March 7, 2008

UAB-Memphis Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch & Listen Live

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will close the regular season when it travels to take on No. 2/3 Memphis on Saturday at noon in the FedExForum. The contest will be televised nationally on CSTV, with Tom Hart and Steve Lappas on the call.

UAB (22-8, 12-3 C-USA) enters the game against Memphis having clinched second place in the latest Conference USA standings following an 84-70 home victory over Tulsa last Wednesday night. The victory capped a spectacular home season with a 14-1 mark at Bartow Arena. Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden continues his hot streak, connecting on eight three-pointers for the fifth time this season en route to 26 points in the victory.

Vaden currently leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 22.1 points a game, which rank third in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (135-of-314, 43.0 percent) and minutes played (35.1).

Junior guard Channing Toney, who had to sit out during the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules, is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. He is shooting 43.8 percent from three-point range (21-of-48), which ranks sixth in the league in C-USA contests only.

Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard is the team's third-leading scorer at 11.1 points a game, and also leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 boards per contest. He is also averaging an impressive 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in league play.

Huffman, who leads the squad with five double-doubles on the year, is second in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and fourth in scoring (7.2 ppg).

As a team, the Blazers are barely behind Memphis (46.5) in field goal percentage, hitting 46.3 percent from the floor, and lead Conference USA in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 39.3 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, UAB ranks third in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (32.7 percent) and field goal percentage defense (40.9 percent) and rank second in scoring defense (65.5 ppg). The Blazers also rank third in league play by outscoring their opponents by an average of 9.5 points a game (74.9-65.5).

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 152-103 (.596) and has made five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 37-24 (.607) at UAB.

Scouting Memphis
Memphis comes into the game against UAB sporting a 29-1 overall record and a perfect 15-0 in Conference USA games. The Tigers captured their 38th consecutive C-USA victory with a 72-55 victory at SMU last Wednesday night. Freshman guard Derrick Rose collected a game-high 19 points in the win, while junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 18. Junior guard Antonio Anderson had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the winning effort.
Douglas-Roberts continues to lead the Memphis offensive attack, averaging a team-leading 17.6 points per game, while also leading the team in three-point shooting (.452). Rose is second on the team with 14.4 points a game, and leads the squad with 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
Memphis also has a strong presence inside the paint. Junior forward Robert Dozier ranks third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg). Senior forward Joey Dorsey leads the Tigers in field goal percentage (66.4 percent), rebounding (9.9 rpg) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg).
As a team, the Tigers are at the top of Conference USA in nearly every statistical category. Memphis leads the league in scoring offense (79.8), scoring defense (61.5), field goal percentage (.465), field goal percentage defense (.384), three-point field goal percentage defense (.308) and rebounding offense (41.3), among others.
Head coach John Calipari is in his eighth season at the helm of the Memphis men's basketball program and has compiled a record of 210-64 (.766). He is in his 16th season in his head coaching career, and is 403-135 (.749) during his tenure.

UAB-Memphis: The Series
UAB and Memphis will face each other for the 36th time in series history this Saturday afternoon, with the Tigers holding a 25-10 advantage in the series history. Earlier this season in an epic battle between the two teams, Memphis earned its fourth straight victory in the series and eighth win in the last 10 meetings with a 79-78 last second victory over UAB. The Tigers improved to 8-7 in all-time games played at Bartow Arena. The Blazers are just 2-18 in games played away from Bartow Arena.

