Cincinnati knocks aside Florida State for Sweet 16 spot
By Tom Weir, USA TODAY

NASHVILLE – Cincinnati is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 after outlasting a Florida State team that played the same bruising style of basketball, 62-56.

Both teams spent Saturday's off day preaching defense at their news conferences, and then they delivered that sermon to each other throughout the game.

The game had the feel of a slugfest at times, and that physical nature kept the scoring in check the entire the night.

Sean Kilpatrick paced the Bearcats (26-10) with 18 points and Luke Loucks topped FSU (25-10) with 14.

The start of the second half typified the sluggish pace, as both team went nearly three minutes without scoring.

The showdown was marked by collisions, the worst of which saw Florida State's Deividas Dulkys and Cincinnati's Dion Dixon rolling on the floor in pain with 10:59 left.

Dulkys got up first, holding his head. Dixon had to be helped and led to the Bearcats' bench.

Both players left the game but returned, and Dixon hit a big three-pointer late and also scored with a steal.

Cincinnati's Yancy Gates also had a fearsome block on Bernard James. James, 27, an Air Force war veteran who had 19 points Friday against St. Bonaventure, returned the favor by knocking down Gates on another collision in the lane. And Cincinnati's JaQuon Parker (game-best 11 rebounds) also was dazed at one point after taking a shot to the head.

The lead switched sides several times down the stretch, including when Kilpatrick hit back-to-back threes for a 49-43 Cincinnati lead with 2:58 left. Through the first 38 minutes, there were 18 lead changes and 10 ties.

Michael Snaer got untracked for Florida State after getting shut out in the Seminoles' opening tournament game against St. Bonaventure. Snaer, Florida State's top scorer this season, hit a pair of arly three-pointers, but most of his teammates struggled in the first half as Florida State was 9-for-26 (34.6%).

James got off to a slow start, missing four of his first five shots but hit Florida State's first two baskets of the second half.

Cincinnati had an even tougher time finding its shooting range early, going 8-for-29 in the first half (27.6%).

Besides fighting a Florida State defense that ranked fifth in the nation for field goal percetage, the Bearcats were hurt when Gates picking up two early fouls and scoring only two points in the first half.

Florida State (24-10), which won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by beating Duke and North Carolina, was seeking consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/m...53627612/1

Florida State's NCAA Tournament run ends with 62-56 loss to Cincinnati

By Coley Harvey

Orlando Sentinel

Updated: 12:46 a.m. Monday, March 19, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With just less than four minutes remaining in Sunday night's NCAA Tournament game against Florida State, Cincinnati guard Sean Kilpatrick let out a loud yell in front of the Seminoles' bench.

As the game went to its last media timeout, the shout signified one of the final true swings of momentum to the see-saw Sunday night, Round of 32 contest. That momentum change ended up ultimately leading to a 62-56 Seminoles loss to Cincinnati.

Even as loud as it was, Kilpatrick's primal scream wouldn't be the loudest of the night. That came about three minutes later, when Bridgestone Arena erupted from vociferious Cincinnati fans who voiced their approval of guard Dion Dixon's perfectly-timed steal of Luke Loucks and his subsequent rapid-fire dunk.

After another Bearcats 3 and a sequence of made free throws by Cincinnati players, FSU's dream season officially ended. Boston will not be the Seminoles' next trip.


Cincinnati guard Jaquon Parker (44) and Florida State guard Michael Snaer (21) struggle for the ball in the first half of a third-round NCAA college basketball tournament game on Sunday, March 18, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.

One week after taking Atlanta by storm and claiming their first ACC Tournament title, the Seminoles late Sunday night tried to place their stamp on this second Southern city, but couldn't.

For once, the late-game rally didn't go their way.

For only the fourth time this season, the Seminoles lost a game by less than four points. They finish the season 8-4 in such contests. The game-winning shot that had become so prevalent for this team, wouldn't happen.

Hoping to notch a pair of wins at Bridgestone Arena this weekend, FSU would have advanced into the East Regional Sweet 16, which will be held inside the TD Garden in Boston. Instead of the third-seeded Seminoles (25-10) playing No. 2 seed Ohio State (29-7) on Thursday, the sixth-seeded Bearcats (26-10) will do the honors instead. The Buckeyes on Saturday knocked off Gonzaga.

