, that make it hard to be one of the people not disappointed that Mick Cronin isn't getting fired. 
• I was kinda surprised how many Dayton fans were there. I know there are a lot of transplants in the area, but they represented very well. It was a nice atmosphere. 
• This was one game where UC could have used Rashad Bishop. I was wrong on that one. 
• The bus taking us back to Mecklenberg Gardens smelled like shit. Plus, it was crowded and I had to stand. There was one point where the bus driver seemed to just gun it, and I stared at a car coming directly at me. Luckily, it stopped short instead of ramming into us. I had visions of that State Farm or whatever commercial where the car does crash. 
• Where do we go from here? Good question. I'm going to break down the season, the players, memorable games, and all that jazz starting in the next week. There will be an NCAA Sweet 16 breakdown tomorrow, and Friday, and Saturday and Sunday. There will be a Final 4 preview the following Friday, and a National title preview that Monday. 
• Also, there will be spring football news as it comes.

Since this is the last recap of the season, I want to thank you for reading. This season wasn't the best, wasn't the worst. It was fun at times, nerf basketball wall throwing times as well. It had memorable games, all nearly memorable losses though. More importantly, it had me and you. I hope that you enjoyed the basketball coverage. I enjoyed writing it. Thank you.

Cincinnati v. Dayton Flyers NIT Preview

The NCAA tournament has been going crazy, but there is another tournament running wild. It's called the NIT. And it features the Cincinnati Bearcats. Since only 2,200 showed up to the Weber St game, I'm guessing that a little more care about the game tonight at 9, as the Bearcats play host to the Dayton Flyers. Bearcats Blog will be in the house tonight. I'll be the guy sporting the Field Williams autographed hat. I know there are so many of those going around, but think of it as a where's Waldo. The Bearcats and Flyers haven't played in a couple years. The last time they played was in Las Vegas in the 05-06 season, and the Bearcats won by 18. They played earlier that season as well, with Dayton winning at 5/3. But, I'm going with the story that the Flyers haven't beaten Cincinnati in nearly 5 years. How do the Dayton Flyers and the Cincinnati Bearcats match up in the battle of 1-75 as Go Bearcats calls it? Let's hit it.

KenPom Offense/Defense Rank: 111/52
Notable Stats: 29.6 Three Point Percent (322), 63% Free Throw Percent (330) 38.5 Offensive Rebounding Percent (18)

Minutes

1. Deonta Vaughn 30.3
2. Lance Stephenson 28.2
3. Yancy Gates 25.7
4. Cashmere Wright 18.1
5. Ibrahima Thomas 17.9

Points

1. Lance Stephenson 12.3
2. Deonta Vaughn 11.2
3. Yancy Gates 10.6
4. Ibrahima Thomas 5.7
5. Cashmere Wright 5.5

Rebounds

1. Yancy Gates 6
2. Lance Stephenson 5.3
3. Ibrahima Thomas 5.3
4. Deonta Vaughn 3.5
5. Steve Toyloy 3.4

Assists

• Deonta Vaughn 3.5
• Lance Stephenson 2.4
• Cashmere Wright 2

Steals

• Deonta Vaughn 1.1

Blocks

• Yancy Gates 0.9

KenPom Offense/Defense Rank: 110/9
Notable Stats: 27.5 Opponent Offensive Rebound Rate (13) 45.1 Opponent Effective Field Goal % (32) 43.8 Two Point % Defense (33)

Minutes

1. Chris Wright 28.4
2. Marcus Johnson 24.3
3. Chris Johnson 24
4. Kurt Huelsman 21.5
5. Paul Williams 20.5

Scoring

1. Chris Wright 14
2. Chris Johnson 11.5
3. Marcus Johnson 8.6
4. Rob Lowery 7.5
5. Mickey Perry 5.7

Rebounding

1. Chris Wright 7.2
2. Chris Johnson 6.8
3. Kurt Huelsman 4.3
4. London Warren 3.3
5. Marcus Johnson 3.1

Assists

• London Warren 4.2
• Rob Lowery 3.6

Steals

• London Warren 1.2

Blocks

• Chris Wright 1.5

The big key to this game is going to be rebounding. If Cincinnati can crash the offensive glass, they have a great shot at winning. Cincinnati has really been playing solid lately, while the Flyers have been up and down. They swooned to the finish in the A-14, but they have a lot of quality players. Chris Wright stole James White's nickname, but he's a tremendous player. The Dayton defense, like most other A-14 defenses, is very solid. The Cats are going to have to earn their points tonight. A prolonged scoring slump is to be expected. It's to be expected in every game, but especially in this case, where Dayton can really put the clamps down. The Bearcats playing at home gives them the advantage in my eyes. I don't know how much of an advantage it will be now that I think about it, but I will be in the house, and that's more than enough.

Prediction: Cincinnati 73 Dayton 67

Cincinnati 76 Weber State 62

(AP/Al Behrman)

Since you didn't go to the game, you missed out on history. Deonta Vaughn powered UC in their first round NIT game with a win over Weber State. Vaughn got assist 505 to become the all time leader in assists. In the second half, Vaughn drilled a 3 to pass Darnell Burton and take the title of most 3 pointers made in a career. It was a special night for #5. Vaughn needs 26 pass to pass Danny Fortson for 3rd place all time in scoring. Congratulations to Deonta. Monday night, Cincinnati plays host to Dayton at 9 pm. Will Bearcats Blog be there? Maybe. It won't be hard to get a ticket apparently. Let's get on to the recap.

The game started off slowly, as we only had 2 baskets made the first 4 minutes. They were 3s from Ibrahima Thomas, and Lance Stephenson. Damian Lillard hit a 3 for the first points for the Wildcats, followed by a Steve Panos lay up. Darnell Wilks hit another UC 3, answered by a Nick Hansen triple. The Wildcats took a 10-9 lead on a Trevor Morris lay up. Cincinnati took the lead after the under 12, as Dion Dixon hit a couple of free throws. The half started off incredibly sloppy. Lots of missed shots and turnovers. The free throws started a 7-0 UC run, with a Thomas dunk, and a Jaquan Parker steal, lay up, foul and free throw. The Wildcats went on a 9-4 advantage to cut the lead to 20-19. Morris hit a jumper, Ibby made a pair for free throws for UC, Lindsey Hughey scored a lay up, Thomas was stripped for a Morris layup, Stephenson hit a pair of free throws and Hughey drilled a 3. UC would respond with a monster run, thanks to their press the last 6:30. Lance hit another 3, Vaughn got a steal, passed to Cashmere Wright for a jam. Another turnover on the inbound pass led to Vaughn hitting Stephenson for a lay up and the assist record. On another turnover, Vaughn hit Cash for 3. Things slowed down for the next minute, until Cash picked Lillard and threw ahead to Wilks, who threw down a reverse pump jam. 

Weber State turned the ball over yet again into the under 4, leading to a Stephenson jumper. A minute later, a Gates steal turned into a Wilks miss, a Cash rebound and assist to Vaughn for 3. The 17-0 run ended on a Lillard 3. He made another trey to cut the lead to 12, but at the end of the half, Vaughn hit Larry Davis for 3. The 20-6 run gave UC a 40-25 halftime lead. Weber St had 15 turnovers.

