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Cincinnati will play the winner of Hampton vs. Kentucky Saturday!!!

Cincinnati Bearcats came back and won 66-65 in overtime!!!

GAME OVER

OT (0:00) Vince Edwards grabbed the rebound. Ran up the floor and pulled up for three to win the game, but he missed.

OT (0:05) Troy Caupain is fouled. He misses the front end of the 1 and 1.

Cincinnati 66 Purdue 65

Purdue Timeout (7 seconds remaining in overtime)

OT (0:07) Jon Octeus makes the layup after they missed their three-point attempt.

Cincinnati 66 Purdue 63

Purdue Timeout (21 seconds remaining on overtime)

OT (0:27) Both teams trade misses, Farad Cobb converts on the layup.

OT (1:33) Rapheal Davis gets fouled in the paint. Misses both free throws.

OT (3:17) Troy Caupain gets fouled. Makes 1 of 2 free throws. Coreontae DeBerry gets the rebound and makes the close range shot

OT (3:49) Back to back buckets for A.J. Hammons, this time for a dunk.

OT (4:16) Coreontae DeBerry responds with bucket of his own.

OT (4:41) A.J. Hammons makes the nice spin move and makes the layup.

The Madness continues!!!

OVERTIME!!! Purdue 59 Cincinnati 59

2nd half (0:00) Troy Caupain makes the GAME-TYING LAYUP at the BUZZER!!!

Purdue 59 Cincinnati 57

Purdue Timeout (7.4 seconds remaining in second half)

2nd half (0:07) Jon Octeus gets fouled. Makes 1 of 2 free throws.

Purdue 58 Cincinnati 57

Purdue Timeout

2nd half (0:08) Troy Caupain turns the ball over.

2nd half (0:25) Jon Octeus is fouled and misses the front end of the free throw.

2nd half (0:27) Gary Clark converts the layup.

2nd half (0:37) A.J. Hammons is fouled. Makes both free throws.

Cincinnati cuts the lead to one point!!!

2nd half (0:39) Troy Caupain hits the bonus free throw

Purdue 56 Cincinnati 54

Purdue Timeout

2nd half (0:39) Troy Caupain makes a strong drive, converts the layup and draws the foul.

2nd half (0:41) Cincinnati forces a turnover!

Purdue 56 Cincinnati 52

Cincinnati Timeout (43 seconds remaining in second half)

2nd half (0:43) Kevin Johnson hits the quick three-pointer!

2nd half (0:48) Jon Octeus is fouled on a lose ball. Makes both free throws.

Purdue 54 Cincinnati 49

Cincinnati Timeout (1:23 remaining in second half)

2nd half (1:33) Dakota Mathias drains the long three-pointer from the top of the key!!!

Official TV Timeout (2:06 remaining in second half)

2nd half (2:49) Vince Edwards quickly responds with a three-pointer.

2nd half (3:06) Gary Clark gets the offensive rebound and then converts the tip in.

2nd half (3:55) Vince Edwards makes the layup assisted by A.J. Hammons

2nd half (4:09) Gary Clark makes the jumper

Purdue 46 Cincinnati 45

Cincinnati Timeout (4:22 remaining in second half)

2nd half (4:35) A.J. Hammons gets the offensive rebound and converts the put back.

2nd half (5:41) Kevin Johnson makes the layup to give Cincinnati the one-point lead.

2nd half (6:18) Farad Cobb hits the jumper, his first points of the half.

2nd half (6:41) Rapheal Davis makes a nice running layup off the glass.

Purdue 42 Cincinnati 41

Official TV Timeout (7:50 remaining in second half)

2nd half (8:59) Kevin Johnson responds with a three-pointer of his own.

2nd half (9:31) Kendall Stephens drains the three-pointer.

2nd half (10:38) Coreontae DeBerry makes 1 of 2 free throws

Official TV Timeout (10:38 remaining in second half)

2nd half (10:38) Coreontae DeBerry grabbed the rebound and drew the foul on the fast break.

Purdue 39 Cincinnati 37

Purdue Timeout (11:05 remaining in the second half)

2nd half (11:07) Troy Caupain converts on the transition layup.

2nd half (12:18) A.J. Hammons snags the offensive rebound and scores on a nice hook shot.

2nd half (13:16) Coreontae DeBerry makes the layup and draws the foul. Misses the bonus free throw

2nd half (13:48) Isaac Haas makes the long hook shot on the second chance opportunity.

2nd half (14:15) Gary Clark makes the transition layup after a Jermaine Sanders steal and draws the foul. Makes the and-1 free throw.

