GAME NOTES: The West Virginia Mountaineers will try to rebound from their first home loss of the season, as the welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats to Morgantown for a Big East event tonight. The Mountaineers won their first nine home games of the season, so there was reason to believe they had a shot of knocking off nationally-ranked Georgetown on Saturday. WVU took the Hoyas to the brink, but it was outdone in the final moments of a 58-57 setback. The loss brought the team's four-game win streak to an end, as the Mountaineers dipped to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. As for Cincinnati, it suffered its second straight narrow defeat on Saturday, dropping a 64-61 decision at Seton Hall. It was the seventh loss in eight road games this season by the Bearcats, who were nipped, 84-83, by Connecticut just a few nights earlier. With the back-to-back losses, Cincinnati is now just 9-11 overall and an even 4-4 in Big East play. The Bearcats hold an 8-6 edge in the all-time series against WVU, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings a season ago.

The Bearcats rely heavily on Deonta Vaughn to carry much of the load and he has responded by leading the team in both scoring (17.5 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg). Vaughn is making good on 40.3 percent of his three-point attempts and he is the only player contributing double figures to the team's scoring average of 66.3 ppg. In the team's last game, Vaughn tallied 15 points and dished out four assists, but it wasn't enough for Cincinnati in a four-point loss at Seton Hall. The Bearcats shot 45.3 percent from the floor in the contest, but they were set back by a poor 7-of-16 effort at the foul line. Free-throw shooting certainly hasn't been a strength for Cincinnati, which is converting just 66.6 percent of its chances for the season.

The Mountaineers have fared well at both ends of the court this season, averaging a solid 78.2 ppg and holding their foes to just 60.6 ppg. The team is also a plus-6.6 in turnover margin and that leads the entire Big East. Alex Ruoff currently leads the club in scoring with 15.7 ppg and he is hitting on 45.2 percent of his three-point tries. Joe Alexander is a close second at 15.0 ppg and he is grabbing 5.7 rpg, while Da'Sean Butler turns in 13.1 ppg and an identical 5.7 rpg. Darris Nichols averages a team-high 34.3 minutes per game and he chips in with 11.3 ppg. In the squad's prior contest, Jessie Sapp drained a three-pointer with 6.2 seconds left, sending WVU to a one-point loss to Georgetown. The Mountaineers could have put the game away, but a dismal 12- of-23 performance at the foul line proved to be costly. Nichols paced the team in defeat with 16 points and six boards, while Ruoff logged 13 points and a pair of steals.

WVU has the edge in many aspects of the game over Cincinnati and it should have no trouble rebounding with a win tonight.