CINCINNATI, Ohio - Selected for its second postseason appearance in the last three seasons, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (23-10, 11-5 WCC) will head to the Queen City to face Cincinnati (20-14, 7-11 Big 12) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) at Fifth Third Arena.

GAME 34 INFORMATION:
Date: Wednesday, Mar. 20, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m. PDT/9:00 pm EDT
Opponent: Cincinnati (20-14, 7-11 Big 12)
Site: Fifth Third Arena
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KNBR 1050
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• In their last time on the hardwood, San Francisco fell to then-No. 17/16 Gonzaga, 89-77, in the semifinal round of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championships at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, Mar. 11. USF held an eight-point lead late in the first half against the Bulldogs, but GU turned it on offensively in the second half as they went on to outlast the Dons. For the green and gold, Malik Thomas and Marcus Williams combined for 39 points on 14-of-31 shooting in the contest.
• Across USF's two WCC tournament games, Williams averaged 16.5 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field and 7-of-14 from distance.
• USF's 23 wins this season marked the seventh consecutive 20-plus win season for the green and gold, excluding the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season. San Francisco's 11 wins in conference play were also the most in a season since the 2013-14 campaign (13-5 WCC).
• Within conference action, USF finished in the top five in the league in free throw percentage (76.2/first), steals per game (7.88/second), scoring average (79.0/second), scoring margin (6.5/third), field goal percentage (48.2/third), turnover margin (2.44/second), and assist average (15.8/third).
• Finishing a perfect 21-0 in Quad 3 and Quad 4 games, San Francisco finished the regular season as one of just 29 teams across the nation to go undefeated in both Quad 3 and Quad 4 games.
• Making its seventh NIT appearance in program history, San Francisco will play in the postseason for the 28^th time in school history and the second time in the last three years following an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
• With a combined 6-5 NIT record in program history, Wednesday night's game will mark USF's first NIT appearance since 2014, when USF fell to LSU in a 71-63 contest. San Francisco will look for its first NIT victory in 19 years, when the green and gold took down Denver in an opening round matchup of the 2005 NIT.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:

• Cincinnati is set to make its second consecutive appearance in the NIT following a campaign that saw the Bearcats go 20-14 overall and 7-11 in conference play in their first season in the Big 12. Although they finished under .500 in conference action, Cincinnati notched wins over No. 12 BYU, No. 19 TCU and No. 15 Texas Tech this year.
• In the Big 12 Tournament, UC recorded first and second round victories, highlighted by an upset 72-52 second round victory over then-No. 16 Kansas last Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals. Sophomore Dan Skillings Jr. put up 25 points on 10 made field goals to push the Bearcats over the Jayhawks. Cincinnati's first Big 12 Tournament appearance came to an end in the quarterfinals in a 68-56 loss to then-No. 14 Baylor last Friday, Mar. 15.
• Finishing with a 4-11 record in Quad 1 games, the Bearcats enter the tournament at No. 37 in the NET Rankings, which included clinching one of the Big 12's automatic bids into the NIT.
• Skillings Jr. has led the charge for Cincinnati this season as the guard has averaged 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Along with Skillings Jr., four other Bearcats are averaging over 9.5 points per game - junior Simas Lukošius, junior Day Day Thomas, grad student John Newman III and redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin.
• Newman III earned Big 12 All-Defensive team honors, while Skillings Jr. and senior Aziz Bandaogo both were named Big 12 Honorable Mentions. Bandaogo's 1.6 blocks per game was the league's second-highest average overall.
• Across Big 12 play, UC dominated the glass as the Bearcats led the conference in rebounds per game (36.9), offensive rebounds per game (12.8), and rebounding margin (4.4). Additionally, Cincinnati ranked second in the league in blocks per game (4.5), fourth in opponent points per game (69.3) and sixth in opponent field goal percentage (42.7) within conference action.
• Last year, the Bearcats took down Virginia Tech and Hofstra in their first and second rounds of the NIT before falling to Utah Valley in the quarterfinals.

SERIES HISTORY:

• San Francisco and Cincinnati will face off for the first time in 48 years as the two programs have met only once before - Feb. 28, 1976 at Armory Fieldhouse in Cincinnati as the Dons fell to the Bearcats, 89-88, in a close contest.

TRACK THE ACTION:
Wednesday's NIT first round contest will air live from Cincinnati on ESPN+ (Eric Rothman, Mike O'Donnell) and KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson). Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available above and via the team's schedule page.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Planet Orange - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.