Steve Panos got the second half scoring started with a 15 footer. UC's first points came on Vaughn's record breaking 3. Weber St took a timeout after the make, allowing the crowd to acknowledge Vaughn's assist and 3 point record. Wilks showed off his athleticism in the next sequence. He blocked a shot from behind, and followed that by slamming down an alley oop from Lance, with a foul. Lillard and Gates traded lay ups, then Lillard and Vaughn traded 3s, and we went to the under 16 with UC up 50-32. The lead went to 20 on a pair of Vaughn free throws. Panos and Gates traded a layup and a wide open dunk respectively. Hughey drew a foul, and missed the first 2 free throws for Weber State of the game. They came at the 13 minute mark. Morris scored a basket with a foul, making the free throw to cut the lead to 17. Lance Stephenson made a lay up, and that kicked Weber State into a run. Mahoney made a layup, Lillard a scoop layup, Mahoney 2 free throws, Hughey a lay up, foul, free throw, and Bullinger was fouled, making 1 of 2. Cincinnati settled for jump shots, going 0 for 8, highlighted by an airballed Lance Stephenson 3, in which he was wide open. The 11-0 run ended when Vaughn found Jaquan Parker for 3. Hansen answered right back though. Cash scored a lay up at the 7 minute mark to push the lead to 10, but ended up hurting his hip. Weber kept the lead close. After Larry Davis made a pair of free throws, Lillard scored a lay up and 2 free throws to cut the lead to 8. UC would put the smack down to close things out though. Ibrahima Thomas hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 10. Yancy Gates blocked Panos, who was falling away. Coach Rahe of the Wildcats thought it was a foul. He argued his case poorly and received a technical foul. Vaughn stepped up and made both. Gates got another block, leading to Larry Davis hitting a jumper to make it 69-55 at the under 4. Gates pushed the lead to 16 after he pulled down an offensive rebound, looked to pass out, but turned around and scored. Deonta Vaughn drilled a 4th triple, making the UC total 11, a season high. Lillard and Gates traded layups, before Hansen made a pair of free throws. Eddie Tyree and Alex Eppensteiner got some run the last minute. Eppensteiner got a trillion without touching the ball, but Tyree was stripped, leading to an alley oop to Tyree, who was fouled and made the free throw to end the scoring. 

Cincinnati shot 25-64 39%, 11-28 39%, 15-16 at the stripe, with 33 rebounds, 11 offensive. UC had a whooping 21 assists on the night, probably a season high. Deonta Vaughn had a great game with 16-5-7 assists-2 steals, Lance Stephenson 14, Ibrahima Thomas 9-5, Yancy Gates 8-6-3 steals-2 blocks, Larry Davis 7, Cashmere Wright 7-5 assists, Darnell Wilks 7, Jaquan Parker 6-5, and Dion Dixon 2-4. Weber State was 21-47 44.7%, 7-18, 13-17 at the line, with 30 rebounds, 4 offensive. They turned the ball over 22 times. Damian Lillard went for 26, Trevor Morris 9-4, Lindsey Hughey 8-6-4 assists, Steve Panos 6-4, Darin Mahoney 4, and Kyle Bullinger 1. 

Cincinnati was pretty energetic considering they had no one show up to watch them play. 2,200 was the attendance according to the Enquirer. The Cincinnati Enquirer, not the tabloid paper. It's all about winning, and that's something that the Bearcats did tonight. That's the good thing. Up next, it's the Dayton Flyers. Dayton hasn't won a game in Cincinnati since 1834. Let's see that streak continue. It's March people, get up for this. 

Quick NIT results: 2 Rhode Island 76 7 Northwestern 64, 1 Virginia Tech 81 8 Quinnipiac 61, 3 Dayton 63 6 Illinois St 42, 4 Kent State 75 5 Tulsa 74, 2 Mississippi 84 7 Troy 65, 3 Memphis 73 6 St John's 71, 6 Nevada 73 3 Wichita State 70, and 1 Illinois 76 8 Stony Brook 66. 

Deonta Vaughn: UC's All-Time Assist Leader

Deonta Vaughn set the UC record for career assists with 505, and for 3 pointers made, 307, during the game with Weber State. Congratulations to Deonta Vaughn. That's quite the impressive feat, and I'm very happy that he pulled it off. Deonta will be remembered as one of the best Bearcats to put on the uniform. We here at the Bearcats Blog are proud, and happy for Deonta Vaughn. Congratulations Deonta.

Cincinnati v. Weber State Wildcats NIT Preview

For the first time a few years, the Cincinnati Bearcats are ready to play in a post season tournament. It's the NIT, but hey, it's better than nothing. At least, I'm guessing that it's better than nothing. After last week's run in the Big East Tournament, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to this team, so the extra game(s) should be fun to watch. Unless Cincinnati pulls an Arizona State and doesn't care, then it would be no fun. The game tonight is at 7 pm on ESPN2. Also, Rashad Bishop is still suspended for this game. He may return later in the tournament. Before we hit the preview, let's run down the NIT action from last night.

• 4 Connecticut 59 5 Northeastern 57
• 6 North Carolina State 58 3 South Florida 57
• 2 UAB 64 7 Coastal Carolina 49
• 5 Texas Tech 87 4 Seton Hall 69
• 1 Mississippi State 81 8 Jackson State 67
• 8 Jacksonville 67 1 Arizona State 66

KenPom Offense/Defense Rank: 111/57
Notable Stats: 19 in Offensive Rebound % (38.8), 297 in Free Throw Rate (32.3), 330 in 3 pt % (29), 332 in FT % (62).

Minutes

1. Deonta Vaughn 30.2
2. Lance Stephenson 28.4
3. Yancy Gates 25.6
4. Cashmere Wright 18.3
5. Ibrahima Thomas 17.7

Scoring

1. Lance Stephenson 12.3
2. Deonta Vaughn 11.1
3. Yancy Gates 10.7
4. Ibrahima Thomas 5.5
5. Cashmere Wright 5.4

Rebounding

1. Yancy Gates 6
2. Lance Stephenson 5.4
3. Ibrahima Thomas 5.3
4. Steve Toyloy 3.5
5. Deonta Vaughn 3.5

Assists

• Deonta Vaughn 3.4
• Lance Stephenson 2.4

Steals

• Deonta Vaughn 1.1

Blocks

• Yancy Gates 0.8

KenPom Offense/Defense Rate: 74/160
Notable Stats: 271 in Opponent's 3 pt % (36.2), 263 in Opponent's FT Rate (263).
Also Notable: They are the team that blew the 20 point halftime lead in the second half to Montana.

Minutes

1. Damian Lillard 34.3
2. Franklin Session 31.4
3. Nick Hansen 29.5
4. Kyle Bullinger 25.9
5. Steve Panos 21

Scoring

1. Damian Lillard 19.7
2. Steve Panos 10.8
3. Franklin Session 10.6
4. Nick Hansen 9.2
5. Kyle Bullinger 8.9

Rebounds

1. Franklin Session 6
2. Steve Panos 5.3
3. Kyle Bullinger 4.2
4. Damian Lillard 4.1
5. Darin Mahoney 3.7

Assists

• Damian Lillard 3.7
• Franklin Session 2.8
• Lindsay Hughey 2

Steals

• Franklin Session 1.8
• Damian Lillard 1.1
• Nick Hansen 1
• Lindsay Hughey 1

Blocks

• Franklin Session 0.9

The Wildcats have a very short bench. Only 7 men have played every game, and only 8 have played 28. They only go 8 deep, so if Cincinnati can get them in foul trouble, one would think that it would pay off for the Bearcats. I expect UC to try and press this team, but it might not work that well with Weber St's good passing. The conference tournaments ended poorly for both teams, with Weber St getting bounced after blowing a huge lead, and Cincinnati getting beat on an infamous turnover and a buzzer beater against West Virginia.

The esteemed Ken Pom computer rankings have Cincinnati winning by 12. I think that's probably going to happen. Maybe that's a little arrogant, but I think UC should have little problem putting the Wildcats away. I say that knowing full well that Cincinnati has put no one away, but after what we saw in the BET, I think the Bearcats have turned a corner. With Rashad Bishop out, Darnell Wilks and Jaquan Parker should get some more run. Wilks was impressive in New York, and Parker continued to play solid. I would like to see Dion Dixon, my best friend, get some kind of redemption after his blunder, but that may be wishing too much. Should Cincinnati advance, they would play the winner of the Dayton/Illinois St game, also being played tonight. If Cincinnati loses, this is the last you'll hear of the NIT besides the game recap. I don't think the Bearcats run ends tonight though. I'm looking for Lance Stephenson to play on the higher level he's been, Yancy Gates to want the ball inside, and I'm going out on a limb and saying Ibrahima Thomas has a big game.