Purdue 35 Cincinnati 30

Official TV Timeout (14:34 remaining in second half)

2nd half (15:30) Vince Edwards makes the layup on the second chance opportunity.

Octavius Ellis has been ejected with a flagrant two. A.J. Hammons made 1 of 2 free throws and Purdue keeps the ball.

2nd half (16:22) Octavius Ellis is called for a flagrant two on Purdue center A.J. Hammons as he hit him with a cheap shot in the chin.

2nd half (17:56) Octavius Ellis responds with a layup of his own.

2nd half (18:18) Vince Edwards sets up A.J. Hammons for the layup

2nd half (18:34) Shaq Thomas tips in his own miss.

2nd half (18:59) Dakota Mathias gets fouled under the basket as he received the inbounds play. Makes 1 of 2 free throws.

2nd half (19:19) Octavius Ellis goes up strong in the paint and draws the foul. Misses both free throws. One didn't because of lane violation.

Second half is underway!!!

Cincinnati stat leaders at halftime: Farad Cobb scored 10 points including 2 three-pointers. Octavius Ellis struggled with 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting including 4 turnovers. Coreontae DeBerry came off the bench with 6 points.

Purdue stat leaders at halftime: Vince Edwards had 7 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. Their leading scorer A.J. Hammons was in foul trouble and only scored 4 points. Isaac Haas came off the bench with 6 points and 6 rebounds.

Purdue 29 Cincinnati 26

HALFTIME

1st half (0:00) Cincinnati played great defense to end the half as they didn't allow an open look for Purdue

1st half (0:23) Shaq Thomas is fouled on a lose ball by Isaac Haas (his second). Misses the front end of the 1-and-1

1st half (0:48) Coreontae DeBerry takes advantage of the turnover and makes the layup.

1st half (1:01) Cincinnati traps at half court and forces the turnover on a jump ball

1st half (1:37) Vince Edwards hits the mid range floater in the lane.

1st half (2:45) Kendall Stephens knocks down the mid range jumper for Purdue

1st half (3:44) Octavius Ellis gets the dump off pass from Farad Cobb and flushes it home

Purdue 25 Cincinnati 22

Official TV Timeout (3:57 remaining in first half)

1st half (4:16) Basil Smotherman gets the offensive rebound and makes the nice athletic tip in.

1st half (4:32) Gary Clark was fouled on a loose ball but Cincinnati is in the bonus. He misses the front end of the 1-and-1.

1st half (5:46) Vince Edwards has been doing everything, this time he knocks down a jumper.

1st half (6:15) Farad Cobb gets fouled. Makes both free throws.

1st half (6:40) After a couple offensive rebounds, Vince Edwards finds big man Isaac Haas for the dunk.

1st half (7:19) Coreontae DeBerry responds with a free throw jumper.

1st half (7:40) Dakota Johnson makes a jumper assisted by Vince Edwards

1st half (7:53) Shaq Thomas was fouled before the timeout. Makes 1 of 2 free throws.

Purdue 17 Cincinnati 17

Official TV Timeout (7:53 remaining in first half)

1st half (9:37) Isaac Haas makes the layup off a nice lob pass.

1st half (10:49) Jermaine Sanders draws the foul and Cincinnati will head back to the free throw line. Makes both free throws.

1st half (11:05) Octavius Ellis is fouled in the paint by A.J. Hammons Makes 1 of 2 free throws. Hammons picked up his second foul and will sit on the bench.

Purdue 15 Cincinnati 14

Official TV Timeout (11:48 remaining in first half)

1st half (12:31) Rapheal Davis records the steal and makes the layup giving Purdue the lead.

1st half (12:49) Vince Edwards answers with a wide open corner three-pointer.

1st half (13:07) Farad Cobb answers with a layup. Cobb has 8 points!

1st half (13:39) Isaac Haas gets the putback dunk cutting the Bearcat lead to two.

Cincinnati 12 Purdue 8

Purdue Timeout (14:39 remaining in first half)

1st half (15:17) Farad Cobb knocks down a three-pointer, his second of the night.

1st half (15:32) Jon Octeus is fouled on the other end. Makes both free throws

1st half (15:57) Coreontae DeBerry was fouled before the timeout. Made both free throws.

Cincinnati Purdue 6

Official TV Timeout (15:57 remaining in first half)

1st half (17:17) Troy Caupain quickly responds with a jumper.

1st half (17:39) Jon Octeus further's the Purdue lead with a layup

1st half (18:22) Back-to-back dunks by A.J. Hammons in the post.

1st half (18:39) Octavius Ellis makes the layup, assisted by Troy Caupain

1st half (19:04) A.J. Hammons slams it home for Purdue

1st half (19:16) Farad Cobb knocks down a three-pointer for Cincinnati to break the ice.

