Cincinnati 69 Rutgers 68

(AP/Henny Ray Abrams)

Lance Stephenson saved the day for the Cincinnati Bearcats, as they were able to take home a round 1 win in the Big East tournament Tuesday night. Stephenson netted the game winning free throw with 1.8 seconds left following a furious Rutgers rally. Cincinnati plays the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 9:30ish, 20 minutes after the 7 pm game ends. Cincinnati was without Rashad Bishop, who was suspended for the Big East tournament due to conduct detrimental to the team. It's a shame. Hopefully Rashad realizes the error of his ways and plays in the next tournament UC is in. 

The game started with a 5 minute stalemate after the fireworks of Seton Hall and Providence. We had a 5-5 tie after a Gates put back, an NBA range 3 from Deonta Vaughn, Jonathan Mitchell scoring inside and a James Beatty triple. Hamady Ndiaye dominated the paint, as he had 4 blocks in the first 6 minutes, setting the Rutgers career record. Congratulations to Hamady. After the 4th block, he was fouled on the other end by his best friend Ibrahima Thomas and made 1 free throw. Gates followed by making 1 of 2, but the teams didn't make a field goal until the 13 minute mark when Mike Rosario hit a 3. That was followed by a Mitchell 3 and a 12-6 lead. Cincinnati scored 4 quick on a Cashmere Wright jumper, and on a Gates dunk from Wright when Rutgers turned the ball over after Dane Miller dribbled the ball off Rosario trying to break UC pressure. Rutgers scored 6 of the next 8 on threes by Rosario and Beatty around a Darnell Wilks jumper. But UC went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-18 lead off a Wright jumper, a Wilks lay up around a defender from Stephenson, a Parker 3 from passes from Lance and Wilks, and a traditional 3 point play by Cashmere Wright. The Scarlet Knights tied it on a Ndiaye dunk and a Coburn lay up. Rutgers and Cincinnati would play tight the rest of the half. UC scored 4 on a Wilks dunk back, and a Stephenson baseline jumper. RU got a Mitchell 3. UC got a Toyloy bucket off a drop off from Vaughn, answered by 2 Rosario free throws. A Darnell Wilks 3 to give UC a 4 point lead was met by a goaltend by Stephenson on a Coburn lay up off a great outlet pass by Rosario, and another Ndiaye dunk off a zone break. Rutgers took the lead into intermission after Cash had a lay up blocked, and with 1.8 seconds left, Coburn was fouled and made 1 of 2 for a 32-31 Rutgers lead. 

Rutgers shot 50% for the first half on 11-22 shooting. They were 6-12 from 3 and 4-8 from the foul line. The Knights grabbed 15 rebounds, 2 offensive and had 8 assists. They were lead by Mike Rosario 10, Jonathan Mitchell 8-5, James Beatty 6, Hamady Ndiaye 5-4-2, or 4 blocks, and Mike Coburn 3-2 assists. Cincinnati shot 35% on 13-37 shooting, were 3-8 from deep and 2-3 from the foul line. The Cats grabbed 19 rebounds, 9 offensive. They were lead by Darnell Wilks 9-3, Cashmere Wright 7-2 assists, Yancy Gates 5, Deonta Vaughn 3, Jaquon Parker 3, Lance Stephenson 2-6-3 assists, and Steve Toyloy 2.

