Staff and Wire Reports
 9:00 PM ET, March 22, 2010 Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, OH |
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (19-15, 7-11 BIG EAST), the No. 2-seed in the “Illinois” bracket of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), face No. 2-seed Dayton (21-12, 8-8 A-10) in the second round at home in Fifth Third Arena on Monday, March 22 at 9 p.m. after knocking off Weber State, 76-62 on Wednesday in the first round. The Flyers advanced to play UC after beating Illinois State, 63-42.
After a four-year hiatus, the University of Cincinnati will meet Dayton for the 90th time — UC’s second-oldest and third longest rivalry in program history. The Bearcats own a 59-30 advantage in the series and have won 14 of the last 16 meetings dating back to the 1989-90 season — UC’s first in Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati won the last outing on Dec. 22, 2005, 81-63, in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic behind a combined 40 points by Devan Downey (21 pts.) and James White (19 pts.)
The Flyers enter the contest 21-12 overall and are coming off a 63-42 First Round NIT victory over Illinois State. Dayton ranks in the Top 25 in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding margin (plus-6.1) and ranked in the Top 35 in the NCAA in scoring defense (61.7 points per game). In fact, the Flyers have held 25 of their 32 opponents below their scoring average. In A-10 and NIT postseason play, Marcus Johnson has led UD averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting .500 (15-of-30) from the field.
Earning the No. 2 seed in the region, Cincinnati has been on a roll of late, winning three of its last four games. The Bearcats are19-15 overall and 11-4 at Fifth Third Arena this season. UC is led by the trio of 2010 BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year Lance Stephenson (12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg), senior guard Deonta Vaughn (11.2 ppg, 3.5 apg), and sophomore forward Yancy Gates (10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg). The Bearcats are 8-9 all-time in NIT play, including a mark of 6-2 at home.
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