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

Mountaineers too much for Bearcats

(AP)

Cincinnati shot 28% in the second half, blowing a 10 point lead in the half. West Virginia didn't play great, but they played well enough to score 74 points to Cincinnati's 68. Devin Ebanks had a 12-10 double double, Kevin Jones had 15, and Truck Bryant had 14, nearly all at the free throw line. Cincinnati was lead by Deonta Vaughn's 15. Lance Stephenson had 14-9, and Yancy Gates had 10 points, but 0 rebounds. The officials were pretty awful, especially in Gates' case. His 3rd and 4th fouls were bullshit calls. The foul disparity was 12-3 in the first half, and 26-13 the whole game. About 4 of those fouls can be accounted for end of the game fouling. This was a brutal loss. The season rests on beating Villanova and Georgetown and not flaking out in the Big East tournament. More on this one Monday.