UAB-Memphis: Earlier This Year
In an instant classic game between the two long rivals, then-No. 1 Memphis slipped past UAB, 79-78, in front of a Bartow Arena record crowd of 9,392. Chris Douglas-Roberts converted a three-point play with 6.5 seconds left, keeping the Tigers perfect. After Douglas-Roberts made his shot, the Blazers' Robert Vaden missed on an off-balance three-point attempt and Lawrence Kinnard grabbed the long rebound. He heaved up a shot in the paint that went in, but officials promptly ruled that Kinnard didn't get the shot off in time. Joey Dorsey, the league's top rebounder, had just one point and two rebounds. Antonio Anderson added 27 points and four three-pointers for the Tigers. The Tigers missed nine consecutive shots before Anderson's three-pointer from the corner cut the deficit 77-73 with 1:22 left. After a UAB miss, Douglas-Roberts drilled a three with 38 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to one point. With 15 seconds left, Vaden then made one of two free throws to set up the final sequence. Memphis native Kinnard added 19 points and 11 boards for the Blazers, who shot 57 percent and made 20-of-22 free throws.

Last Time Out
Robert Vaden hit eight three-pointers and finished with 26 points to help UAB come from behind to defeat Tulsa 84-70 last Wednesday night. The win clinched second place in Conference USA for the Blazers and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming league tournament in Memphis, Tenn. Lawrence Kinnard scored 15 points and Channing Toney added 13 for UAB. Aaron Johnson had 12 points and seven assists for the Blazers. Ray Reese scored 19 points for Tulsa and 7-foot center Jerome Jordan had 16 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Ben Uzoh added 15 points for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa led 39-36 at halftime, and the game stayed tight deep into the second half. UAB led 61-60 with 8:29 left in the game, and that's when Vaden took over. He hit four 3-pointers over the next four minutes, some from well beyond the arc. Vaden's final three gave UAB a 77-65 lead with 4:25 left. Tulsa could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Vaden is averaging 27.5 points over his last four games and has made 31 3-pointers during that stretch.

Darth Vaden Feeling The Force
Junior guard Robert Vaden has been one of the more steady players all season for UAB; however, he has really turned his game up a notch over the last four games. Over that stretch, Vaden has been nearly unstoppable. He has averaged 30.1 points per game, while also contributing 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Furthermore, the Indianapolis, Ind. native is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor (35-of-75) and 50.8 percent from beyond the arc (30-of-59). He has also averaged 7.5 threes made per game over the four-game stretch.
Vaden enters the final game of regular season play averaging 22.1 ppg (would be a school record), has hit 135-of-314 three pointers (both school records) and is shooting 87.7 percent from the charity stripe. Vaden also leads the country in total threes made and three-pointers made per game (4.7).

NCAA Tourney Worthy?
When UAB began the season 2-3 following the Glenn Wilkes Classic (Nov. 16-18) and was nearing the end of non-conference play with an 8-5 record, not many people would think the Blazers would have a chance at an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. But that is exactly what has happened. The Blazers have played their way into the tourney picture by winning 14 of their last 17 games, and 20 of the last 25 contests. According to CollegeRPI.com's latest standings, the Blazers' RPI is at 51 with a strength of schedule of 113. Furthermore, UAB holds a 3-3 record against teams ranked among the RPI's top 100.

A.J. All The Way
Freshman guard Aaron Johnson may be one of the more pleasant surprises in UAB head coach Mike Davis' eyes. Over his last two contests, Johnson has averaged 8.0 points and 7.0 assists per game. In fact, over UAB's recent five-game win streak, Johnson has been averaging 8.0 points and 5.6 assists during the stretch. This season, when Johnson dishes out at least four assists in a game, the Blazers often fare well. When that happens, UAB is 15-1 this season, with the lone loss coming to then-No. 1 Memphis (79-78 on Feb. 16).

Free Throws Over Final Five Minutes
Several players want the ball in their hands on the charity stripe in the final five minutes. Below are UAB's best shooters from the free throw line in the final five minutes of a game:
Ed Berrios 14-of-15 (.933)
Robert Vaden 30-of-36 (.833)
Channing Toney 14-of-17 (.824)
Lawrence Kinnard 12-of-16 (.750)
Aaron Johnson 25-of-34 (.735)

Sweet-N-Lo
Junior Lawrence Kinnard continues to perform well in conference contests. In the 84-70 win over Tulsa last Wednesday night, Kinnard may have had his best all-around game of the season, accounting for 15 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals. Entering league play, the Memphis, Tenn. native was 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. However, in league games only, Kinnard has increased his output to 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Furthermore, after shooting only 39.5 percent from the floor in non-conference tilts, Kinnard improved to 44.1 percent shooting from the floor in league games.