FSU reached the Round of 32 with a three-point win over St. Bonaventure on Friday.

Last year, the Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16 and fell to Virginia Commonwealth, 72-71, in San Antonio, Texas.

The big story line late in Sunday's game was the 3-pointer. Cincinnati guard Sean Kilpatrick made a pair of clutch long-range shots inside the final four minutes of the game. So did Bearcats guard Cashmere Wright. FSU guard Luke Loucks responded to one of them with his own 28-foot rainmaker that temporarily tied the game.

In all, FSU made six 3s, and was paced by guard Michael Snaer, who hit three of them. Snaer finished with 11 points.

Against St. Bonaventure on Friday, Snaer had a career-low zero points in an outing that was a far cry from the style of offensive play Seminoles fans had come accustomed to seeing him have. The player who scored 16, 18 and 20 points in the ACC Tournament went 0-for-7 from the field against the Bonnies.


Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin hugs forward Yancy Gates (34) in the final seconds of their 62-56 win over Florida State in a third-round NCAA college basketball tournament game on Sunday, March 18, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.

Immediately after that game, he was resolved to make up for the misses, most of which came off of wide open looks.

"I laughed it off," he said.

In addition to Snaer's night, FSU senior forward Bernard James had his second double-digit game of the tournament, scoring 12. He had a career-high and game-high 19 in the win over the Bonnies.

Due to the short turnaround time FSU would have had to get to Boston, the Seminoles were tentatively planning on staying in Nashville until Tuesday. They would have proceed to take a plane to Boston from there and not return to Tallahassee until after their next set of games.

Perhaps it was for the best. FSU's previous trip to Boston didn't go very well. On Feb. 8, in a game at Boston College, they couldn't overcome a barrage of Eagles 3-pointers. While rallying in order to climb back from a double-digit deficit, the Eagles kept throwing up long-range shots. Even with a lead they continued to do so. In all, they made 10 3s, en route to a 64-60 win over FSU.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/semi...46512.html

UC beats FSU for Sweet 16 spot


The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II
Cincinnati Bearcats guard JaQuon Parker (44) goes up for a shot against Florida State University Seminoles in the first half. Cincinnati Bearcats battles Florida State University Seminoles in the third round of the NCAA tournament basketball game Sunday March 18, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Written by
Bill Koch

NASHVILLE – The University of Cincinnati is going to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001.

The Bearcats survived a brutally physical game and turned back tenth-ranked Florida State, 62-56, Sunday night in the third round of the NCAA tournament’s East Region at Bridgestone Arena.

With the score tied at 52-52, Dion Dixon intercepted a pass and drove in for an emphatic dunk to give the Bearcats the lead for good. Cashmere Wright then dropped in a jump shot in the lane with 56 seconds left, giving UC a 54-50 lead.

Yancy Gates was fouled after rebounding an Okaro White 3-point shot and made two free throws to put UC ahead, 56-50, with 35.3 seconds remaining.

JaQuon Parker and Sean Kilpatrick combined to make six straight free throws in the final 24 seconds to put the game away.

No. 6 seed UC (26-10) matched its victory total from last year and will move on to face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Thursday in the East Region semifinals in Boston. No. 3 seed Florida State (25-10) saw a six-game winning streak come to an end.

It will be the first meeting between UC and Ohio State in an NCAA tournament game since the Bearcats beat the Buckeyes in the national championship game in 1962.

Kilpatrick led UC with 18 points. Dixon scored 15. Luke Loucks had 14 for the Seminoles.

With both teams at the top of their game defensively, neither was able to sustain much on offense. The Seminoles had more size than UC, but the Bearcats more than held their own physically. Back and forth they went, with first one team, then the other, holding a slim margin, and neither giving an inch.

Florida State went up by three only to have UC come back to go ahead by one. The Seminoles went up three again. The Bearcats responded to reclaim the lead by one, with bodies crashing into each other and tumbling to the ground while the officials mostly let them play on.

With 10:59 to play, UC’s Dixon and Florida State’s Deividas Dulkys collided on the floor as they went for a loose ball. Both had to be assisted by their trainers before they could walk haltingly to their respective benches and remained on the bench when play resumed after UC called timeout.