Deonta Vaughn started the second half with a 3 pointer to put UC back in front, but it was answered by 3 Ndiaye free throws. We stayed tied until the under 16 media break, but there was lots of scoring. Gates scored on a lob from Thomas on a nice press break by Vaughn, Rosario and Jaquon Parker traded 3s, Dane Miller made 1 free throw, followed by Parker making 2 free throws, only for Jonathan Mitchell to score a basket with a foul and covert the free throw. The Knights took advantage of Cashmere Wright falling asleep at the wheel when they got an open 3 from Rosario after a high pass. It looked like the ball was going out of bounds, and Cash turned and ran, but it didn't. UC crashed the glass hard all night, as Toyloy scored on a tip in of a Thomas miss, but Coburn went right to the rim in transition to score. The 46-43 Rutgers advantage would hold through the under 12 timeout, and grow after on a Coburn long 2. It was at this point, Lance Stephenson started taking over. Stephenson scored on a nice move inside and off a tip in, around a Mitchell 2. UC was in full bomb threes mode here, but Rutgers couldn't really capitalize much. Dante Rosario got to the rim by splitting the defense, but Cash found Gates for an interior shot to start a UC run. Ibrahima Thomas scored off a turn around jumper to pull UC to within 1, 52-51. At the 7:25 mark, Lance Stephenson pulled down a rebound, went on a one man fast break, scored a lay up, was fouled, and made the free throw. On the inbound, Stephenson stole the errant pass, drove to the rim and scored with a foul. And again he made the free throw to put UC up 5. Austin Johnson scored his only 2 on a jump shot off a ball screen, a play Rutgers ran all night. But, Jaquon Parker had a personal 5-0 run by picking up a loose ball off a Cincinnati shot attempt, and by drilling a 3. That 11-2 run put UC up 62-54 with 3:31 left. Rosario and Rutgers would come back. Rosario got the line and made 1 of 2. Gates wiped that out by making 1 of 2 for UC. But, Gates would miss an easy put back on the next UC possession, allowing Mitchell to get the rebound and hit Rosario with a beautiful baseball pass, drawing a foul on his lay up attempt. He made both. Rutgers fouled Parker after the inbound, but Jaquon missed the front end of a 1-1. Rutgers missed 2 wide open three chances by Mitchell and Rosario though. But, they hung tough and drew a 5 second closely guarded call on Deonta. Beatty immediately went to the rim and the lead was 63-59 with 54.7 to go. UC broke the Rutgers press, and when Mitchell fell down, Vaughn hit Thomas for a huge lay up. Rosario made a quick lay up for Rutgers, who called their last timeout with 38.7. Vaughn got fouled on the inbound, and made both, but UC fouled Coburn as he drove, and he made both keeping the lead at 4. With 2 timeouts left, Jaquon Parker, who played great, made a stupid play by not calling timeout when he couldn't get the ball in, had the ball slip out of his hands and onto the floor, where Mitchell dove on it and was fouled by Vaughn. Mitchell made both and with 29 seconds left, it was a 2 point game. UC called 2 timeouts in a row to get a good inbound play, and they did as Vaughn was fouled with 23 to go. He missed the first free throw, and made the second. Rutgers took the inbound pass up in a hurry, and Dante Rosario hit a twisting 3 as he was trying to jump into Larry Davis for a foul. With visions of St John's and the last trip to the Garden dancing in UC fans heads, Lance Stephenson gave us visions of UConn. Lance took the ball up court, and drove hard to the rim, drawing a foul. He calmly drilled the first before Mick Cronin told him to miss the second. He did, and Rutgers three quarter court heave was short and UC survived and advanced.

Cincinnati shot 26-69 37.7%, 6-20 from deep and 11-18 at the stripe. They gathered 44 rebounds, 19 offensive. UC was lead by Stephenson 13-9-5 assists, Parker, who started in place of Bishop, 13-5, Gates 10-5, Vaughn 9, Wilks 9, Wright 7-4-3 assists, Thomas 4-13, and Toyloy 4. What a beast Ibrahima Thomas has been on the boards lately. Him and Lance Stephenson are playing great, and give a lot of hope for improvement next season. Rutgers was 22-51 43%, 9-24, 15-23 at the stripe, with 28 rebounds, 4 offensive. They had 16 assists. Rosario had 26, Mitchell 15-10, Coburn 9, Ndiaye 7-8-5 blocks, Johnson 2, and lastly but not least, Miller 1-5-8 assists. 

This was a big win. The team hadn't pulled out a close game late in a long, long time, and this was important. It's on to bigger and better things, and those things are the Louisville Cardinals. It's tournament basketball, enjoy it friends. 

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. 