Record-Breaker
Robert Vaden is leaving some school records in the dust. Below is a list of records the junior All-American candidate has earned this season:
• UAB record for threes made in a season
• UAB record for threes attempted in a season
• Most points as a junior in UAB history
Here are records he is approaching:
• C-USA single-season threes made (needs three to break the record)
• On pace to break single-season points per game average with 22.1 ppg (record is 21.8)

Earning National Awards
Junior Robert Vaden is not only getting conference recognition, but he is also getting noticed around the nation. Below is a brief look at some of the attention he has received:
• Midseason Honorable Mention All-America (CollegeBasketballReference.com)
• C-USA Midseason Co-Player of the Year (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
• C-USA Midseason Newcomer of the Year (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
• National Player of the Week - Dec. 17 (ESPN.com and Sporting News)
• National Player of the Week - March 3 (Fort Worth Star Telegram, CollegeHoops.net, Sporting News, Rivals.com, ESPN.com)
• NABC First Team All-District - March 4

Defense Leads The Way
With the 69-44 defeat over Tulane on March 1, the Blazers captured their 11th straight win when holding an opponent to 50 points or less in a contest. The last time UAB lost when allowing 50 or less points occurred on Jan. 2, 2002 with a 50-36 loss to Southern Miss. In fact, the Blazers are 25-1 since the 1993-94 campaign when giving up 50 or fewer points. The Blazers boast an overall record of 52-4 when accomplishing the feat. UAB has held five of its opponents to 50 points or less this season and 12 of its foes to 60 or fewer points. That is even more impressive when taking a look back into the UAB record books. This year marks the first time in school history a UAB team has held four non-conference opponents to 50 points or less. In fact, this year's team is approaching a single-season school record for holding the opposition to 50 points or less in a game. The 1983-84 team held six opponents to 50 or fewer points, while on two separate occasions (1985-86 and 1992-93) the Blazers have held five opponents to 50 or less points.

Doing Charity Work
The Blazers connected on 11-of-15 from the charity stripe (73.3 percent) in the 84-70 win over Tulane last Saturday night. In fact, free throw shooting has been one of UAB's most improved statistics during conference play. During Conference USA play, UAB has shot an impressive 78.3 percent from the line. That number ranks second in C-USA in league 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 71.5 percent foul shooting as a team.

A Key To Victory
Junior forward Reggie Huffman is proving to be a key cog in UAB victories this season. In the 22 wins this year, Huffman is averaging 8.7 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds a game. He also has connected on 86-of-148 shots (58.1 percent). However, those numbers drop significantly during UAB's eight losses. Huffman averages 3.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in the eight defeats. Additionally, his field goal percentage drops to 34.8 percent (8-of-23).
Furthermore, the junior proved that he doesn't have to score to be a contributing factor in an outcome of a game. There has been nine occasions when Huffman has recorded eight or more rebounds in a game, with the Blazers sporting an impressive 8-1 record when he reaches the mark. For the season, Huffman ranks second on the team with an average of 6.1 rebounds per game, while also contributing 7.1 points a game, which ranks fourth-best on this year's squad. Over his last five contests alone, Huffman is averaging 8.0 points and 8.2 rebounds and has collected two double-doubles over that span.

Conference Record Books
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden is not only threatening school records, but is also preparing to overtake some conference records as well. Vaden enters the Memphis game having connected on 135-of-314 three-pointers this season. Both numbers currently rank second in the C-USA single-season record books. The all-time league leader in threes made and attempted is Charlotte's Demon Brown, who hit 137-of-350 treys during the 2002-03 campaign.