Jan. 9, 2007
UCF Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return home for the first time in 2007, when it takes on the UCF Golden Knights in the Blazers' Conference USA home opener. Tip off is slated for Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET), and will be televised on CSS with Matt Stewart and Tom Herrion on the call. Additionally, the first 1,000 fans in the arena will receive a UAB visor, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.
The Blazers, who will be displaying their new and improved home uniforms, and Golden Knights will be meeting for only the second time in the series history, with UAB holding a 1-0 advantage in the series.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:30 p.m. CT. Birmingham and Huntsville listeners can follow all the action on WYDE 101.1 FM. The broadcast can also be heard on WIQR 1410 AM in Montgomery/Prattville.
Scouting UCF
UCF enters its conference opener against UAB sporting an 11-3 record on the campaign, and has won four of its last five contests. Most recently, the Golden Knights defeated South Dakota State, 72-61, last Wednesday. The victory marked UCF's first true road victory of the season (1-2).
The Golden Knights are led on the year by sophomore guard Jermaine Taylor, who leads the team in scoring (16.2), field goal percentage (.576) and three-point field goal percentage (.527). Senior forward Josh Peppers ranks second on the squad with 12.9 ppg, while also contributing 4.1 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Mike O'Donnell also averages double figures (10.6 ppg) and shoots 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (34-of-68).
Head coach Kirk Speraw is in his 14th year at the helm of the UCF basketball program. Speraw has compiled a record of 220-181 (.549) while with the Golden Knights, and boasts an overall record as a head coach of 302-202 (.599) (17 seasons).
Scouting UAB
UAB will enter its Conference USA home opener against UCF with a record of 8-7 overall. The Blazers are coming off a C-USA opening-game defeat at UTEP, 76-63, last Saturday.
Junior guard Paul Delaney III, a two-time recipient this season of the Conference USA Player of the Week, leads the Blazers in points (17.6) and assists (5.1) per game, while also ranking second on the team with 5.1 boards a contest.
Along with Delaney, senior guard Wen Mukubu and sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard are also threats on offense. Mukubu averages 14.2 points per contest and a team-best 51.5 percent from beyond the arc. Kinnard ranks third on the team with 11.5 points per game, and also pulls down a team-leading 5.7 rebounds a game.
UAB head coach Mike Davis enters the game against the Golden Knights with an overall record of 123-86 (.589) in his seventh season as head coach, and is 8-7 (.533) in his first season at UAB.
A UAB Win Would:
• Improve UAB's record to 9-7 overall.
• Mark the fourth consecutive Conference USA home season-opening win for UAB.
• Earn the Blazers their ninth home-opening Conference USA victory in 13 seasons in the league.
• Mark the 124th win in coach Mike Davis' career (210 games).
Last Time Out
Malik Alvin led four UTEP players in double-digit scoring with 18 points as the Miners beat UAB 76-63 last Saturday. After UTEP opened up an 11-point lead in the first five minutes of the game, UAB closed the gap to 13-9 on a three-pointer by Paul Delaney III at the 12:18 mark of the first half. The Miners answered with an 8-0 spurt to build a 21-9 margin on a layup by Alvin with 9:31 remaining in the half. UTEP was ahead 33-24 at the intermission. The Blazers sliced their deficit to six points twice early in the second half, the last at 41-35 on a three-pointer by Lawrence Kinnard with 16:15 to go. But that was as close as they would get, as the Miners built leads of as many as 18 points in the second stanza. Delaney led the Blazers with 17 points, while Jeremy Mayfield had 14 points and seven boards. Kinnard finished with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The team shot just 38.6 percent for the game.
UAB-UCF A Year Ago
Brandon Tobias scored a career-high 14 points and Derrick Broom added 13, including three clutch second-half three-pointers to lead UAB to a 75-68 road win at UCF on Feb. 4, 2006. Josh Peppers went for 19 points for UCF, while Anthony Williams added 14 for the Golden Knights. Lawrence Kinnard scored 12 points with five rebounds for the Blazers. McDonald added 10, while Squeaky Johnson scored eight points with eight assists and two steals. UAB shot 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) for the game and hit 17-of-25 free throws. After a 50-percent first half, UCF cooled off to just 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) after the break. The Blazers forced 18 UCF turnovers to offset a 36-27 rebounding advantage for their hosts.
