It came down to the Kemba Walker show, and Cincinnati simply couldn’t find a way to slow him down.

He finished with 33 points, six rebounds and five assists despite Cincinnati beating him up on every possession.

Rashad Bishop finished as Cincinnati’s leading scorer with 22 points. Yancy Gates added 11 and six rebounds.

Cincinnati was also significantly outrebounded, which is surprising given their toughness and intensity.

Teams are usually troubled in the tournament format by Missouri’s fast pace and full court pressure.

The Bearcats didn’t see a lot of that from this Missouri team, which has struggled all year to live up to expectations.

Four Cincinnati players finished in double figures, including three of the starters. Yancy Gates lead the team with 18 points.

The team’s stingy defense held Missouri under 40 percent shooting, and that was the difference in the game.

Cincinnati finished strong at the end of the regular season, leading to hope of a Big East tournament run.

Instead, they fell behind early and never could fully recover, and then things got out of hand in a hurry in the second half.

Dion Dixon lead the Bearcats with 15 points while Yancy Gates added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Cincinnati was terrible from the field and free throw line while Notre Dame excelled, thus the rout.

The Bearcats played the Oklahoma Sooners there last year and drew a huge crowd, which means more money for the school.

Cincinnati’s campus stadium can only hold about 60 percent of the capacity of Paul Brown Stadium.

The team has already announced that it will play West Virginia and Louisville at Paul Brown Stadium in 2011.

There are no plans to build a new stadium or expand the current one, so this could become a regular occurence.

Sean Kilpatrick came off the bench to lead the Bearcats in scoring with 19 points. Ibrahima Thomas added 16.

The Bearcats made just 12 of their 22 free throw attempts and only three-pointers, but still managed to get the win.

Cincinnati was coming off back-to-back losses in the Big East and had struggled since starting the season 15-0.

However, the Bearcats still remain in solid shape to grab an NCAA tournamet bid if they can just avoid a collapse down the stretch.

The Cincinnati Bearcats stud freshman guard declared for the NBA Draft after one season with the hopes of being a first round draft pick. And while he fell short of that goal, he seems to have landed in a good position with the Indiana Pacers, which took him with the 40th overall selection.

“This is a night I’ve dreamed of since I was a little boy and I got my family here to support me,” said Stephenson. “I am just happy. This day came fast. There is a lot of relief. I’ve wanted to be in the NBA since I was a little boy. I’m very motivated. Can’t even explain how motivated I am.”Stephenson joins a young Pacers team with a chance to make a name for himself. Indiana lacks a scoring punch off the bench, and that is likely where Stephenson will end up. It isn’t difficult to envision him in a similar role to that of Philadelphia’s Louis Williams and New Orleans’ Marcus Thornton, guards who are relied on to provide energy and points as subs.

Stephenson averaged 12.3 rebounds and 5.4 rebounds during his lone season for the Bearcats, but was able to shed a reputation as a selfish player and and bad teammate in his time there. Still, his doubters will forever question Stephenson’s decision to leave after an underwhelming season.

Stephenson played just one year at Cincinnati after tremendous hype coming out of high school. He was considered one of the top players in the country and nicknamed “Born Ready” because many thought he could immediately jump to the NBA.

Instead, Stephenson had a strange recruitment that saw him near ready to sign with several different schools. In the end, almost every interested school dropped out because of some of his off-the-court issues, leaving Cincinnati to scoop him up.

New coach Butch Jones has a tough act to follow if he wants the Cincinnati Bearcats to replicate their success from last season.

The Bearcats won their first 12 games last season, captured the Big East Conference championship and finished the regular season ranked in the top five in the nation. A lopsided loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl, followed by the departure of then-coach Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, put a bit of a damper on Cincy’s stellar season.

But 14 starters return for new coach Jones, and the Bearcats believe once again they’ll be in the mix for the conference crown and BCS bowl berth.

Replacing quarterback Tony Pike (2,520 yards passing) and receiver Mardy Gilyard (1,191 yards receiving) won’t be easy. But running back Isaiah Pead (806 yards rushing) is back, and a stable of talent at the skill positions should help the transition of new QB Zach Collaros. Eight starters are back on offense.

Defensively, the Bearcats bring back six starters, but depth is a question. So too is how the Bearcats will handle being the defending conference champs, knowing they’ll have a target on their back every time out in 2010.

The season starts with a road game at Fresno State Sept. 4, followed by a home game with Indiana State, a trip to N.C. State and a home date with Oklahoma to close September. After the bye week Oct. 2, the Bearcats play three of their next four at home – playing host to Miami of Ohio on Oct. 9, traveling to Louisville Oct. 15, then consecutive home games with South Florida and Syracuse.

The toughest part of the schedule is the finishing kick: at West Virginia, home with Rutgers, at Connecticut and at home with Pittsburgh.

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