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GAME NOTES: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish try to avoid their first three-game slide of the season tonight as they entertain the Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big East Conference showdown at the Joyce Center.

Since slipping by nationally-ranked West Virginia on January 9th, the Irish have dropped four of five outings, including two in a row. On Saturday, the team bowed by a single point to Rutgers on the road in New Jersey, 74-73. Of the club's seven defeats this season, three have come by just two points.

As for the Bearcats, they too were in action over the weekend, but in their case they managed to pick up a 92-88 win in an offensive skirmish against the Providence Friars at Fifth Third Arena. The victory was the third in four tries and pushed the program to 11-1 at home as well.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Irish lead by a count of 5-2. However, last year's meeting was claimed by the Bearcats in a 93-83 final, snapping a four-game slide in the series.

Cincinnati knocked down a staggering 57.1 percent from the field on Saturday, not to mention 8-of-18 behind the three-point line, but because the squad suffered with a mere 20-of-41 at the charity stripe the Bearcats nearly let one slip away. Cashmere Wright erupted for a team-best 24 points, leading five players in double figures as he shot 9-of-11 from the field. Rashad Bishop added 16 points, Lance Stephenson and Deonta Vaughn 12 points apiece and Darnell Wilks 10 in just 16 minutes off the bench. Cincinnati, which is a mere 1-5 on the road this season, has had trouble at the free-throw line from the very beginning and is now converting just 63 percent, compared to 67.5 percent for the opposition. Stephenson leads a trio of double-digit scorers with his 12.2 ppg, followed by Vaughn and Yancy Gates with 12.0 and 10.5 ppg, respectively. Gates is first on the glass with almost seven rebounds per contest and that has helped to provide the Bearcats with a rebounding edge of better than eight per contest.

Except for Tyrone Nash who finished with just six points, every starter hit for double figures in the loss to Rutgers on Saturday. Luke Harangody, a candidate for Big East Player of the Year honors, posted 19 points and seven rebounds, but he made a mere 8-of-26 shots from the floor along the way. Tim Abromaitis registered a double-double with 17 points and a team-best 10 rebounds, while Ben Hansbrough filled out his stat line with 18 points, five boards, five assists and four steals, followed by Tory Jackson with 11 points before fouling out. One of the top scorers in not just the Big East but the nation, Harangody is producing a lofty 24.2 ppg based on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor. After getting a taste of success out on the perimeter last year, Harangody has been trying his hand from three-point range with varied success and 29.6 percent accuracy. Abromaitis accounts for 16.7 ppg and Hansbrough another 11.7 ppg as the trio combines for the lion's share of the unit's 79.9 ppg. Abromaitis and Hansbrough have combined for 102 of the school's 173 three-point conversions, which has pushed the group to a 40.3 percent success rate.

Playing in front of the home crowd against an opponent that doesn't perform well on the road should be just what the Irish need to pick up the win tonight.