Parker gave UC a 38-37 lead with a tough inside basket with 9:06 remaining. Dixon returned to the floor moments later and Kilpatrick drove the lane for a layup that was wiped out when he was called for charging, turning the ball back over to Florida State.

The Seminoles then made four straight free throws to take a 41-38 lead with 6:38 to go. Yancy Gates responded with a 3-point play for UC to tie the score for the seventh time.

Kilpatrick’s 3-pointer gave UC a 46-43 lead with 3:44 to go, its largest lead, matching its largest lead of the game, prompting Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton to call timeout. Luke Loucks answered with a three for the Seminoles.

Kilpatrick drilled another three for UC, Bernard James responded with a two for Florida State, leaving UC with a 49-48 lead. Gates then fouled Loucks, who dropped in two free throws to put Florida State ahead by one with 2:09 to play.

The Bearcats trailed by only one at halftime despite shooting only 27.6 percent from the field and making only 2 of 8 from 3-point range. They forced Florida State into 10 turnovers in the first half, out-rebounded the taller Seminoles, 21-18, and limited them to 34.6 percent shooting.

Florida State jumped out to an 8-3 lead, but UC came back with eight straight points to go in front, 11-8, holding the Seminoles scoreless for nearly five minutes.

The two teams played even from that point, with 10 lead changes and three ties until Florida State took advantage of three UC turnovers to score six straight points and take a 23-18 lead with 5:20 left in the half.

While Florida State was having success shooting from long range, making 4 of 8 of 3-point shots in the first half, UC struggled from the perimeter. When the Bearcats had to try to score against the Seminoles’ half-court defense they had a difficult time getting the ball inside and went five minutes without scoring before Sean Kilpatrick made his second 3-pointer of the game to pull UC back within two with 3:55 left in the half.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...019&Ref=AR

I love this team

Rapid Reax: Cincinnati 62, Florida State 56
March, 19, 2012

By Chris Low

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A quick look at No. 6 seed Cincinnati’s 62-56 victory over No. 3 seed Florida State in the third round of the NCAA tournament’s East Regional at Bridgestone Arena:

Overview: It was a physical contest from the outset with both teams looking like two big bulls slamming into each other. Florida State led by one at halftime, and it stayed close throughout the second half.

The two teams traded leads, and neither shot particularly well (38 percent from the field for both teams). What killed the Seminoles were costly turnovers, and the Bearcats capitalized. They outscored the Seminoles 19-6 off turnovers and also had a 13-5 advantage on fast-break points.

And even though Cincinnati was just 5-of-15 from 3-point range, guard Sean Kilpatrick hit back-to-back shots from long distance just inside 4 minutes, and then the Bearcats only missed once from the free-throw line in the final two minutes of the game.

Turning point: The game was tied at 50-50, and Florida State had the ball. But a lazy pass by FSU’s Luke Loucks against Cincinnati's pressure defense was stolen by Dion Dixon, who flew in for a dunk to give the Bearcats a 2-point lead with 1:30 to play. A couple of possessions later, Loucks committed another turnover when he was called for traveling. The Seminoles never got any closer than four points the rest of the way.

Key player: Kilpatrick led the Bearcats with 18 points and was 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. He also had 6 rebounds and 2 steals in 37 minutes.

Key stat: The Bearcats were 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in last two minutes of the game. They only shot 63.7 percent from the line during the season.

Miscellaneous: Even though Cincinnati guard Cashmere Wright shot just 2-of-10 from the field, he dished out 6 assists, collected 5 steals and turned the ball over only twice in 33 minutes. … The Bearcats wore the black version of their new Adidas uniforms on Sunday. Their jerseys were black with fluorescent orange/pink numbers and trim. … Florida State’s leading scorer, Michael Snaer, had another off shooting night. He was 0-of-7 from the floor in the second-round victory over St. Bonaventure and was just 4-of-11 Sunday against Cincinnati.

What’s next: Cincinnati (26-10) will advance to the Sweet 16 to face second-seeded Ohio State on Thursday night in Boston. It's one of those matchups that you wouldn't see during the regular season. Ohio State hasn't been willing to play Cincinnati on a regular basis and has typically wanted to play only if the game were in Columbus.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketbal...-62-fsu-56

If UC wins thursday night vs. O$U, it may be a century next time that we play them again.

