Jan. 22, 2008
UAB-East Carolina Notes | Gametracker | Watch & Listen Live
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Bartow Arena, where it will take on the East Carolina Pirates on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT. The Blazers will put their perfect 8-0 home mark on the line in a crucial league matchup against the Pirates.
Most recently, UAB had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 62-57 defeat at Marshall last Saturday night, as UAB fell to 12-6 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA. Despite the defeat, the Blazers have still won 10 of their last 13 games entering the Wednesday night contest against East Carolina.
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 21.3 points a game which rank second in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (81-of-183, 44.3 percent) and minutes played (34.4).
Junior Lawrence Kinnard, who has now recorded four double-figure rebounding games over UAB's last five contests coming into the East Carolina contest. He is averaging 8.9 points, which rank second on the team, and is tied for the team lead with 6.7 rebounds per contest.
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, is tied with Kinnard for the team lead in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and is third in scoring (8.5 ppg).
As a team, the Blazers are hitting 46.2 percent from the floor and are connecting on 38.0 percent from beyond the arc. Both numbers rank second in Conference USA. Additionally, UAB leads the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9 percent) and is outscoring its opponents by 6.4 points a game (71.2-61.7).
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 142-101 (.584) and five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 27-22 (.551) at UAB.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina enter Wednesday's contest sporting a 7-9 overall record and 1-2 in league play following a 71-66 defeat to UCF last Saturday. The Pirates will be playing just their third true road game of the season when they come to Birmingham, and have gone 0-2 in previous road losses at USF (81-67 on Nov. 24) and at Memphis (99-58 on Jan. 9).
The Pirates are led by junior guard Sam Hinnant, who is the only player to average double-figure scoring. The Charlotte, N.C. native averages 12.3 points, while also shooting a team-best 40.6 percent from three-point range (39-of-96).
Sophomore forward John Fields averages 9.1 points a game, and shoots a team-best 60.8 percent from the floor. Senior point guard Darrell Jenkins leads Conference USA with 6.9 assists a game, while also contributing 8.5 points. Sophomore Gabe Blair is also a solid contributor, averaging a team-leading 7.6 rebounds a game, while also adding 8.2 ppg.
As a team, ECU leads Conference USA in three-point shooting (38.3 percent), which ranks 3/10ths of a percentage point ahead of UAB (38.0 percent). The Pirates are also shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and 67.8 percent from the charity stripe. However, the Pirates also rank last in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (36.7 percent) and are 11th in the league in scoring defense (70.4 points per game allowed) and field goal percentage defense (43.5 percent).
Head coach Mack McCarthy is in his first season at the helm of East Carolina men's basketball program. McCarthy compiled a 309-177 (.636) record in 16 seasons as a head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth, including 14-winning seasons and eight 20-win campaigns.
UAB-East Carolina: The Series
UAB and East Carolina are playing for the eighth time in series history, with the Blazers holding a slim 6-1 advantage. The Blazers have captured wins over the Pirates in each of the last two seasons, including a 58-42 win at ECU last year (1/17/07). The only East Carolina win came on UAB's home floor on Feb. 16, 2005, when it captured a 67-64 victory.
UAB-East Carolina: A Year Ago
Wen Mukubu scored 15 points and Lawrence Kinnard added 14 to lift UAB past East Carolina 58-42 on Jan. 27, 2007 in Greenville, N.C. The Blazers had 16 assists on their 19 made baskets on the evening, en route to the 16-point win. Mukubu added seven assists and five rebounds while Kinnard had seven rebounds for UAB. The Blazers also shot 75 percent from the foul line. UAB led by as many as 18 points with 2:11 left in the game. East Carolina's largest lead was just one point with 18:13 left in the first half. Courtney Captain scored 13 points and Darrell Jenkins had 10 points and eight assists for the Pirates, who shot just 23.8 percent from 3-point range. With the game tied 7-all, UAB went on a 21-5 run to take a 16-point lead, 28-12, with 4:44 remaining before halftime. Included in the run was a 12-0 spurt by Blazers that included two 3s from Lawrence Kinnard and another from Mukubu. Freshman Justin Ramsey ended the spurt with a turnaround jumper to give the Pirates their first points in over eight minutes. The Pirates were held to their lowest scoring half in over two years and trailed at halftime, 30-16.