Here we go ladies and gentleman!!! 

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats will tip off at 7:10 PM EST

Cincinnati Bearcats starting lineup: G: Troy Caupain, G: Farad Cobb, F: Shaquille Thomas F: Gary Clark, F: Octavius Ellis

Purdue Boilermakers starting lineup: G: Rapheal Davis, G: Dakota Mathias, G: Jon Octeus, F: Vince Edwards, C: A.J. Hammonds

The eighth and ninth seed matchup is usually a coin flip game, as it should be. The nine seeds have a small edge record wise at 61-59 but has been a different result in recent memory. Since 2011, the number eight seed has a record of 11-5 in their last 16 meetings.

Cincinnati still has that mantra of a physical team as they allow on average 55.3 PPG while their offense averages 62.4 PPG. For the Bearcats to win this game they won’t light it up from behind the arc, but shut you down defensively and attack the basket. That is where both teams are similar as neither team is a prolific three-point shooting team. They rely on their big men to score the basketball, and whichever teams guard play elevates their game will give themselves the best chance to win.

Cincinnati has only one player who averages double-figure scoring and that’s junior forward Octavius Ellis with 10.0 PPG. Ellis also leads the Bearcats in rebounding with 7.3 REB and blocks with 2.1 per game. Sophomore guard Troy Caupain is second on the team in scoring with 9.5 PPG. Caupain leads the team with 3.5 AST and shoots 43.1 percent from behind the arc. Freshman forward Gary Clark has had a nice season as he averages 7.9 PPG and 7.0 REB, but the X-factor for this Bearcat team is Farad Cobb who seems to be a major part of this team when they have success.

Purdue is led by junior center A.J. Hammons who leads the team in scoring with 11.8 PPG and rebounding with 6.5 REB. Junior guard Rapheal Davis is the only other player on Purdue that averages double-figure scoring with 10.9 PPG, while grabbing 4.2 REB and dishing out 2.7 AST. The Boilermakers struggle shooting the ball from behind the arc, but they average 70.0 PPG and give up an average of 64.5 PPG.

Cincinnati will be appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 29th time, and have an overall record of 43-27 with six Final Fours and two championships back-to-back (1961, 1962). This will be the Bearcats fifth-straight tournament appearance, and during that time from 2011-2014 they hold a record of 3-4, including two-straight one and done outings. It took head coach Mick Cronin a little while to get this program going again after former head coach Bob Huggins was dismissed back in 2005. Once Cronin got things turned around hey have been four-straight tournament appearances. Cincinnati hasn’t gotten out of the second round since 1996 where they reached the regional semifinal where they lost to Georgia Tech, 87-70.

This will be Purdue’s 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and have an overall record of 35-26, including two Final Fours (1969, 1980). However, this is their first appearance since 2012 where they lost to Kansas, 63-60, in the second round. Since 2000, the Boilermakers are 12-8 and have at least reached the regional semifinal twice. Head coach Matt Painter has been at Purdue since 2004, and during his tenure the Boilermakers have reached the tournament six times (2007-2012) with a record of 8-6.

The Cincinnati Bearcats finished fourth in the American Conference standings, and lost in their first game of their conference tournament against Connecticut, 57-54. Cincinnati had a BPI of 46 and went 2-1 against top-25 teams. Cincinnati had some nice wins as they beat San Diego St. (by 9 in OT), at N.C. State (by 16), and SMU (twice). However, they had some head-scratching losses at ECU (by 4), at Nebraska (by 1 in 2OT), and vs. Tulane (by 1). 

The Boilermakers of Purdue finished fifth in the Big-10 Conference, and in the Big-10 Conference tournament they lost to the eventual champion in the Wisconsin Badgers, 71-51. Purdue had a BPI of 39 and went 0-5 against top-25 teams. The best wins on the season for Purdue was vs. BYU (by 2 in OT), vs. Iowa (by 4), vs. Indiana (by 16), and vs. Ohio State (by 2). Those are quality wins but they couldn’t beat the stiffer competition as they lost to Wisconsin (twice), vs. Maryland (by 9), and vs. Notre Dame (by 31).

The ninth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers (21-12) will face the eighth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats (22-10) on Thursday, March 19, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky at 7:10 PM EST. Purdue and Cincinnati are in the Midwest Region and the winner of this game will face the winner of Hampton vs. Kentucky.

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About the author
Parker White
Sports journalist from Midlothian, Virginia. Co-editor and writer for the NBA and MLB sections at VAVEL USA. Follow me on Twitter @spudwhite1022