(03-19-2012 12:04 AM)ctipton Wrote:  With the score tied at 52-52, Dion Dixon intercepted a pass and drove in for an emphatic dunk to give the Bearcats the lead for good. Cashmere Wright then dropped in a jump shot in the lane with 56 seconds left, giving UC a 54-50 lead.

I just can't help myself

(03-19-2012 12:10 AM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(03-19-2012 12:04 AM)ctipton Wrote:  With the score tied at 52-52, Dion Dixon intercepted a pass and drove in for an emphatic dunk to give the Bearcats the lead for good. Cashmere Wright then dropped in a jump shot in the lane with 56 seconds left, giving UC a 54-50 lead.

I just can't help myself

It just so hard sometimes, that poor guy, he is trying his best

(03-19-2012 12:10 AM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(03-19-2012 12:04 AM)ctipton Wrote:  With the score tied at 52-52, Dion Dixon intercepted a pass and drove in for an emphatic dunk to give the Bearcats the lead for good. Cashmere Wright then dropped in a jump shot in the lane with 56 seconds left, giving UC a 54-50 lead.

I just can't help myself

OMG = its like perpetual amateur hour.

i

What was the game's attendance? My usual source omitted the key stat.

Florida State Seminoles upset by Cincinnati Bearcats 62-56 in NCAA Tournament

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, March 19, 2012


[Associated Press]
Luke Loucks, a former Clearwater High standout, dribbles behind his back to try to elude Jaquon Parker in the first half.

NASHVILLE — Clearwater's Luke Loucks had nine of Florida State's final 13 points Sunday night, but his two costly turnovers in the final two minutes helped sixth-seeded Cincinnati pull out a physical, back-and-forth 62-56 win against the third-seeded Seminoles, sending a fourth Ohio school to the Sweet 16.

FSU (25-10) led 50-49 on two Loucks free throws with 2:09 left before the Bearcats' Sean Kilpatrick hit a free throw that tied it at 50. Then the game shifted seconds later when a Loucks pass was stolen by Cincinnati's Dion Dixon, who went in for an uncontested dunk and a 52-50 lead.

The Bearcats' Cashmere Wright hit a jumper on the next possession, and Loucks was called for a travel — he left his feet without shooting, thinking he had a foul call coming — with 48 seconds left.

Cincinnati (26-10) went 8-for-8 on free throws in the final 35 seconds, sending the ACC champions home and the Bearcats advancing to face second-seeded Ohio State on Thursday in Boston.

"We lost to a team that had 13 steals. We turned the ball over 17 times that led to 19 points," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

"They were a tremendous strip team. They did a very good job with deflections and steals, causing us to cough it up and leading to baskets. Had we taken care of the ball a lot better, at least we would have given ourselves a chance. As I look back on the game, that was probably what did us in."

The two teams battled in a grind of a game, with neither leading by more than five points until Cincinnati went up by six in the final minute.

FSU got 14 points and four assists from Loucks, who had hit a crucial 3-pointer to answer one from the Bearcats and tie the score with 3:25 left. FSU's Bernard James added 12 points, including two dunks in the final three minutes.

"I can't say how proud I am of this team," said Hamilton, noting that the Seminoles opened the season 9-6. "I really feel they gave me what they had, and they represented the Florida State and Tallahassee communities in as fine a fashion as I've ever seen in a basketball team. We're not going to allow this last game to identify who we are and what we've become."

FSU's leading scorer, Michael Snaer, who had been held scoreless in Friday's second-round win against St. Bonaventure, hit two 3s in the first three minutes and finished with 11 points, but the game's big scorer was Kilpatrick, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Cincinnati up 49-46 after the Bearcats had trailed for much of the second half. Kilpatrick finished with 18 points.

"Coming down the stretch, we did make some mistakes, but the effort was there and the intensity was there, too," James said. "It just didn't go our way tonight."

With Cincinnati's win, the Sweet 16 has four teams each from the Big East and Big Ten, and the Bearcats join Ohio State, Xavier and Ohio in representing their state later this week. The Bobcats had won on the same court by an identical score in eliminating USF two hours earlier.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/basketbal...aa/1220766

(03-19-2012 12:25 AM)franzeal Wrote:  What was the game's attendance? My usual source omitted the key stat.

