CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team (2-8) closes out their non-conference slate when they take on No. 23/25 Cincinnati (8-2) on Saturday afternoon.

Notes: Game 11
FDU Men's Basketball Report 12/13

Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson University (2-8) at No. 23/25 University of Cincinnati (8-2)
Where: Fifth Third Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio
When: Saturday, December 17 – 2:30 p.m.
Series History: Cincinnati leads the all-time series 2-0
First Meeting:  Jan. 19, 1974 (Cin W, 96-70)
Last Meeting:  Nov. 25, 1991 – The Bearcats came away with a 75-58 victory.


Broadcast Information:
Watch: ESPN3
Stats: Live Stats

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Cincinnati Bearcats:
The nationally-ranked Bearcats enter Saturday's contest 23^rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25^th in the AP Top 25 Poll.
 
In their last outing, the Bearcats toppled Texas Southern 96-58 at Fifth Third Arena. In the win, the Bearcats dished out 26 assists compared to just three turnovers, while amassing a 51-24 advantage in points in the paint.

Five UC players scored in double figures in the win led by Jarron Cumberland's career-high 18 points and six rebounds.
 
The Bearcats' lone blemishes this season came away from home to Rhode Island (76-71) and at Butler (75-65).
 
Defense has been the calling card for Cincinnati this season as they rank 13^th in the country in fewest points allowed at 59.8 per contest. Additionally, they are 16^th in blocked shots with 61 (6.1 bpg).
 
Offensively, the team's assist-to-turnover ratio is outstanding as they do an excellent job of protecting the basketball. This season, the Bearcats average just 10.1 turnovers per game, which is the ninth best mark in the nation.
 
Their play at both ends of the floor has allowed them to outscore opponents by 16.4 points per game, which is 24^th best in the country.

Head Coach: Mick Cronin (Cincinnati '97)
Record at Cincinnati: 207-129 (10t^h season)
Career Record: 276-153 (13^th season)

Team Leaders:
Points: Kyle Washington 15.3 ppg
Rebounds: Kyle Washington 8.1 rpg
Assists: Troy Caupain 4.0 apg
 
 
Last Time Out for the Knights:
Fairleigh Dickinson fell to red-hot Rutgers, 82-69 at The Rutgers Athletic Center on Wednesday night.
 
The Knights were unable to overcome a tremendous rebounding effort by the Scarlet Knights (10-1), who remained unbeaten (8-0) at home this season.
 
Darian Anderson paced the Knights with 22 points, four assists and three rebounds, while Mike Holloway tallied 14 points and Earl Potts Jr. added 13 tallies. Freshman forward Kaleb Bishop chipped in six points to go along with a career-high nine rebounds in the loss.
 
True to form, Rutgers, who entered tonight's game ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding, took care of business on the glass out-rebounding FDU 43-31, including doubling-up the Knights 16-8 in offensive boards.
 
In the victory, the home team shot 31-of-60 (51.7%) from the floor but struggled from the line, connecting on just 14-of-29 (48.3%). FDU knocked down 27-of-60 (45%) overall, 7-of-22 (31.8%) from the behind the arc and 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe.
 

Herenda's Take: 
"I am extremely proud of my team and their effort tonight. That was a hard fought college basketball game and Rutgers proved to be just too good and too big tonight."
 
"The difference in that game was Rutgers making five 3's in the second half that opened things up for them. But I just loved how we competed against a tough team in a difficult building."
 
"My guys have been playing so many good opponents on their floors and now we are off to Cincinnati to play a Top 25 team. The last few weeks will prove to be so beneficial to our team but right now I have nothing but pride for each and every player that put a blue jersey on tonight. The best is yet to come." 


News and Notes: 
Tough Sledding: The Knights have played a difficult non-conference schedule this season. Over the team's last three games they have faced three of the nation's top-ranked defenses in Towson, Rutgers and Cincinnati. Those three squads all rank in the top 20 nationally in opponent field goal percentage. 
 
Despite the difficult defense, the Knights have held their own, registering 87 points against Towson and shooting 45 percent at Rutgers.
 
Ohio in December: Saturday's trip to Cincinnati marks the second trip to Ohio that the Knights have made this month. Back on Oct. 3 the team dropped a 70-62 outing at Ohio State.
 
What's Next: Saturday's contest against the Bearcats marks the end of non-conference play for the Knights, who have 12 days off before they begin NEC play with back-to-back home games against Saint Francis U (Dec. 29) and Robert Morris (Dec. 31).
 
Homecoming: In their return to their home state of Maryland, Darian Anderson, Stephan Jiggetts and Earl Potts Jr. tallied 71 of the Knights' 87 points at Towson on Saturday. 
 
No Threes: In the loss to Towson, the Knights held the Tigers to 0-for-7 from 3-point range. It's the first time the Knights have prevented an opponent from making a three since Army went 0-1 against FDU back on 12/13/08.
 
Working His Way Back: After missing the Knights' first seven games with an injury, junior swingman Earl Potts Jr. returned to a full workload in the game against Towson. Potts Jr., who was a preseason All-NEC selection, led the Knights with six rebounds on Saturday.
 
Newest Member: With his 24th point against Towson on Saturday, Darian Anderson became the latest Knight to join the career 1,000-point club. Anderson finished with a new career-high 33 points to go along with a career-best six made 3-pointers. As a team, the Knights knocked down a season-high 12 trifectas in the loss.
 
Herenda Show: On this week's "The Greg Herenda Show", Coach G is joined by Rutgers men's basketball and Columbia football play-by-play man Jerry Recco. Recco, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, is also featured daily on the "Boomer & Carton Show" and hourly updates on WFAN 660 Sports Radio.
 
Next up:
The Knights have 12 days off before they begin Northeast Conference action with a home date against Saint Francis University on Thursday, December 29 at 7:30 p.m.