National Basketball Association
Cincinnati 62, Florida St. 56
When: 9:40 PM ET, Sunday, March 18, 2012
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Joe DeRosa, # Bryan Kersey, # Terry Oglesby
Attendance:
11033
By SportsDirect Inc.
Cincinnati 62, Florida State 56: Dion Dixon scored 15 points, including a key steal and go-ahead dunk with less than two minutes left, and the Bearcats advanced to Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 with an upset of the Seminoles.
Sean Kilpatrick had a game-high 18 points for sixth-seeded Cincinnati (26-10), which will face in-state rival and second-seeded Ohio State, Thursday in Boston. It marks the first time in NCAA history that four teams from the state of Ohio have reached the regional semifinals (Xavier and Ohio also advanced).
The final game of the NCAA tournament's opening weekend, a physical affair between two of the best defenses in the nation, featured 11 ties and 22 lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points in the second half before the Bearcats finally pulled away with a 6-0 spurt.
After Yancy Gates' free throw tied the game at 50 with 1:40 to play, Dixon intercepted a pass in the backcourt and coasted in for an easy dunk. Florida State missed on the other end and Cashmere Wright drilled a jumper that made it 54-50 with less than a minute to play. Gates hit two free throws after Okaro White missed a 3-pointer and Florida State (25-10) was unable to recover.
Surprisingly, the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big East sealed the game by hitting six-of-six from the line down the stretch. Cincinnati finished 19-of-23 from the free-throw line.
Luke Loucks scored 14 points for Florida State, which was seeking to return to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: This was the first meeting since 2008 between former members of the now-defunct Metro Conference… The teams combined for 18 turnovers and 17 field goals in the first 20 minutes.
Top Game Performances
| Cincinnati |
|
Florida St. |
|
Sean Kilpatrick 18 |
Scoring |
Luke Loucks 14 |
|
Cashmere Wright 6 |
Assists |
Luke Loucks 4 |
|
Jaquon Parker 11 |
Rebounds |
Okaro White 7 |
|
Jaquon Parker 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Luke Loucks 6 |
|
Cashmere Wright 5 |
Steals |
Deividas Dulkys 3 |
|
Justin Jackson 2 |
Blocks |
Xavier Gibson 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Cincinnati
|
62 |
38.0 |
5-15 |
19-23 |
13 |
30 |
5 |
13 |
15 |
| Florida St.
|
56 |
38.0 |
6-17 |
12-15 |
11 |
28 |
8 |
5 |
19 |
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