Jan. 28, 2008

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to Conference USA action when it travels to Orlando, Fla. to take on the UCF Knights on Saturday, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). The two teams both enter the contest with one league loss on its resume and will be battling for third place in the C-USA standings.

UAB (13-6, 3-1 C-USA) captured its fourth win in its last five games and 11th victory over its last 14 contests with a 77-59 win over East Carolina last Wednesday at Bartow Arena. Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden led the Blazers with 20 points on the night, which marked his 11th 20-point game this year. Sophomore forward Howard Crawford, who made his first career start against ECU, added 15 points and seven boards en route to the 18-point victory.

Vaden leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 21.2 points a game which rank second in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (85-of-193, 44.0 percent) and minutes played (34.5).

Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard has recorded four double-figure rebounding games over UAB's last six contests coming into the UCF contest. He is averaging 8.7 points and is tied for the team lead with 6.5 rebounds per contest. Both numbers rank second on the team.

Junior forward Reggie Huffman, who recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 boards against Kentucky on Dec. 15, leads the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and is third in scoring (8.5 ppg).

As a team, the Blazers are hitting 46.0 percent from the floor and are connecting on 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. Both numbers rank second in Conference USA. Additionally, UAB also ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6 percent) and scoring defense (61.6 ppg). The Blazers are outscoring its opponents by 9.9 points a game (71.5-61.6).

Head coach Mike Davis is in his second season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. Davis, who is in his eighth season as a head coach, boasts a career record of 143-101 (.586) and has made five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 28-22 (.560) at UAB.

Scouting UCF
UCF (11-8, 4-1) enters its game against UAB boasting a 4-1 record in conference play, and is 11-8 overall. The Knights are coming off a disappointing 69-67 overtime loss at SMU last Saturday. It marked the fourth overtime game of the season for UCF, which dropped to 1-3 in overtime contests following the two-point loss.

The Knights are led by junior Jermaine Taylor, who ranks third in Conference USA with 21.2 ppg. He is also averaging a league-leading 24.6 ppg in conference contests this season.

Senior forward David Noel is second on the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and shoots a team-best 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Senior guard Mike O'Donnell is the third Knight to average double figures with 10.8 ppg, while also leading the team in steals (34) and minutes per game (34.6).

As a team, UCF is shooting 45.4 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc. Both numbers rank third in Conference USA, just behind UAB. The Knights are also fourth in the league with 73.9 points per contest and third with an average of 7.89 steals a game.

Head coach Kirk Speraw is in his 15th season at the helm of UCF men's basketball program. Speraw has compiled a 242-195 (.554) during his time at UCF, and is 324-216 (.600) in 18 seasons as a head coach.

UAB-UCF: The Series
UAB and UCF will meet for the third time in series history, with the Blazers holding a 2-0 record against the Knights. Last year, it took extra time before deciding the winner. After the teams played to a 57-57 tie at the end of regulation, the Blazers outscored the Knights 17-7 in the extra session to secure a 74-64 win. UAB also won a close contest the only time the two teams played in Orlando, as the Blazers squeezed out a 75-68 win.

UAB-UCF: A Year Ago
Paul Delaney III hit a driving jump shot in the lane at the buzzer in regulation and made the go-ahead basket in overtime to lead UAB to a 74-64 victory over UCF. Delaney's clutch baskets helped UAB overcome a 10-point deficit in the final three minutes of regulation. Lawrence Kinnard scored 21 points to lead UAB and Delaney had 12 for the Blazers. Josh Peppers scored 20 points to lead UCF, while Dave Noel added 13. Jermaine Taylor drove for a basket to give UCF a 51-41 lead with 3:10 left in regulation. Kinnard hit a 3-pointer and Mukubu hit a jumper to pull UAB to within 51-46. Delaney had only two points going into the final minute of regulation. But he hit four driving baskets in the final minute to send the game into overtime. UAB tied the game 55-55 on a 3-pointer by Kinnard with 18 seconds left in regulation. Payne scored inside to give UCF a 57-55 lead with three seconds left. But Delaney drove and hit a double-clutch 12-footer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Delaney's driving basket gave UAB a 59-57 lead to start the extra period. After a free throw by Peppers, Wen Mukubu hit a 3-pointer to give UAB a 62-58 lead. The Blazers hit 12 free throws to stay in front down the stretch.