Prediction: Cincinnati 70 Weber State 57

West Virginia 54 Cincinnati 51 (With Video)

(Craig Ruttle)

In a game that instantly makes the worst losses I remember list, West Virginia got a bank shot buzzer beater from 1st team All Big East selection Da'Sean Butler to knock the Bearcats out of the Big East Tournament. Cincinnati is off to the NIT or something, but god damn were they fun to watch the past 3 days. Cincinnati played their hearts, doing nearly all that it took to pull off their second upset. Unfortunately, Cincinnati has yet another Big East Tournament highlight of someone hitting a 3 on them at the buzzer. That was because of Dion Dixon pulling a Charles Williams and losing the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds left. I know that my best friend feels terrible about it, but that's the type of play that is going to hound him for a while. Not forever like Charles Williams because it wasn't against Xavier, but for a long time. Keep your chin up 3. Let's get to the recap. There are video highlights at the bottom if you want to vomit. 

The game started off terribly for the Bearcats. Kevin Jones made a bucket inside, Devin Ebanks scored and drew a foul, but missed the free throw, and Ebanks made a twisting, falling shot with his ass nearly on the ground with a foul, that he made around 1 Lance Stephenson free throw for a 7-1 lead. Dion Dixon drew a foul and knocked down both shots, but Jones came right back with another jumper. Da'Sean Butler netted one after the under 16, followed by a Wellington Smith put back for a 13-3 lead. Cincinnati called a timeout, and out of the break, they got another made free throw from Darnell Wilks on a good look for Larry Davis. Kevin Jones came back down and hit a turnaround over Dixon, Dixon had a pass deflected leading to a WVU break, with Ebanks getting fouled and making both, followed by a Butler jumper for an 18-4 lead. Cincinnati was 0-10 from the field. They scored their first field goal at 9:17 on a Stephenson lay up. That lay up started a run. Deonta Vaughn hit a 3 to cut the lead in half, Lance scored on a tip, and followed that with a lay up for a 9-0 run. Butler broke the run with a 3, but Vaughn got it back for Cincinnati. The Bearcats continued chipping at the lead with a Ibrahima Thomas put back, and a vicious dunk for Darnell Wilks from Cash on a 4 on 1 break. Casey Mitchell made a jump shot to try and stem momentum, but Larry Davis, Larry Davis!, hit a 3 from the left wing to tie. It was his first 3 in 12 attempts, and first since 1983. West Virginia shook that 19-5 run when Jonnie West, yes Jerry West, the Logo's, son rattled home a 3 at the buzzer for a 26-23 lead. The half was really sloppy, and I would have written about it more, but I got hit by one of the bricks and had a slight concussion.

Cincinnati shot 8-25, 3-7, and 4-6 at the stripe, with 16 rebounds, 4 offensive. Lance Stephenson had 7-4, Deonta Vaughn 6-3, Larry Davis 3, Darnell Wilks 3, Dion Dixon 2, and Ibrahima Thomas 2. West Virginia was 11-30, 2-10, 3-5 at the line, with 18 rebounds, 5 offensive. Da'Sean Butler led the way with 7-3-2 assists, Devin Ebanks 6, Kevin Jones 6, Jonnie West 3, Wellington Smith 2-6-2 blocks, and Casey Mitchell had 2.

Mick Cronin made a questionable coaching decision at start half 2. He put back in the 5 starters. UC was rolling with Wilks, Gates, Stephenson, Vaughn, Cash, Thomas and some Parker. But it was Parker, Vaughn, Stephenson, Thomas and Gates to start, and WVU immediately went up 7. Truck Bryant scored a forced runner off glass, and Jones drew a foul, making both. Yancy Gates drew a foul and made both for UC, who started 0-7 from the field. The Mountaineers were not much better though. Jones made a put back, added with a Cam Throughman free throw, West Virginia lead 33-25. UC cut 3 points into the lead with 2 free throws by Cash and 1 by Gates, but Butler was having none of that and made a 3. Cash has come a long way, but he dribbles the ball way too god damn much. He dribbled into some turnovers, including an over and back, and dribbles out of plays. Back to the action, UC scored their first field goal at 12:35 on a Gates turnaround. Gates scored again inside after the under 12 timeout, and UC cut the lead to 36-34 when Stephenson was fouled and made both free throws. West Virginia ran the lead back up with a Wellington Smith turner, adding a Butler lay up on excellent screening. Stephenson drilled a jumper from the top of the key, but the Cats couldn't hold serve as Jones drew a foul, making 1 of 2. UC missed a couple of tip in attempts, but on the other end Ebanks did not for a 43-36 lead at 7:30. Ibby Thomas, god love him, can't make put backs. After he missed yet another, Kevin Jones scored inside. Stephenson scored on a runner, but the lead went back to 9 on Ebanks free throws. Cincinnati would make a crunch time stand. Yancy Gates scored with some nice passing from his teammates, Lance hit a runner, WVU blew an open layup, Stephenson drove into the lane, kicked out to Vaughn for a 3 from the right corner. It was 47-45 with 3:19 left. Darnell Wilks tied the score on a tip in, following a Mountaineer turnover capping another 9-0 run. The Mountaineers got a jump shot from Kevin Jones from inside the foul line to take the lead. With under 1:45 left, Stephenson drove to the rim, drew a foul, but only made 1 of 2. Cincinnati played tough defense, causing the ball to hit the floor. Da'Sean Butler got down, threw a sitting pass to Jones for a lay up with 1 second remaining on the shot clock. UC wouldn't let that be the backbreaker. Out of a timeout, Lance Stephenson drilled a crossover 3 with 42 seconds left. 20% three point shooter Lance Stephenson. With confidence. West Virginia couldn't handle the Cincinnati defense. Devin Ebanks couldn't get a shot off and with 6.4, the Mountaineers were forced into a shot clock violation. For some reason, Cincinnati had Vaughn inbounding, Stephenson, Gates, Dixon and I think Larry Davis in the game. Why they didn't have Cash, or Parker in I have no idea. The ball went to Dixon, and when he turned up court in front of the WVU bench, he lost the ball. Butler poked it out off him, and the Mountaineers had a shot with 3 seconds left. Mick curiously didn't guard the inbound. A clean pass to Butler was made. Despite Lance Stephenson being in his jock, Butler banked it in for the win.

Cincinnati shot 17-51 33%, 5-14, 12-16, with 34 rebounds, 14 offensive. Lance Stephenson had 19-7, Yancy Gates 11-7, Deonta Vaughn 9, Darnell Wilks 3, Larry Davis 3, Cashmere Wright 2 (and 5 turnovers), Ibrahima Thomas 2-5, and Dion Dixon 2. West Virginia was 21-60 35%, 4-20, 8-13, with 34 rebounds, 14 on offense. They were powered by 17-6 from Kevin Jones, Da'Sean Butler 15-6-5 assists, Devin Ebanks 10-6-5 assists, Wellington Smith 4-6, Jonnie West 3, Truck Bryant 2-5-3 assists, Casey Mitchell 2, and Cam Throughman 1. 

This was a gut punch, followed by a nut punch. Cincinnati showed some life in the Big East tournament. Lance Stephenson especially played great. I hope he didn't play great enough to change his mind about going pro, because a team with him at the lead is something I want to see next season. Our boys played really hard, they just came up a little short.. 

Cincinnati v. West Virginia Big East Tournament Preview

Fresh off back to back wins, the Bearcats move on to day 3 of the Big East tournament. Awaiting them? The 3 seed West Virginia Mountaineers. The teams will do battle in yet another late game, look for the tip at around 9:25 pm. And, Cincinnati is playing yet another team that they played on the road this season. Will the third time be the charm? Let's hit the preview.

