Yancy Gates scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting as seventh-seeded Cincinnati cruised past 15th-seeded South Florida 87-61 Wednesday in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Dion Dixon added 21 points and Sean Kilpatrick chipped in 12 off the bench for the Bearcats (25-7, 11-7 Big East), who will face second-seeded Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Cincinnati scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed. The Bearcats held the Bulls to seven field goals in the first half and got 11 points from Gates en route to a 32-24 edge at the break.

South Florida, which limited Villanova to four field goals in the second half on Tuesday, could not find that magic against the Bearcats as Dixon and Gates scored the first two baskets of the second half to push the lead to double digits.

Cincinnati would push the lead out to 21 points 67-46 with 5:18 left when Gates and Dixon combined on an 8-0 run.

Augustus Gilchrist finished with 16 points for the Bulls (10-23, 3-15), who defeated Villanova 70-69 in the first round after overcoming a 17-point halftime deficit.