Feb. 4, 2008

UAB-Southern Miss Game Notes | Gametracker | Listen Live

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's basketball team will return to the hardwood when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The game will be televised live on CSS and is set to tip off on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. CT.

UAB (15-6, 5-1 C-USA) captured its seventh win in its last eight games and 13th victory over its last 16 contests with 74-55 win over Marshall last Saturday at Bartow Arena. Junior guard Channing Toney collected a career-best 18 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward Lawrence Kinnard earned his third double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 11 boards en route to the 19-point win.

Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden currently leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 20.8 points a game which rank third in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (95-of-217, 43.8 percent) and minutes played (34.4).

Kinnard is the team's third-leading scorer at 9.8 points a game, and also leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per contest. Toney, who had to sit during the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules, has played in five contests and is collecting an average of 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds, while shooting 58.8 percent from three point range (10-of-17). Junior forward Reggie Huffman, who has played sparingly over the last two games due to an injury, is second on the team in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and is fourth in scoring (7.7 ppg).

As a team, the Blazers are leading the league in both field goal percentage, hitting 46.7 percent from the floor and three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, UAB also ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.2 percent) and scoring defense (62.2 ppg). The Blazers are outscoring its opponents by 10.2 points a game (72.4-62.2).

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 145-101 (.589) and has made five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 30-22 (.577) at UAB.

Scouting Southern Miss
Southern Miss enters its game against UAB sporting an 11-10 record on the season, and is 3-4 in Conference USA play. Most recently, the Golden Eagles captured an impressive 92-69 win over East Carolina, marking their second victory over the last three contests. Sophomore guard Jeremy Wise scored 28 points, while freshman R.L. Horton added 22 en route to the 23-point victory.

Wise leads the team in scoring (18.7 ppg), assists (4.0 apg), steals (1.4 spg) and minutes played (34.0 mpg) this season. Wise is one of the three Southern Miss players to average double-figure scoring. Horton collects 12.5 points a game, while senior Courtney Beasley contributes 11.6 points per game. Senior Gijo Bain garners a team-leading 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per contest.

As a team, the Golden Eagles are shooting 45.0 percent from the floor and outrebouding opponents by 7.2 boards a game (39.8-32.6). However, Southern Miss has struggled shooting the ball in conference play, slipping to 42.8 percent from the floor and just 24.2 percent from three-point range.

Head coach Larry Eustachy is in his fourth season at the helm of the Southern Miss program and has compiled a record of 52-59 (.468). Eustachy is in his 17th season as a head coach and boasts a 312-204 (.605) overall record.

UAB-Southern Miss: The Series
UAB and Southern Miss will face each other for the 28th time in series history on Tuesday night, with the Blazers holding a 17-10 advantage in the series history. The Blazers pulled out a 72-65 victory over Southern Miss back on Jan. 16 in Bartow Arena, snapping a two-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles. UAB holds a 5-7 record in all-time games played in Hattiesburg, Miss., but have captured wins in two of the last three games played between the two teams at Reed-Green Coliseum.

UAB-Southern Miss: Earlier This Year
Robert Vaden scored 33 points to tie a career high and lead UAB to a 72-65 victory over Southern Mississippi. Vaden scored 22 points in the second half and finished with six 3-pointers. He scored 33 points earlier this season against Kentucky. Courtney Beasley scored 19 points, and Jeremy Wise had 18 for Southern Miss. UAB won for the 10th time in the last 12 games. Southern Miss has lost five of its last six. Vaden scored the first five points of the game, and the Blazers were ahead the rest of the way. Southern Miss did not score until about five minutes into the game, and the Golden Eagles trailed 30-18 at halftime. The Southern Miss offense heated up in the second half, producing 47 points after intermission. But Vaden repeatedly hit big shots to keep UAB comfortably in front.