Minutes

1. Deonta Vaughn 30
2. Lance Stephenson 28.3
3. Yancy Gates 24.9
4. Cashmere Wright 17.8
5. Steve Toyloy 17.5

Points

1. Lance Stephenson 12
2. Deonta Vaughn 11.2
3. Yancy Gates 10.5
4. Ibrahima Thomas 5.7
5. Cashmere Wright 5.6

Rebounding

1. Yancy Gates 6
2. Lance Stephenson 5.3
3. Ibrahima Thomas 4.9 
4. Steve Toyloy 3.7
5. Deonta Vaughn 3.4

Assists

• Deonta Vaughn 3.5
• Lance Stephenson 2.4

Steals

• Deonta Vaughn 1.1
• Lance Stephenson 1

Blocks

• Yancy Gates 0.9

Minutes

1. Da'Sean Butler 35.8
2. Devin Ebanks 33.9
3. Kevin Jones 32.8
4. Darryl "Truck" Bryant 25.2
5. Wellington Smith 22.9

Points

1. Da'Sean Butler 17.2
2. Kevin Jones 13.5
3. Devin Ebanks 12.4
4. Truck Bryant 10.6
5. Wellington Smith 6.8

Rebounds

1. Devin Ebanks 8.3
2. Kevin Jones 7.4
3. Da'Sean Butler 6.3
4. Wellington Smith 3.7
5. John Flowers 2.4

Assists

• Da'Sean Butler 3.3
• Truck Bryant 3.3
• Devin Ebanks 2.5

Steals

• Devin Ebanks 1.1

Blocks

• Wellington Smith 1

Notables

• Da'Sean Butler was first team all Big East.
• West Virginia outrebounded UC by 11 in the first meeting. 
• Kevin Jones had 15, Truck Bryant 14, Devin Ebanks 12-10 for West Virginia. For UC, Deonta Vaughn had 15-5-5 assists, and Lance Stephenson had 14-9.
• If you recall, UC was hosed by the refs in that game pretty hardcore.
• Darnell Wilks has made me pee my pants happy the last 2 games. 
• West Virginia has made the semi-finals the last 2 seasons.
• Oh and they have some coach you might have heard of.

While I would love to be a homer and pick UC, I'm sticking to the prediction I made Monday. This has been a great ride, and I've enjoyed the hell out of it and don't want it to end, but I think it will. 

Prediction: West Virginia 79 Cincinnati 72

Cincinnati 69 Louisville 66

F

How can you not love that picture? Lance Stephenson and Bearcat celebrating after a hard fought victory over Louisville in the second round of the Big East tournament is the stuff March is made of. It was a great, great win for the Bearcats, and one of the reasons that basketball is so much fun. Not only is it so much fun, but it's March, and the fun is taken to a higher level. A higher level is exactly what the Bearcats played at in the second half against Louisville Wednesday night. Let's get right into the recap.

Things didn't start so well for the Bearcats. Edgar Sosa scored the first 5 on a lay up and NBA 3, before Deonta Vaughn scored an NBA 3 of his own. Sosa hit a long 2 that Yancy Gates would follow with a put back. It was the first of many, many UC offensive rebounds. Terrence Jennings made a tough shot in the lane for Louisville, to be followed by an Ibrahima Thomas follow for UC. Sosa once again got to the rim, giving Louisville a 11-7 at the under 16. Darnell Wilks entered the game and knocked down a triple for the Bearcats, only to be countered when Reginald Delk scored 5 of his own off a pair of free throws and three. The 16-10 lead held to the under 12. Out of the break, Peyton Siva got a steal, raced up the floor and dropped a pass back for a Jennings jam. Cincinnati kept jacking up jump shots, namely 3s, but Wilks hit another one to cut the lead to 5. Lance Stephenson followed by getting fouled and making a pair of free throws. Preston Knowles made his only shot of the game, a 3 pointer, to push the lead back up. Stephenson was able to score on a beautiful reverse lay up, but Louisville came back with a Siva pass to Delk on the baseline for a lay up. Siva stripped Stephenson on the next trip, found Knowles who found Delk wide open for a 3 and a 26-17 Cards lead. UC was forced to call timeout. Out of the break, Larry Davis found Gates under the basket for 2, but Louisville got it back on a Rock Buckles follow of a Knowles miss. Wilks scored on a UC put back, but UC gave up more points when Buckles found Delk open for 3. At 6:53, Louisville lead 31-21. Gates drew a foul before the timeout, and after made both foul shots. He was immediately taken off the dribble by Samardo Samuels though. Jaquon Parker followed that action, with a good play and a freshman play. The good, a lay up high off the glass over Samuels on UC's third shot. The bad, he blew a 3 on 2 break by driving right in the middle of the 2 defenders, getting stripped by Knowles and losing the ball out of bounds. Sosa got the lead back to 10 by driving and dishing off to Samuels for a dunk. The lead went to 12 after the under 4 timeout, as Sosa made 2 free throws. Cincinnati missed about 3 tip ins on their next trip, but were able to score with a Thomas bucket after holding Louisville. Cashmere Wright drew a foul, but made 1 of 2. UC blew more easy points when Ibby couldn't convert a bunny off a behind the back pass from Stephenson. Louisville followed that with a Sosa 3 off an offensive rebound. UC got a Thomas dunk from Wilks as the last field goal of the half. The remaining points were scored by 1 Sosa free throw, and 2 Vaughn free throws for a 41-32 Louisville advantage.

The Bearcats were 11-41, 3-11 from deep, but 7-8 at the free throw line, with 20 rebounds, 11 offensive. Darnell Wilks led the way again in the first half with 8, Ibrahima Thomas 6-5, Yancy Gates 6, Deonta Vaughn 5, Lance Stephenson 4, Jaquon Parker 2, Cashmere Wright 1. For Louisville, the Cards shot 15-29, 6-9, 5-6 at the stripe, with 16 rebounds, 5 offensive. Louisville had 9 assists. Edgar Sosa powered the Cardinals with 15, Reginald Delk 13, Terrence Jennings 4-4, Samardo Samuels 4-3, Preston Knowles 3, Rock Buckles 2, and Peyton Siva had 4 assists.