Last Time Out
Robert Vaden scored 20 points and Howard Crawford added a career-high 15 to lead UAB to a 77-59 victory over East Carolina Wednesday night. UAB coach Mike Davis went with four first-time starters as the Blazers tried to rebound from a road loss to Marshall (1/19). The new starters helped UAB jump to a 20-10 lead, and the Blazers stayed in charge most of the way. UAB got 10 points from Channing Toney and nine rebounds from Jeremy Mayfield. Darrell Jenkins scored 12 points and John Fields had 11 for East Carolina. An inside basket by Fields pulled East Carolina to within 22-20 with 6:30 left in the first half. But UAB closed the half with a 14-3 run to take a 36-23 lead into intermission. UAB built a 24-point margin early in the second half, and East Carolina could get no closer than 14 the rest of the way. The Blazers shot 54.5 percent in the second half (12-of-22) en route to hitting 41.8 percent of their shots in the game. UAB also connected on 8-of-17 treys in the contest (47.1 percent). Junior forward Reggie Huffman, who came off the bench for the first time this season, finished with eight points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals in the contest.

Boasting On Berrios
Junior guard Ed Berrios received his first start of the 2007-08 campaign and did not disappoint. The Bronx, N.Y. native collected five assists, four points and three rebounds in 24 minutes to help lift UAB to a 77-59 win over East Carolina. In fact, Berrios has played impressively since the start of Conference USA play. Over UAB's four league contests, Berrios is averaging 4.5 assists, 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.

Vaden Red Hot
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden recorded 20 points in the victory over East Carolina last Wednesday, which marked the 11th time this season he has recorded 20 or more points on the campaign. In fact, he has now led the Blazers in scoring in all but six contests this season. The single-season school record for 20-plus point games is 17 set by two former Blazers, the last by Carlos Williams during the 1995-96 campaign. Furthermore, Vaden has reached or eclipsed the 20-point plateau in seven of UAB's last eight contests. During that time, the Indianapolis, Ind. native has averaged 25.0 points and has led the Blazers to a 6-2 mark.

J-May Field Day
Sophomore forward Jeremy Mayfield has played impressively over UAB's last three contests. In the 77-59 win over East Carolina last Wednesday, Mayfield tied his career high with nine boards, while also collecting six points en route to the 18-point win. Over his last three contests, Mayfield has played an important role, averaging 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest.

Earning A Toney
Junior guard Channing Toney made his UAB debut in the 72-65 win over Southern Miss on Jan. 9, and has been a valuable addition to the UAB lineup. In his three games back, Toney is averaging 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 28.0 minutes per game. He has also connected on 5-of-11 three-pointers (45.5 percent).

Close Calls
In UAB's six losses this season, only one has come by double figures (68-58 defeat at USF on Dec. 8). In fact, the Blazers' six losses have come by a combined 39 points, which equates to just 6.5 points per defeat.

Free Throw Improvement
One of the most noticeable statistics over UAB's last six contests has been the improvement at the charity stripe. The Blazers have shot an impressive 76.0 percent from the line over the stretch of games, winning four of them. In fact, prior to the stretch, UAB was shooting only 63.7 percent from the foul line. However, since then the Blazers have improved to an average of 66.8 percent foul shooting as a team. Furthermore, the Blazers rank second in the league as a team in Conference USA games only, shooting an impressive 77.5 percent from the charity stripe.

Kinnard Hopes To Cure Road Woes
Junior Lawrence Kinnard is hoping Wednesday's game at UCF can turn around a recent shooting slump in road contests. When breaking his numbers down, the 6-8 forward is a much better player at Bartow Arena than he has been in UAB's road contests this year. In the Blazers' 10 road games on the season, Kinnard has struggled, averaging 7.9 ppg, while shooting just 29.7 percent from three-point range and only 18.2 percent from the floor. However, in the nine home games, Kinnard is averaging 9.7 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from beyond the arc.