UAB In Conference USA Home Openers
In its 12th year in Conference USA, the Blazers have had a good start in the home portion of league play a majority of the time. UAB boasts an 8-3 record in C-USA home openers, including winning three consecutive league home openers.
Chasing A Record
Not only are the Blazers 5-0 in Bartow Arena this season, but they are riding an 18-game home winning streak. The streak, which dates back to a loss to Western Kentucky on Nov. 29, 2005, is the third-longest in school history. UAB won 19 straight home games during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 campaigns, which is the second-best in UAB lore. The Blazers captured the school record of 20 consecutive home wins during the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons. Last year, UAB rolled up a 14-1 home record, which tied the second-best season in history. The 2003-04 club was also 14-1 at home en route to its Sweet 16 appearance.
UAB enjoys impressive success playing in the friendly confines of Bartow Arena. In its 18 seasons serving as the home of the Blazers, Bartow Arena has helped the men's basketball team to an overall record of 219 wins against just 47 losses for a winning percentage of .824.
Home vs. Road
UAB enters its game against UCF sporting a 2-5 overall record in true road games, compared to a perfect 5-0 record on its home floor. Part of the reason for the disparity is the way the Blazers shoot the ball at home vs. road contests. When playing in Bartow Arena, UAB is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from behind the arc, while averaging an impressive 80.0 ppg. However, those numbers drop significantly in road contests. In the seven true road games this season, the Blazers are shooting only 41.0 percent from the floor and 34.6 percent from three-point range, while averaging almost 20 points less per game (60.6 ppg).
Can I Assist You?
Assists are big in Mike Davis' offense and that is shown in the stats. In its eight wins this season, UAB is averaging an impressive 13.5 assists per contest. However, that number drops significantly to 8.6 assists per game in the Blazers' six defeats this season. In fact, UAB has recorded 12 assists or more in seven games this season, winning all but one of those (12 assists at Wyoming in a 93-87 defeat).
Mayfield Stepping Up
Freshman forward Jeremy Mayfield is showing why he was considered one of the top recruits in the nation last season and a candidate for the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. Over his last two contests, Mayfield leads the team with an average of 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. His best performance this season came against one of the top frontcourts in the nation in No. 3/3 Florida. Mayfield dominated the low post against the Gators, collecting 15 points and nine boards in the contest. In fact, since being inserted into the starting lineup five games ago, the Dallas, Texas native has not disappointed. During the stretch of starts, Mayfield leads the team in rebounds (6.2 per game) and is fourth in scoring (9.2 per game).
Defending The Trey
The UAB perimeter defensive effort over its last four games has been impressive. Over that span, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot just 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from three-point range and have won two of the four contests. In comparison, the Blazers are shooting an impressive 39.6 percent (36-of-91) during that same stretch.
Winning Trends
There are a couple of trends to keep in mind when the Blazers are playing. Through 14 games this season, UAB sports a 7-1 record when leading at halftime. However, the Blazers are 0-4 when trailing after the opening half, and 1-2 when tied.
Furthermore, UAB is 7-2 when committing less turnovers than its opponents, but drops to 1-5 when committing more. Finally, the Blazers are a perfect 5-0 when shooting over 45-percent from the floor in a game, but drops to 3-7 when failing to hit over 45 percent of their shots.
Battling The Big East
The Blazers have had their way against Big East opponents during the 2006-06 campaign. UAB is a perfect 3-0 on the season against one of the top college basketball conferences in the nation. Prior to their 78-62 win over USF on Dec. 27, the Blazers won at Cincinnati, 59-57, on Dec. 2, and defeated DePaul at home, 58-57, in overtime on Dec. 9.
Shootout At Bartow
The league's top two three-point shooters will square off against one another when UCF takes on UAB in Bartow Arena on Wednesday night. Golden Knight sophomore guard Jermaine Taylor leads the league with a 52.7 percent average behind the arc, while Blazer senior guard Wen Mukubu is just behind Taylor, shooting 51.5 percent from beyond the arc (34-of-66).
Earlier this season in the win over Cincinnati on Dec. 2, Mukubu went 5-of-5 from beyond the arc on his way to finishing with 19 points. It is only the third time in UAB school history a player was perfect from beyond the arc in a game when attempting at least five three-point shots.