Yancy Gates scored the first 2 of the half for the Cats, but Edgar Sosa hit a 3 and a 2 for the Cardinals, putting them up 12. That seemed to wake Cincinnati up. Deonta Vaughn hit a 3, Gates got a cherry pick lay up from Parker after a wild Sosa lay up attempt, and Gates got a cherry pick dunk from Vaughn after a terrible Sosa pass intended for Jennings. It was 46-41 at 15:09. Gates added 2 more free throws to complete his 6-0 run, before Stephenson drove the lane, kicked back to Thomas for an open jumper to complete Cincinnati's 11-0 run to cut the lead to 1. Samardo Samuels made 1 of 2 free throws for the Cards to push the lead back to two. But Stephenson drove inside to tie the score. Louisville got their first basket in 6:15 on a Samuels dunk from Sosa to retake the lead. Stephenson had a lay up attempt blocked excellently by Delk, and the Cards took advantage as Jared Swopshire found Samuels for another dunk. The Cats answered back with Stephenson getting to the rim, and Stephenson finding Wilks for a dunk and a foul at 9:48. Out of the media break, Wilks missed the free throw. But Cincinnati would take the lead on a Jaquon Parker put back, 53-51. Samuels scored over Gates on a hook shot that rattled home to tie again. Cincinnati retook the lead as we went into the under 8 timeout as Cash drove to the basket, scored, and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Parker stole away the rebound. UC ended up turning the ball over, but Parker's effort was great to see. And he wasn't finished. Peyton Siva was stripped by Parker, who threw ahead to Lance Stephenson for a dunk. Parker then stole an offensive rebound away from Kyle Kuric on a Wilks airball, scored and was fouled. It was all effort on Jaquon's part, and he drilled the free throw for a 7 point lead, 60-53. That capped a 25-7 Cincinnati run. Out of a Louisville timeout, Samuels drew a foul, and made both shots. Lance Stephenson was bumped a little as UC tried running their motion, and fell down. While he bitched at the official, Sosa canned an open 3. UC got some momentum back with a Wilks follow on a offensive rebound. Wilks forced Samuels into a tough shot while playing great man to man defense, and when Samuels fell, Gates raced up the floor for UC, letting the Cats take advantage of the numbers with a dunk. Edgar Sosa cut the lead to 64-61 with 3:19 left on a 3 pointer. UC's toughness on the night was apparent for the next minute, as they missed 2 shots, but got both of the rebounds. One was thanks to Jared Swopshire going up one handed and batting the ball, instead of using 2 hands, allowing Parker to take it down. Parker was tremendous. UC couldn't get a third shot up. Mick Cronin called a timeout and reinserted Deonta Vaughn, who did not play much during the UC run, it was all Parker, Wright, Stephenson, Wilks, Thomas and Gates. Vaughn had the ball near the time line, got double teamed, turned and tried throwing a pass. The bad thing was Preston Knowles hand was right there, and he forced a steal, got the ball to Sosa, who raced down, drew a foul, and scored a lay up with 1:45 left. Sosa missed though. Jaquon Parker drew a foul on Knowles, but only made the front end of a 1-1. Knowles came down for Louisville and missed a long 3 pointer, but Samuels was able to tip the ball back out, only for Cash to chase it down. A bullet dodged. For some reason, with 57 seconds left, Sosa fouled Cash. Cash missed the front end, causing a rash of f bombs in UC fans homes. The Cardinals shot was taken by Jared Swopshire, who short armed a 12 footer from the left wing, causing a rash of f bombs from UofL fans. Especially since Delk was wide open. Lance Stephenson wanted the ball, and with 29.7 left, he got it. Lance made both free throws for a 4 point lead. Sosa raced down and took a wild NBA 3 that missed. Stephenson grabbed the rebound and was fouled again. This time, he missed both. Delk hit a Louisville 3 with 9.7 seconds left. UC got the ball in to Deonta Vaughn. Vaughn wasn't immediately fouled, and almost traveled. The foul came with 5.9 seconds left. The senior calmly nailed both and iced the game on defense. Sosa took the pass and seemed like he was expecting to be fouled from halfcourt on. When he went up for a shot high off the left wing, Vaughn stripped him, and UC took the victory, 69-66.

Cincinnati shot 25-72 34.7%, 4-18, 15-22 from the stripe, with 46 rebounds, 21 offensive. Jaquon Parker had 8 points, 9 rebounds, 7 offensive. Yancy Gates 16-5, Lance Stephenson 12-4-3, Darnell Wilks 12-7,  Deonta Vaughn 10, Ibrahima Thomas 8-8, and Cashmere Wright 2-5. Louisville was 24-55 43.6%, 10-18, 8-14 at the stripe, with 29 rebounds, 8 offensive. They were led by Edgar Sosa, 28-6, but 3-8 at the stripe, Reginald Delk 16, Samardo Samuels 13, Terrence Jennings 4-5, Preston Knowles 3, and Rock Buckles 2.

It was a great game, probably the best of the Big East tournament. Cincinnati showed so much heart, so much determination, so much desire the second half. They weren't going to lose, and they forced Louisville into their game. It was the best half Cincinnati played this season. I was proud watching them play that second half. Some of you can bitch and ask where this was all season, and while that's your incentive, and fair, you should chill out and enjoy the ride. The team has played hard the last 2 days, and they've won. Darnell Wilks has been out of this world the past 2 games. I don't know where this came from, but I'm glad it's here. And I'm even more glad we get to play tomorrow.

Cincinnati v. Louisville Big East Tournament Preview

The 11 seeded Cincinnati Bearcats meet the 6 seeded Louisville Cardinals tonight in the Big East tournament. In case you didn't see it the 100 times I posted it, the game tips off 20 minutes after the 7 pm game ends. I'm estimating 9:25 pm. The quick preview worked pretty well for Rutgers, so why not keep momentum going? In case you didn't read the last one, shame on you, we highlight the top 5 in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, blocks and other notable stats. My prediction for the whole tournament can be found here, but I'll post my prediction at the bottom.

Minutes

1. Deonta Vaughn 30
2. Lance Stephenson 28.3
3. Yancy Gates 24.9
4. Cashmere Wright 17.8
5. Steve Toyloy 17.5

Points

1. Lance Stephenson 12
2. Deonta Vaughn 11.2
3. Yancy Gates 10.5
4. Ibrahima Thomas 5.7
5. Cashmere Wright 5.6

Rebounding

1. Yancy Gates 6
2. Lance Stephenson 5.3
3. Ibrahima Thomas 4.9 
4. Steve Toyloy 3.7
5. Deonta Vaughn 3.4

Assists

• Deonta Vaughn 3.5
• Lance Stephenson 2.4

Steals

• Deonta Vaughn 1.1
• Lance Stephenson 1

Blocks

• Yancy Gates 0.9

Minutes

1. Samardo Samuels 29.1
2. Edgar Sosa 27.3
3. Jared Swopshire 25.1
4. Reginald Delk 21.3
5. Preston Knowles 19.6

Scoring

1. Samardo Samuels 15.4 
2. Edgar Sosa 12.8
3. Jared Swopshire 7.8
4. Preston Knowles 7.5
5. Reginald Delk 6.3

Rebounding

1. Samardo Samuels 7.1
2. Jared Swopshire 6
3. Terrence Jennings 3.4
4. Rock Buckles 3.3
5. Preston Knowles 3.2

Assists

• Edgar Sosa 4.6
• Preston Knowles 2.3

Steals

• Preston Knowles 1.1
• Peyton Siva 1

Blocks

• Terrence Jennings 1.3
• Samardo Samuels 1.2

Notables

• Jerry Smith, a senior guard, was left off the Louisville top 5 because he is out for the Big East tournament with an injured thumb. Look for him to be waving towels on the sidelines.
• Samardo Samuels was 3rd team All Big East.
• Sophomore Kyle Kuric is coming off a 22 point second half against Syracuse in the last game at Freedom Hall. It'll be interesting to see if he gets more minutes.
• Louisville beat Cincinnati 68-60. Lance Stephenson had UC's first 12, but no more, along with 6 rebounds, and Cashmere Wright, Deonta Vaughn, and Yancy Gates all had 12. Louisville was lead by 14 by both Samuels and Sosa. Reginald Delk had 13-11 in a huge effort. Peyton Siva also had 10.
• Cincinnati shot 10 of 20 from 3 in that game, their best performance from deep all season. Like it or not, they are going to launch against the Louisville zone.
• The Louisville zone shut down the Cincinnati guards in the second half. Ball movement is key. 
• Cincinnati won their first game ever in the Big East tournament, Mick Cronin's first game in March, and for the first time in March since Jihad Muhammad was ruled ineligible in 05. Thanks to the studly JF Keating for that note on twitter. 
• I'm probably not going to live blog the action, but follow Bearcats Blog on twitter for the next best thing. 

I'm on the hook for picking Louisville by 9, 72-63, and I think that's the way this will turn out. I expect the action to mirror the first meeting, minus the hawkeye three point shooting. Louisville is coming off a huge win against Syracuse, so hopefully for UC they packed it in for this one. It should be fun. This is our tournament people, get pumped. 

