The No. 6-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats used a game-best 18 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Yancy Gates to defeat, No. 11 Missouri Tigers, 78-63, in a second-round NCAA Tournament game at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. The Bearcats (26-8) advance to play a third-round West Regional contest Saturday against No. 3 Connecticut Huskies, who easily downed No. 14 Bucknell Bison, 81-52, earlier on Thursday.
Cincinnati earned a 39-28 halftime advantage and held on for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2005. Junior guard Dion Dixon scored 16 points for Cincy, while teammate sophomore guard Cashmere Wright added 11 points. Freshman guard Sean Kilpatrick chipped in with 10 points.
The Bearcats helped the Big East Conference collect a respectable 4-2 record on Thursday. Here are the earlier Big East basketball scores:
- No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers beat No. 12 Clemson Tigers, 84-76
- No. 14 Morehead State upset No. 4 Louisville Cardinals, 62-61.
- No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers easily defeated No. 16 UNC-Asheville, 74-51.
- No. 11 Gonzaga dominated No. 6 St. John's, 86-71,
-- Want more Big East Conference coverage? Check out the SB Nation New York's special NCAA Tournament page. If you'd like a national scope, check out SB Nation's NCAA Tournament page.