11,033

Doc: Brute-iful win for Cincinnati
How it ended was fitting


The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II
Mick Cronin likes to say there is no league physically more adept than the Big East. He might be right. Florida State would do very well in the Big East.

Written by
Paul Daugherty

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The whole night felt like a fistfight and a trudge uphill. Maybe that’s what it is, having the hand of a 6-foot-10 person in your face, every time you try to shoot the ball. Or when you run into a screen set by that same 6-10 guy. Cincinnati and Florida State engaged in hand-to-hand combat Sunday night. Arms and legs flew. Occasionally, they mixed in some basketball.

The lingering image of a Bearcats season will not be of a long, tall Florida State defense boa-constricting UC’s attack. That was Sunday night’s image, though. You might have seen a team have to work harder in its halfcourt offense, just to get a decent look at the basket. I have not.

It seemed destined from the first to go down to the last possession, the last shot, the last spare energy from the last player with the ball.

Then UC got the break one team was going to get. The first crack, all game. Against full-court pressure, the Seminoles made an errant pass in the backcourt. Dion Dixon intercepted it and dunked. UC, up 52-50. The Seminoles traveled on their next possession. Cashmere Wright cashed in that mistake with a floater in the lane. 54-50, 56 seconds to play.

Yancy Gates makes two free throws. 56-50, 35.3 ticks to go.

Seemingly a hundred free throws later, UC had won an astoundingly brute-iful game, 62-56.

Until then, it was simply ferocious. This is what rugby looks like, played in the NCAA tournament.

With 12:02 left in the game, Sean Kilpatrick sliced into the lane, around a trio of men who bang their heads on standard door frames, and dipsied in a layup that gave UC a 36-35 lead. That might not have been the best example of how hard UC worked just to get shots, let alone make them. There were lots just like it. But it’ll have to do.

About a minute later, Dixon and FSU’s Deividas Dulkys collided chasing a loose ball. Both dropped to the floor. Dulkys looked momentarily to have been knocked unconscious; he got up quickly. Dixon had to be helped off the floor by trainer Bob Mangine.

It was that kind of game.

Mick Cronin likes to say there is no league physically more adept than the Big East. He might be right. Florida State would do very well in the Big East.

Most competitive NCAA tournament games are marked by runs. Who makes the longest run or the last one usually wins. There were no runs in this game. It was as if each team willed itself to keep the other from getting too far ahead. There was never a relaxed moment.

The Seminoles wheeled out an assembly line of giants, all of them seniors. Compared with 6-11 Xavier Gibson, 6-10 Bernard James and 7-foot Jon Kreft, Yancy Gates was a pine among oaks.

In the first half, the Bearcats struggled for everything they got. They were effective in transition. But when they were denied the holes in the defense the fast break afforded them, they couldn’t pierce FSU’s lean, gangly interior.

It would have been more of an issue, had the Bearcats not been making the Seminoles just as miserable. The whole half was hand to hand, arms and elbows in the lane. The Bearcats came up with seven steals. Two became Dion Dixon dunks; one, a gravity-ignoring leap launched from close to the free throw line, sent the highlight meter spinning and gave UC a 16-14 lead, its last of the half.

UC held on. That’s the best that could be said. Given the Bearcats’ size limitations, it was good enough. The Bearcats compensated by playing effective team defense, and sending Sean Kilpatrick to the defensive glass whenever the Seminoles missed a shot. Kilpatrick had five rebounds in the first half.

JaQuon Parker had six rebounds and was active near the basket in the first half. But he took five shots and missed them all. UC shot 27 percent in the half. It felt like less. That the Bearcats trailed just 26-25 was cause for relief, and concern.

The second half was more of the same.

How it ended was fitting.

Now, UC will play Thursday in Boston against that School Up North, which could be fun. Between now and then, more pleas for peace than at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

It might not be any more turbulent than the one Sunday. That might not be possible.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...Tournament

I hope they're well rested, for Thursdays game.

(03-19-2012 01:38 AM)Butterfly Wrote:  I hope they're well rested, for Thursdays game.

Yeah, they have been through some serious wars this season and the path to the National Championship is pretty much more top 10 teams the whole way. Lets just hope we can keep knocking them off. Go Bearcats!!!