Cincinnati v. Rutgers Big East Tournament Preview

Quick note: I will be live blogging the first round games tomorrow starting at 12 noon. Be here (EDIT: Sorry, I couldn't. But I will tomorrow, whether Cincinnati wins or loses)

The 11 seeded Cincinnati Bearcats meet up with the 14 seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights tonight in the Big East Tournament. The game will tip off sometime around 9:30. I'm eschewing the normal Know Your Opponent preview for something a little quicker, as Cincinnati could play up to 5 games in 5 days. I'll just break down the basics about the teams, since I made my predictions yesterday in this post. Don't worry, I'll repeat the prediction at the bottom so you don't have read that again if you don't want. In this space, we're going to highlight the top 5 in minutes, points, and rebounds for each team, as well as the leading assist man and shot blocker and what have you.

Minutes

1. Deonta Vaughn 30
2. Lance Stephenson 28.3
3. Rashad  Bishop 25.8
4. Yancy Gates 24.9
5. Cashmere Wright 17.8

Points

1. Lance Stephenson 12
2. Deonta Vaughn 11.2
3. Yancy Gates 10.5
4. Rashad Bishop 8.4
5. Ibrahima Thomas 5.7

Rebounding

1. Yancy Gates 6
2. Lance Stephenson 5.3
3. Ibrahima Thomas 4.9 
4. Rashad Bishop 4.4
5. Steve Toyloy 3.7

Assists

• Deonta Vaughn 3.5
• Lance Stephenson 2.4

Steals

• Deonta Vaughn 1.1
• Lance Stephenson 1

Blocks

• Yancy Gates 0.9

Minutes

1. Mike Rosario 33.7
2. Jonathan Mitchell 32.9
3. Hamady Ndiaye 28.1
4. Dane Miller 27.2
5. James Beatty 25.6

Scoring

1. Mike Rosario 16.4
2. Jonathan Mitchell 11.7
3. Hamady Ndiaye 9.5
4. Dane Miller 9.5
5. Mike Coburn 6.5

Rebounding

1. Hamady Ndiaye 7.1
2. Jonathan Mitchell 6
3. Dane Miller 6
4. Mike Rosario 4
5. James Beatty 2.1

Assists

• James Beatty 3.5
• James Coburn 3.3
• Dane Miller 2.3

Steals

• James Beatty 1.4
• Mike Rosario 1
• Dane Miller 1

Blocks

• Hamady Ndiaye 4.5

Notables

• Hamady Ndiaye is the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. 
• Dane Miller joined Lance Stephenson as the only two unanimous selections to the Big East All Rookie Team. 
• Cincinnati won the only meeting 65-58. Deonta Vaughn had 17, Yancy Gates 10-8, Lance Stephenson 10-6. For Rutgers, Jonathan Mitchell had 14-7, Mike Rosario 12, and Dane Miller 10-6-3 assists-2 steals.
• Hamady Ndiaye and Ibrahima Thomas are close friends.
• Cincinnati has never won a Big East Tournament game.

I think this game will be a little more high scoring than the first. Cincinnati goes dark for times on offense, but I think they will be motivated after the Georgetown disaster. At least I hope so. Rutgers hasn't broken 80 since early February, and Cincinnati hasn't since late January, so I don't expect it to be too much fireworks. Especially following Seton Hall and Providence. Curious note, both teams were drilled in their last games out. Cincinnati by Georgetown, and Rutgers by Pittsburgh.

I have a feeling that the Bearcats may take an early lead, but Rutgers will storm back. I know, what a crazy concept that is. But, I think that the Bearcats hang on and win, 70-68. 

Questions and Answers: Starring the voice of the Bearcats Dan Hoard

With the season wrapping up, I thought it would be cool to see if we could find out what the voice of the Bearcats Dan Hoard had to say about the season. Surprisingly, Mr Hoard thought it was a great idea as well and answered a few of my questions. As part of the agreement to get him to do this, I have to say that Mr Hoard is very handsome, incredibly talented and despite what it seems, not bald. That was a joke, he answered them without a qualifier. I can't believe it either! Anyway, let's see Dan Hoard's answers to my questions.

Everyone has noticed that Deonta Vaughn has struggled with his shot and has maybe deferred too much to the other guards. Do you think it's more the game plans of other teams, or was he did play was well as he possibly could have 2 years ago?

 

Vaughn's drop-off is a huge mystery to me.  But when you look as his career, he only had a high shooting percentage as a sophomore -- maybe he just had a great year.  Also, the 3-point line was moved back by a foot after that season, so that was probably a factor.  He also played with a solid point guard in his first two seasons in Jamual Warren who looked to get him shots and that hasn't been the case for the last two years.

The Bearcats have stumbled lately losing 7 of 10, do you think that they just aren't there from a talent standpoint yet? Or is it a case of them not knowing how to win close games?

 

They have a glaring weakness from a talent standpoint -- they don't have good shooters.  Some of the close games that they lost were blown at the free throw line.  While UC's offense needs more movement (ball and player) in my opinion, the single most valuable skill in basketball is putting the ball in the basket and UC needs more guys that can do it (plus improvement from the players that are already on the roster). 

Lance Stephenson has gotten back into form as of late, what do you think his ceiling is? 

 

He's a great ball-handler and passer for his size and plays with great intensity.  But he needs to become a much better shooter to have a significant NBA career.  The good news is that he knows it and will work at it.  For a guy who has received all of the hype that Lance has received, he seems very realistic about his strengths and weaknesses.

Chuck Machock, as we all know, is pretty awesome. Your twitter background is a picture of him getting tossed in the Gonzaga game. How crazy a moment was that?

 

It was embarrassing for Chuck and UC at the time, but we've had a ton of fun with it since.  I have two claims to fame:  A character was named for me in The Simpsons (http://danhoard.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/05/my_claim_to_fame.html) and I'm the play-by-play guy who's partner got kicked out of an NCAA Tournament game.  By the way, Chuck will be looking to extend his streak of NOT getting kicked out to 223 games at Georgetown. 

Have you had the chance to meet with Butch Jones? Do you think he's as good a hire as I do? I think he's very good. 

 

I've talked to Coach Jones on several occasions and spent about an hour in his office last week.  He's got huge shoes to fill, but I'm very optimistic.  The players that I've talked to really like him -- despite the fact that they're working harder than ever.  And the fact that UC held on to Kerry Coombs was huge -- not only in recruiting but in helping the new staff learn everything they need to know about Cincinnati.

100,000,000 thanks to Dan Hoard for taking time to do this. He is a very nice man. In fact, here's a Dan Hoard story. When I worked at UC as an usher, there was a football game and basketball exhibition on the same day. My job was to check id badges at some point where I couldn't see either game. Needless to say, it was incredibly boring, and I kept walking far away to watch the football game. Suddenly, an awesome moment happened. Dan Hoard came walking down from the basketball game. He chatted with me a couple minutes about the team, and maybe the football team. I think he said something and then I followed him as far as I could go. I think he asked me the football score, I don't remember. All I do remember, is that is was awesome. I'm sure that conversation like 9 years ago is what made Mr Dan Hoard agree to answer my questions. Even though I asked him through the Bearcats Blog twitter. Don't ruin the moment. Thanks Dan Hoard. 

Villanova 77 Cincinnati 73

(Enquirer/Jeff Swinger)

The Cincinnati Bearcats showed heart Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to overcome Villanova and loss #13. Cincinnati is now 16-13, 7-10. Villanova pretty much wrapped up the second spot in the Big East tournament I believe, as they are now 24-5, 13-4. The game was pretty weird to watch, because the first half was relatively normal, and the second was plagued by horrible officiating. Not just on UC, but on both ends. Both teams were at 6 fouls before the first media timeout. The second half took 77 minutes. That kind of disjointed effort by the whistle blowers matched the disjointed effort on the court. Before we dive too deep into the game action, I want to say thanks to the fans that showed up and gave a great ovation to the seniors, especially Deonta Vaughn, and got loud when we needed it. There was a 'Thank You Vaughn' chant near the end, and I, and Mick, and Deonta appreciate it. Maybe we'll see Deonta in one last home game in whatever post season tournament UC is playing in a couple weeks. 

