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. 

Know Your Opponent: Louisville Cardinals edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats take their last trip to Freedom Hall Sunday at noon to take on the Louisville Cardinals. The Bearcats have played the most games of any Louisville opponent at Freedom Hall, 41, and have won the most, 14. The Bearcats also won the 1962 National Championship on that very floor. I told you those facts would be in the preview. I fully expect Lance Stephenson to play. I don't know how limited he will be with his ankle injury, but the Bearcats chances of winning improve if Born Ready is in the lineup. This is an important game for both the 13-6, 4-3 Cats, and the 12-7, 3-3 Cards. Louisville has dropped their last 3 Big East games, while Cincinnati has won 2 straight. Louisville doesn't want to dip under .500 before they travel to West Virginia. Cincinnati has a chance to climb back to 2 games over .500 in conference before heading home next week to play Providence. Louisville has had the opposite problem of Cincinnati in the Big East. While UC hasn't been able to score, Louisville hasn't been able to stop anyone, giving up 85 points a game during their losing streak. Something has to give. Will the Bearcats add to Louisville's misery, or will the Cards sink their claws into the Bearcats? Before we hit the numbers, check out the awesome Card Chronicle. There are more Louisville blogs listed on the right, but this is the one that I visit the most and recommend.