Jan. 12, 2009

UAB-UCF Game Notes | Gametracker

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will open the home portion of its 2009 Conference USA slate on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it takes on UCF at Bartow Arena The contest will be televised live on CSS and will also air live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM.

UAB and UCF will meet for the fourth time in series history, with the Blazers having never lost to the Knights. Despite UAB holding a 3-0 advantage, each of the games has come down to the closing minutes. In the two contests played in Orlando, Fla., UAB won 75-68 in the first meeting between the two teams (2/4/06) and took an 88-81 victory last season (1/30/08). The Blazers also won the only meeting in Birmingham, capturing a 74-64 overtime win (1/10/07). In the three contests, UAB's winning margin of victory is just 8.0 points a game.

UAB enters Tuesday's matchup against UCF with a 9-6 overall mark and a 0-1 record in Conference USA play following a 75-56 defeat at Houston last Saturday. Junior forward Howard Crawford led UAB with 13 points on the night, while senior forward Lawrence Kinnard added 10 points and 12 boards.

Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden, a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, currently leads the team in scoring (19.0 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.7 rpg). Vaden, who has scored at least 20 points in nine of UAB's 15 games on the season. He has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 53 treys on the season. In fact, Vaden ranks 11th in the nation in total threes made and is fourth in threes attempted (149).

Senior guard Paul Delaney, who has scored double figures in all but one game he has played this season, is second on the team with 16.4 ppg, to go along with 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 80-of-137 shots from the floor this season (.584).

Kinnard leads the team with 9.1 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game. He recently recorded his Conference USA-leading sixth double-double of the season and 13th of his career in the loss to the Cougars. He enters the UCF game ranked second in the league in rebounding and is 10th in scoring.

As a team, the Blazers are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 7.3 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 4.4 points a game (71.7-67.3), despite having one of the toughest schedules in the nation (strength of schedule is No. 29 according to RPIRatings.com rankings through games of Jan. 11).

UCF enters the game at UAB sporting a 10-5 overall mark and an 0-1 record in league play. The Knights opened conference play last Saturday at home against Memphis and dropped a 73-66 decision in Orlando, Fla.

The Knights are led by senior guard/forward Jermaine Taylor, who had a game-high 24 points to go along with seven rebounds on the night. Taylor leads UCF and Conference USA with 23.7 points a game. He also leads the Knights with 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Additionally, Taylor has converted 132-of-264 shots this season (.500) and has attempted 160 more shots than the team's next highest mark (lsaac Sosa is second on the team with 104 shots).

Junior forward Tony Davis is second on the team in both scoring (9.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg), while Sosa collects 9.4 points per contest. Freshman guard A.J. Rompza collects a team-leading 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

As a team, the Knights are shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. They are outscoring the opposition by 4.5 points a game (73.4-68.9) and outrebounding their opponents by 1.7 boards per contest (35.0-33.3). UCF also leads Conference USA in assists per game (16.13).