Deonta Vaughn started Senior Night the best way that he knew how, starting the scoring action off with a 3 to a nice ovation. Antonio Pena responded with 4 straight points on a basket and free throws. Lance Stephenson put UC back in the lead on a tip off his own shot, but Corey Stokes got hot. After Mouphtaou Yarou made one free throw, and Steve Toyloy scored on a pump fake, Stokes nailed a pair of 3s to give Villanova the advantage. Pena scored on a putback, and 6:25 in, it was 13-7. Mick Cronin changed the line up around some, and we had a Biggie McClain sighting. I don't know why either. Reggie Reddding iced a step back j to push the Nova run to 10-0, before Deonta scored on a spin move runner off the glass. Vaughn followed with a 3 of his own, and forced a steal that Rashad Bishop couldn't convert from in close. But, Nova would miss and Cashmere Wright would 'cash' in on a jumper on the women's 3 point line to bring the crowd to it's feet and Jay Wright to call a timeout. The 7 point run made it 15-14. Out of the timeout, Stokes hit another 3. On the way up the floor, Cronin was hit with a technical. He objected to a couple of non called push offs and I think a non call travel before the 3. Stokes made 1 of 2 at the line for a 5 point lead. Yancy Gates got involved by getting to the line, and made 2. The teams were settling for jumpers, and there were stretches where there was no scoring. At the 10 minute mark up 3, the Wildcats went on another run. Yarou hit a jumpshot, Pena tipped a telegraphed pass by Vaughn intended for Gates to Scottie Reynolds, who would hit the big man for a lay up, and Corey Fisher would ice a 3. That would be the last Nova field goal for a while, and UC would take advantage. A put back by Ibrahima Thomas, and a step up jumper by Bishop cut the lead to 26-20 at the 6:52 timeout. Pena would make 1 of 2 free throws, before Bishop hit a runner off a rebound. Reynolds would turn the ball over, leading to a Larry Davis to Gates lay up and a foul, which Gates converted to make it 27-25. The teams clanked jumpers, exchanged offensive fouls, and turned the ball over for the next few minutes until Dominic Cheek was fouled by Thomas and made one. After a wild 3 attempt by Vaughn, Taylor King threw a pass right to Ibby, who fed Vaughn racing up the court. The senior would score with a foul. He drilled the free throw and tied the score. Corey Fisher hit a 3 for Nova's first field goal in 7:38. The half ended when Deonta Vaughn got a friendly bounce from the rim (foreshadowing alert) to send us in the locker room tied at 31. 

Villanova shot 10-24, 5-11 from three, and 6-10 at the stripe. They gathered 16 rebounds, 6 offensive. The Wildcats scoring was done by Stokes 10-3, Pena 9-6, Fisher 6, Yarou 3, and Redding 2. Scottie Reynolds had 2 assists. For Cincinnati, they shot 12-31, 3-13 from deep, and 4-4 at the stripe. The Bearcats pulled home 14 rebounds, 6 offensive. They were powered by Deonta Vaughn's 14, but also Gates had 5, Bishop 4, Stephenson 2-4, Thomas 2-3, Toyloy 2, and Wright 2. UC had 5 assists on 12 shots, continuing the trend of solid first half passing.

Mike DeCourcy wrote something interesting in his column after the game. He said teams don't need to change line ups to start the second half and play the starters again. UC went on their run with Thomas, Davis, Gates, Vaughn and Stephenson, but started the half back with Toyloy. Toyloy couldn't hang with the Nova front line in the first half and didn't play much after the 15-7 lead, and half 2 started the same way. Yarou was wide open underneath for a lay up from Redding, who forced a steal from Gates, and found Reynolds for 3. It was the first basket by the senior. Fisher drove to the basket, got fouled, made both for a 7 point lead. Vaughn scored the first UC point of the half on a free throw, but it was on the miss that shit got real. On the rebound, Antonio Pena got reached in on, so he threw an elbow back at Yancy Gates. Gates got in his face before Larry Davis pulled them apart. Both got technicals, and Pena a personal. Pena scored the next point on a free throw, and on the next Nova possession, Yarou was fouled. As he walked to the line, he got a little shove by Gates, who was taken out of the game. Yarou made 1, but after a UC miss, Reynolds knocked down a 3. 43-32 would be the under 16 timeout score. UC settled for 3s nearly this whole time. Both teams went zone, but Nova's zone was sagging in on Gates letting the UC wing players fire up bricks as they are wont to do. Steve Toyloy of all people fired up a 15 footer that was nowhere near close. At the 14 minute mark, UC got their first basket of the half as Vaughn hit a cutting Bishop. Bishop followed with a 3 after Stephenson grabbed a rebound, raced up the court and dropped the ball off to him. On UC's next possession, Toyloy had the ball on the block, he turned, his defender flopped, allowing Toyloy to pass to Lance for 2 and a 7-0 UC run. Nova would run the lead right back though. Maalik Wayns broke the UC zone by finding Yarou. Deonta Vaughn dribbled the ball up court, and while dribbling off the right shoulder, simply lost the ball. Wayns picked it up, and foul Taylor King, who dunked with a foul on Vaughn. King missed the free throw, but Nova had a 45-37 advantage at the under 12. Yancy Gates would draw a foul before the timeout, and after he made both free throws. Stokes (over a double team) and Gates exchanged buckets, and after a Bishop put back, Nova would extend the 4 point lead. Scottie Reynolds fueled an 8-0 run with 3 free throws after Bishop hit his arm while he was shooting a 3, he fed Yarou for 2, and dropped another 3 for a 57-45 lead at 8:23 and a Cronin timeout. UC continued to brick 3s, with Larry Davis being one of the worst offenders. Larry was 0-5, and none of them looked close. He's lost a lot of confidence in his j this year. If the first doesn't fall, none of them do. Out the break, Rashad Bishop took the ball to the rim, GASP, for a traditional 3 point play. But Yarou found Stokes for a dunk, Stephenson bricked a pair of free throws, Redding hit a 3, and Stokes hit a pair from the charity stripe. With under 7 minutes to go, Nova lead 64-48. With their backs, and season, against the wall, UC fought back hard. Stephenson converted a traditional 3 point play. Reynolds made a pair of free throws for Nova here, 66-51. Jaquon Parker, who hadn't played since the USF game 2 weeks ago, scored 5 in a row on a spin move for a lay up, and an open 3. Rashad Bishop got a piece of a Taylor King 3 attempt, on the other end Vaughn nailed one. With 4:26 on the clock, Nova lead by 7. Nova would travel, and Stephenson took advantage by drawing a foul. He missed both, but Yancy Gates pulled down a huge rebound and scored. Lance stole the ball from Redding, made both, cutting the deficit to 3. Reynolds missed an open 3 for Nova. On the UC possession, Stephenson missed a chance to tie, but Bishop flew down the lane for a put back to make it 66-65. A 17-2 run with the season on the line. Redding was fouled, and made both. Parker missed a 3 to tie, but Redding got a 3 to bounce off the rim, off the backboard and down after it looked like Reynolds traveled with 1:31 left. It was Nova's first basket in 5:30 and a huge one. Gates cut the lead to 4 on free throws, and UC got a steal when Stokes slipped on the inbound and the ball was passed right to Stephenson. He passed to Vaughn open on the right wing, but it was shades of Marquette as Deonta missed. There was a jumpball on the rebound, and UC had the arrow. But, Bishop missed a 3, and Vaughn had a foot out of bounds while trying to tie up the long rebound. With 40.3 to go, Reynolds hit 2 free throws. Vaughn missed a runner, but Redding only made 1 ft for Nova. Stephenson got fouled, but missed both. Taylor King made both for an 8 point lead. UC's last second rally saw Stephenson score a traditional 3 point play, Nova travel, and Bishop hit a 3. But with 3.2 left, Reynolds hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 4, and the final score.

