Wednesday, March 12th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Madison Square Garden (19,763) -- New York, New York. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Cincinnati 10-7, Pittsburgh 16-2. Away Record: Cincinnati 3-10, Pittsburgh 5-7. Neutral Record: Cincinnati 0-0, Pittsburgh 1-0. Conference Record: Cincinnati 8-10, Pittsburgh 10-8. Series Record: Cincinnati leads, 7-4.

GAME NOTES: The opening round of the Big East Tournament continues with the 10th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats taking on the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers at Madison Square Garden tonight. The team that comes out on top in this game will earn the right to challenge second-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals on Thursday. After finishing with a league-low two wins last season, the Bearcats rebounded by winning eight conference games this year. While the turnaround was noteworthy, it could have been better, as Cincinnati dropped its last five outings of the regular season. The Bearcats made their lone appearance in the Big East Tournament in 2006, losing out to Syracuse in the opening round. As for Pittsburgh, it notched wins in three of its last four games of the regular season to finish 10-8 in the conference. The Panthers, who are the only Big East club to win both 20 overall and 10 league games in each of the last seven seasons, have reached the finals of this event six times in the last seven years. The program, however, has just one title to its credit and that came in 2003. In terms of the all-time series, Cincinnati holds a 7-4 edge over Pittsburgh, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings during the regular season.

Of the 12 teams in the Big East Tournament, Cincinnati is the one with the least productive offense, scoring just 64.5 ppg. The Bearcats, though, are in the middle of the pack when it comes to defense, limiting foes to 67.6 ppg. Deonta Vaughn was recently selected an All-Big East First-Team member and rightfully so, as he leads his team in scoring (16.7 ppg) and assists (4.1 apg). The competitive Vaughn is also a threat from beyond the arc, where he is shooting 39.3 percent. John Williamson is another player that has put together a solid campaign for the Bearcats, and he turns in 11.6 ppg to go with a team-leading 6.3 rpg. After Vaughn and Williamson, though, there aren't many options for the Bearcats and that has been an issue all season long.

The Panthers have fared well at both sides of the court this season, as they are scoring 74.4 ppg, while holding their opponents to 65.3 ppg. The team has also done a good job on the boards, outrebounding its foes by 5.1 rpg. Sam Young has been a force for Pittsburgh and he tops the roster in scoring at 18.0 ppg. The First-Team Big East selection is also grabbing 6.4 rpg and shooting 42.4 percent from three-point range. Freshman DeJuan Blair has provided a nice complement to Young in the low post and he nearly averages a double-double with 12.3 ppg and a team-high 9.5 rpg. If those numbers weren't enough, Blair also leads the club in steals with 55. The player in charge of feeding the duo is Levance Fields, who is handing out a team-high 5.4 rpg. Fields can also get to the basket and finish, chipping with 11.1 ppg.

Pittsburgh is a bit more talented and deeper than Cincinnati and it should be able to wear down the Bearcats and pull away late for the victory.

Predicted Outcome

Pittsburgh 69, Cincinnati 61