Last Time Out
Robert Vaden scored 23 points, but it was not enough to help the cause, as UAB fell on the road, 62-57 to Marshall on Saturday night. UAB led by one at halftime, 27-26, and scored the first two points in the second half, before an 8-3 Marshall run put it ahead for the remainder of the game. Trailing 46-37, UAB scored eight straight points to pull within one point of the Thundering Herd with five minutes remaining in the game. Marshall's Matt Walls hit 3-pointers 1:15 apart to keep Marshall ahead and the Thundering Herd made 5-of-8 free throws in the final minute to earn the victory. Vaden, who scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half for UAB, was the game's leading scorer and played all but four minutes. Lawrence Kinnard had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points. The loss brought an end the Blazers' four-game winning streak, and makes UAB 10-3 in their last 13 games. UAB shot 33 percent from the field in the second half to Marshall's 50 percent and was outrebounded 42-31.
Tough At Home
This season, UAB has been a very tough team to play at Bartow Arena. The Blazers enter the contest against East Carolina sporting a perfect 8-0 record in home games this season. In fact, of the eight games played at Bartow Arena, UAB has only trailed in one game (Stetson) for a total of 7 minutes, 50 seconds throughout the entire home slate. Furthermore, the Blazers have beaten opponents on their home floor by an average of 22.0 points a game (76.6-54.6).
Vaden Red Hot
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden recorded 23 points against Marshall last Saturday, which marked the 10th 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. Over his last seven contests, Vaden has averaged 25.7 points and has led the Blazers to a 5-2 mark over that time. It is the best seven-game scoring stretch by a UAB player since former UAB great (and current Ole Miss head coach) Andy Kennedy scored 27.3 ppg over a seven-game stretch during the 1990-91 campaign.
Something Has To Give
When East Carolina and UAB take the floor Wednesday night, fans may see a shooting display. The teams lead Conference USA in three-point shooting entering the affair. The Pirates lead the league shooting an impressive 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, while the Blazers are second in the conference at 38.0 percent. However, UAB also leads Conference USA in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9 percent), while East Carolina is last in the league in the same category (36.7 percent).
Kinnard Hopes Home Court Will Cure Struggles
Junior Lawrence Kinnard is hoping Wednesday's game against East Carolina at Bartow Arena can turn around a recent shooting slump he is going through. Through his first 14 games of the season, Kinnard was shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 39.7 percent from deep. However, since then the Memphis, Tenn. native has been ice cold and is shooting just 24.4 percent from the floor and has missed 17 of f his last 18 three-point attempts (5.6 percent) over that stretch.
That is why there may not be another player on UAB's team who is more excited to play at home than Kinnard. 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 eight home games, Kinnard is averaging 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, and shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Free Throw Improvement
One of the most noticeable statistics over UAB's last four contests has been the improvement at the charity stripe. The Blazers have shot an impressive 75.7 percent from the line over the stretch of games, winning three 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 66.0 percent foul shooting as a team.
Rebounding Machine
Junior Lawrence Kinnard may not be shooting the ball great, but he is doing other things that have helped UAB to wins in four of its last five contests. During that time, the 6-8 forward is collecting an average of 11.0 rebounds per contest. In fact, he has also recorded four double-figure rebounding games and two double-doubles over the five-game stretch. For the year, Kinnard is tied with junior Reggie Huffman for the team lead in rebounds, each averaging 6.7 boards per contest.
Bench Depth
One of the main reasons for the Blazers' victory over Southern Miss last Wednesday was the play of the reserves. The Blazers' bench outscored its counterpart by a score of 25-15. It marked the eighth time UAB's bench has outscored its opponent on the season. When that happens, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers hold a 6-2 record in UAB reserves outscore its counterparts.