Villanova finished 21-44 47.7%, 10-21 47.6% from deep, and 25-35 at the stripe. They pulled home 28 rebounds, 6 offensive. Reynolds had 17, all in the second half, and 5 assists, Stokes 14-4, Redding 11, Pena 10-7, Yarou 10-2, Fisher 10, King 4-5, Cheek 1. Wayns had 3 assists, crucial in spreading the lead. Cincinnati was 26-66 39.4%, 7-30 23.3%, 14-21 66% at the line. They gathered 31 rebounds, 14 offensive. Rashad Bishop had 19, 15 in half two, Vaughn 18-3 assists, Gates 13-5, Stephenson 12-7, Parker 5, Thomas 2-3, Wright 2-3, and Toyloy 2. 

All congratulations to Villanova. They played hard, and executed when they had to. Reynolds was great in the second half, and Redding was key. Rashad Bishop really brought it in the second half for UC when we needed it. Vaughn had a great first half. Stephenson played overall solid. The things that hurt tonight were the same things that hurt all season. Big opponent run, check. Offensive ineptitude, check. Jacking up 3s, check. Missing big free throws, check. Getting torched on d at the wrong times, check. In many ways, this has been a lost season. Cincinnati has had chance, after chance, after chance to close out games and they haven't. The effort seems to vacillate between 'we really want to play hard' and 'we could be playing right now.' It's so frustrating to watch some of these things day in and day out. It was a hell of a comeback, but it ended the same way they all do. Missed open 3, check. Defensive breakdown, check. Missed chances, check. Missed tournament, check?

Know Your Opponent: Villanova Wildcats edition

Tonight at 7 on ESPN2 , the Cincinnati Bearcats host the mighty Villanova Wildcats in the final regular season home game. I beg you one last time to come early for the Senior Day activities, and to give a great showing of support to Deonta Vaughn. And also to Steve Toyloy. I thanked both in this post, and feel free to thank them there as well. It should be quite special. In the midst of all the thanking, there is a very important game to be played. The Bearcats are currently on the outside looking in for the Big Dance, while Nova has been struggling as of late, losing 3 of 4. Granted they were to UConn, Pitt and Syracuse, but Nova seems ripe for a beating. Then again, Mick Cronin has never, eeeeevvvvveeeerrrrr, as Chris Jericho used to say, won a game in March at Cincinnati. It's going to take quite the effort from the men in white to get over the hump. The Bearcats haven't beaten a team ahead of them in the standings this season, and last I checked, Nova is up in second. In times like this, all we can do is cheer for victory, and cheer for #5. That's exactly what our friends at the great Villanova site I Bleed Blue and White will be doing, except probably not. In lieu of a Bearcats logo, I'm going to use a picture of Deonta Vaughn. He deserves it. Let's hit the numbers.

Thank You Deonta Vaughn and Steve Toyloy

Senior Night has come, and the Bearcats have a pair of seniors to honor. I hope that you all can make it out to 5/3 Arena and pack the place as we bid farewell, at least in the regular season, to Deonta Vaughn and Steve Toyloy.

Steve Toyloy
Steve Toyloy is a junior college transfer from Miami Dade Community College. Steve has averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds in his 2 Cincinnati seasons. A lot of what Toyloy does, doesn't show up on the stat sheet. He isn't the most talented player in the world, but he plays hard night in and night out. He plays good defense inside, and gets everything out of his 6'8 frame. Steve's best performance came in a 79-49 win last season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Steve also had 9 rebounds this season against Prairie View. He has only 1 double digit scoring game this year, 13 versus Texas Southern. Steve's best game of the season would probably be his 9-8 effort in a win over South Florida. Steve Toyloy has started 28 of the 50 games he's played at UC. He gave UC everything that he was able to get out of his talent the past 2 seasons, and for that, we thank him.

Deonta Vaughn
In this post of the Best Bearcats of the Decade, I said that Deonta Vaughn "This is the man who is mainly responsible for where UC basketball is right now" I also said that it was going to be a sad day when he walked onto to Ed Jucker Court for the final time, and it's going to be. I love Deonta Vaughn. I love his game, love his choice of colleges, love the fact that he wears my favorite number. He was a 3* recruit from Harmon Prep by way of Indianapolis. Deonta would quickly show that he was better than the star ranking, because in his fourth game as a Bearcat, he put up 33 against Wofford. Deonta averaged 14.5 points that year,14.8 in Big East play. Vaughn also averaged 3.5 assists (team leading), and 3.5 rebounds. He was first team all rookie Big East. Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, who the Cats play on Senior Day, got he honor of Rookie of the Year. His best game of his freshman year was his 25-9 assist-6 steal performance against NC State in a 80-71 win.  


In his sophomore year, Deonta turned one of the best seasons in UC history. Yeah, in UC history. Deonta averaged 17.3 points, shot 44%, 39% from three, 4.2 assists, and 3 rebounds. Vaughn was named to the first team all Big East. Vaughn had 3 games of 30 +, a career high 36 in a win over Coastal Carolina, 34 in a loss to UConn, and 30 in a loss to Pittsburgh. It's tough to say what his best game of that season was. It could be the 10-14, 8-11 from 3, 6-6 at the stripe, 34 point 3 assist performance against UConn, the 19-9 assist game against SC Upstate, the 30-6 assists against Pitt, the 29-3-5 assists against Syracuse in a win, and Vaughn also hit up Pitt for 24-8. He was truly spectacular that season. 


In year 3, Vaughn turned in another solid season. He put up 15 points on 39% shooting, 34% from 3, 81% from the free throw line. He lead the team with 4.7 assists a game, and had a solid 4 rebounds. Vaughn landed third team all Big East honors. Deonta started the season slow before going off for 27 against Xavier. Vaughn's best game of the season, and one of the best of his career, came against Georgetown. #5 scored 16, had 9 rebounds and 6 assists while playing 44 minutes. Vaughn also put up 24-8-5 assists in a win over Rutgers, not to mention a 16-7-6-3 steals game in a win Mississippi State. Deonta set a career high with 10 assists in the otherwise forgettable Marquette disaster. When Deonta slowed down the stretch, UC slowed down with him. A 6-21 effort against DePaul in the Big East Tournament highlights that point. 


This has been a mostly down year for the senior. Deonta averaged 9 points a game non conference, although he's stepped it up to 12.5 in the Big East. Vaughn leads the team with 3.5 assists a game and has chipped in 3.6 rebounds. Vaughn is shooting 39%, 33% from deep, and 80% at the stripe. He's taken a whole lot less shots than he has in past years. He's taken 255 this season after 407, 408, and 399. He's also gotten to the free throw line much less than the past 2 seasons. Although Vaughn has taken a back seat this season, he's had a few really good games. He's scored a season high of 20 twice, with his best game a 20-5-5 effort in the USF win. He had 20 in the Seton Hall loss, he went for 17-5-5-2 steals in the first UConn meeting, 13-4-9-4 steals against Toledo, and 16-5-5 against Maryland. His 15-5-5 effort against West Virginia was solid as well. 


Deonta Vaughn is going to finish in the top 4 in school history in points. He's played the most minutes, or the second most minutes in UC history. He helped turn the sinking ship known as Cincinnati basketball around. He's gotten them close to the tournament the past 2 seasons, but they couldn't get over the hump last year. Who knows about this year? I hope that the team does it for Deonta, because the man is a winner, and he should play important games in March on the biggest stage. I love Deonta Vaughn, and I will be supporting him full throttle tomorrow. I hope that you are going to as well. You may not like Mick Cronin, or are still bitter about Huggins leaving, but Deonta Vaughn has been a special player in Cincinnati history. He'll be remembered for being the star in a trash heap for 3 seasons, but he's been our star. Thank you for everything Deonta Vaughn, we will miss you.