Cincinnati 65 Rutgers 58

(Enquirer)

The Cincinnati Bearcats locked down win 10 and improved to 2-0 following a mostly offensively challenged game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The teams struggled early and often getting shots to fall, and actually getting shots. The Bearcat who didn't have that problem was Deonta Vaughn. He followed his 17 point outing against UConn with 17 tonight to lead all scorers. It's great to see Deonta getting it going as the conference season has started. The Bearcats aren't going to do much of anything if 5 isn't leading the efforts. I love Lance Stephenson as much as you if not more, but he can't be Superman every night. Like tonight. Born Ready didn't have a great game his first game back in the New York area. He had a solid game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. He also made the requisite highlight play. With the ball under the basket, he up faked 2 Rutgers defenders, as they came down, he went up and flung the ball at least 2 feet over the rim and it fell perfectly into the net. Great play that not many can do. For the game Scarlet Knights, Jonathan Mitchell lead the way with 14 and 7 rebounds. Mike Rosario had 12 points, all 3 pointers. Dane Miller had a solid 10-6 off the bench as well.

The first half of this one was rather dull. Neither team shot well. At one point, Rutgers was 6-26. Despite that, they only trailed by around 5 or 6 seemingly the whole half. That was until the Scarlet Knights caught fire from 3. Mike Rosario missed 8 of his 9, but hit 2 triples in a row, and Rutgers took the lead. Rutgers would add a couple more baskets, and take a 5 point lead into the locker room. The offensive bugaboos that have haunted the Bearcats all year shined in this half. The team turns the ball over too much, and the offensive sets aren't that great. The team tends to stand around and hoist up jump shots. It's frustrating to watch because the talent is there. The discipline is always there on defense, and it really lacks on offense. The Cats are bizarro Notre Dame.

The second half was a dog fight for the most part. The Bearcats would grind their way back into the game, pulling to a tie at 41. The team locked down Rosario, who didn't have a basket in the 2nd half. The team also hit the offensive glass and got multiple second chance opportunities, 21 points from 11 offensive rebounds. The Bearcats held the good offensive rebounding Rutgers squad to 7 for the game. The Cats posted a 12 rebound advantage for the game, and it seemed like many of them came in the second half. The action would stay nip tuck until a huge foul turned things. Rashad Bishop was fouled shooting a 3 with the score tied at 51 and made all 3 shots for a third of his total. The Bearcats would not relinquish the advantage. Rutgers big man Hamady Ndiaye got into foul trouble, and the Cats pounded the ball inside to Yancy Gates, 10-8, and Darnell Wilks who played a lot down the stretch and had 6. At least 2 of those were dunks, including one to make it a 5 point game. The lead would stay around 5 coming down the wire, and it was Deonta Vaughn who iced from the free throw line for the victory. They all can't be pretty, but as long as they are wins, they are good in my book.

I hit most of the negatives earlier, so I'll highlight some positives. The free throw shooting has boosted the past few games, and did again today with a 14-18 effort. Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy just aren't getting to the line, and that has a huge impact because they are the worst free throw shooters we have. I love Dion Dixon. No one seems to play harder than him, and he offensive rebounds like a mo fo. 66% of his boards were offensive tonight. I like what I see from Ibrahima Thomas rebounding and on defense, but his offense has a ways to go. He needs to add some muscle. The Bearcats held Rutgers to 37% shooting and 38%, 7-19, behind the arch. The Cats shooting was once again horrible. 41% overall, a terrible 3-16 18.8% from 3. Either the team needs to stop shooting 3s, or they need to practice more. Lance Stephenson especially. His 3 point shooting is horrible. He needs to work on that for the NBA. I would say it's worth staying another year to do that, but the money talks. 6-30 though. Six of thirty!

I would like to thank everyone who has come to the site this weekend. The live blog seemed to be a success, and it's something that I'll try again for a big game. I'll look to add more features for you all to enjoy, and don't be afraid to post comments or send emails. Thanks for checking things out. Look for a Pittsburgh preview on Monday afternoon around 2 or so.

Know Your Opponent: Rutgers Scarlet Knights edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats got their first Big East win of the season Wednesday night and now they roll into the RAC to face a tough Rutgers team. Cincinnati is coming off a close, emotional win and they play again Monday night. The Cats have played 2 true road games this season. Those were at Xavier and at UAB. We know how those games went. It's going to be interesting to see if the Cats bring the same intensity they had Wednesday, and that you would think they will have Monday, on the road on a non-nationally televised game Saturday night. Let's take a look at how these teams stack up, and predictions, after the jump.