Last Time Out
Channing Toney scored 18 points and Robert Vaden had 15 to lead UAB to a 74-55 victory over Marshall on Saturday. Lawrence Kinnard scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help UAB win for the seventh time in eight games. UAB (15-6, 5-1 CUSA) gave up just three field goals on its way to a 34-21 halftime lead. Mark Dorris scored 17 points and Tyler Wilkerson had 15 for Marshall (11-9, 3-4). The Thundering Herd shot 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from the field in the first half and got outrebounded 42-22 for the game. UAB took control early as Vaden scored the first six points and helped the Blazers to a 13-0 lead. Marshall did not have a field goal until Dorris hit a jumper to make it 23-7 with 10:28 left in the first half. Marshall chipped away at UAB's lead in the second half and pulled to within 43-34 on a 3-pointer by Dorris with 13:00 left. But UAB went on a 9-0 run and pulled away down the stretch.

Loe-vin' It
Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard has been a force to reckon with over UAB's last two contests. After going through a tough shooting slump, Kinnard seems to have snapped out of it in a big way. In the Blazers' 88-81 victory at UCF on Jan. 30, Kinnard hit 10-of-14 shots en route to a career-high tying 25 points to go along with seven rebounds in 28 minutes of action off the bench. Following that contest, Kinnard came off the bench to lead UAB to a 74-55 win over Marshall. He hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor on his way earning his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. He also collected two blocked shots in 26 minutes of action. For the week, the Memphis, Tenn. native averaged 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.0 minutes per contest. He also connected on 17-of-24 shots from the floor (70.8 percent) throughout the week.

Toney Does It Again
Junior guard Channing Toney continues to make a solid contribution since his return to the lineup. Toney, who was forced to sit the first half of the season due to NCAA transfer rules, collected a career-best 18 points and seven boards en route to the 74-55 victory over Marshall. He is now averaging 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a game in his five games back. Furthermore, in the latest Conference USA stats (league games only), Toney is leading the league in three-point shooting (58.8 percent) and ranks fourth in free throw shooting (87.5 percent) and 20th in scoring. Over his last three contests alone, each of which were UAB victories, Toney has averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds a game, while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor (11-of-21) and 77.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-9).

Bench Depth
One of the main reasons for the Blazers' victory over Marshall last Saturday was the play of the reserves. The Blazers' bench outscored its counterpart by a score of 33-8. It marked the 10th time UAB's bench has outscored its opponent on the season. When that happens, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers hold a 8-2 record when UAB reserves outscore its counterparts.

Bench Preference
Junior Lawrence Kinnard is proving to be a bigger contributor when coming off the bench this season. Over his last three games, all of which he came off the bench, Kinnard has recorded 14.6 points a game and led the Blazers to three victories. In fact, in his six non-starts this season, the Memphis, Tenn. native is averaging 14.0 ppg, while shooting 56.9 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three-point range. In his 15 starts, the 6-8 forward is contributing just 8.1 ppg, while shooting 35.0 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from deep. Furthermore, four of his top six scoring games this season have come when he was not in the stating lineup.

Crawford Coming On Strong
Sophomore forward Howard Crawford has played impressively since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago. Since that time, the Eutaw, Ala. native has averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds a game in three UAB victories. Even more noticeable is the points Crawford has scored since being inserted into the starting lineup. Over his last three contests, Crawford has scored a total of 29 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. In the previous 11 games before entering the starting lineup, Crawford tallied a combined 33 points and 15 rebounds (3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game).

Free Throw Improvement
One of UAB's most noticeable statistics during conference play has been the improvement at the charity stripe. The Blazers have shot an impressive 78.5 percent from the line over the stretch of six conference games, winning five of the six contests. That number ranks second in C-USA in league games games only. Prior to league play, UAB was shooting only 63.7 percent from the foul line. However, since then the Blazers have improved to an average of 68.1 percent foul shooting as a team.

Offense And Defense Conference USA Leaders
UAB is one of the top teams, both offensively and defensively, when looking at the latest Conference USA statistics. On the offensive side, the Blazers lead the league in field goal percentage (46.7 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (38.9 percent). On the defensive side of the ball, UAB ranks second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.302) and points allowed (62.2) and third in field goal percentage defense (.399).