NCAA Tournament West Region Second Round
#6 Cincinnati Bearcats vs #11 Missouri Tigers
Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Thursday, March 17, 2011, 9:50 pm Eastern, TV: TNT
Opening Line: Missouri -3
Current Line: Cincinnati -1
Opening Total: 138
Current Total: 137
Money Line: Cincinnati -120 / Missouri +100
Missouri and Cincinnati meet for the first time in the history of the schools in a second round West Region game in Washington, DC. The #6 seed Cincinnati Bearcats are 25-8 and finished 6 in the rugged Big East with an 11-7 record. They were crushed by Notre Dame in the Big East quarterfinals 89-51, but did win 6 of their last 8 games. Missouri is 23-10 overall and finished 5th in the Big 12 at 8-8. The Tigers struggled down the stretch losing 4 of their last 5 games including getting thrashed 86-71 by Texas A&M in the Big 12 quarters. Though the Tigers did struggle down the stretch, Missouri is a very dangerous 11 seed. They were in the top 25 for most of the year until their recent swoon. Tigers Coach Mike Anderson is a Nolan Richardson disciple and runs a pressure defense scheme that is difficult to adjust to if you don’t play against it very often. Missouri is playing in their third straight tournament, while Cincinnati returns to the tournament for the first time since 2005.
The two teams have never met on the basketball court. Missouri went 4-7 against teams in the tournament, while Cincinnati went 6-8 against tournament teams. The Bearcats are 5-13 ATS after a loss against a conference rival the last 2 seasons. Cincy is also 5-17 ATS versus teams scoring 77 points a game or more the past 3 seasons.
Missouri has no significant injuries right now. Missouri has 5 players scoring in double digits. Guard Marcus Denmon averages 17.1 points to lead the team, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.8 steals a game. He is also shooting 45.5% from 3 point range. Forward Laurence Bowers averages 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds to tie for team lead, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.9 blocks a game to lead the team. Forward Ricardo Ratliffe averages 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds to lead the team, 1.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks a game. Guard Kim English averages 10.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 steals a game. Guard Michael Dixon averages 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals a game to lead the team. Phil Pressey averages 3.9 assists to lead the team, and 1.8 steals a game to also lead the team. Missouri is outscoring opponents 81-71 on the season. Missouri is shooting 46.1% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range. Tiger opponents are shooting 43.5% from the field. Missouri is shooting 73.9% from the free throw line. Missouri averages 35.3 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of -1.9. The Tigers average 16.5 assists and 12.8 turnovers a game. Missouri forces 18.3 turnovers a game on defense. They average 9.8 steals and 5.1 blocks a game.
Cincinnati has no significant injuries right now. The Bearcats are led by forward Yancy Gates who is averaging 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks a game. He leads the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. Guard Dion Dixon averages 11.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. Guard Sean Kilpatrick averages 9.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. Point Guard Cashmere Wright averages 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a game. He leads the team in assists and steals. The Bearcats are outscoring opponents 69-59. Cincinnati is shooting 43.6% from the field and 33.9% from 3-point range. Bearcat opponents are shooting 41.1% from the field. Cincinnati shoots 66.6% from the free throw line. Cincinnati averages 35.6 rebounds and has a rebounding margin of +4.7. They average 14.3 assists and 11.6 turnovers a game. The Bearcats force 14.4 turnovers a game on defense. Cincinnati averages 7.6 steals and 3.8 blocks a game.
This match-up is a contrast in styles. Missouri likes to run and would like the game in the mid 70’s, while Cincinnati would prefer the game to be in the mid to low 60’s. Whichever team can control the tempo has a good shot of winning. Both teams were destroyed in their last game out. This should be a great game. The winner of this game will play the winner of UConn and Bucknell in the third round.
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