Jan. 25, 2007

East Carolina Game Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For the fourth time in six league games this season, UAB will return to the road, when the Blazers battle East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). The radio broadcast can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 5:30 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 and 98.3 FM WTRB in Ashland/Talladega.

The Blazers and Pirates will be meeting for the sixth time in the series, with UAB holding a 4-1 overall advantage, including a 2-0 record at Minges Coliseum.

Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina enters Saturday night's contest sporting a 5-13 overall record on the season, and are 0-5 in C-USA play. The Pirates are coming off an 83-72 loss to Southern Miss last Wednesday. The defeat marked the fifth consecutive loss to start C-USA play, and the 12th loss over ECU's last 13 contests, after starting the year 4-1.

The Pirates are led on the year by junior guard Darrell Jenkins. Jenkins, who leads the team with 12.5 points and 5.4 assists per game, scored a career-high 25 points in the loss to the Golden Eagles. Senior guard Courtney Captain (10.2 ppg) and freshman forward John Fields (10.1 ppg) also average double figures for the Pirates, while Fields leads the team with 5.6 rebounds a game.

Head coach Ricky Stokes is in his second year at the helm of the East Carolina basketball program. Stokes has compiled a record of 13-33 (.283) while with the Pirates.

Scouting UAB
UAB will enter its contest against East Carolina with an overall record of 10-9, and a 2-3 mark in league play. The Blazers enter the contest having lost four of their last six contests, including a 57-55 overtime heartbreaker to Southern Miss 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 (17.4) and assists (5.4) per game, while also ranking third on the team with 5.0 boards a contest.

Along with Delaney, senior guard Wen Mukubu and sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard are also threats on offense. Mukubu averages 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest, and averages 45.1 percent from beyond the arc. Kinnard ranks third on the team with 12.8 points per game, and also leads the team with 5.8 rebounds a game and averaging 45.9 percent from three-point range.

UAB head coach Mike Davis enters the game against the Pirates with an overall record of 125-88 (.587) in his seventh season as a head coach, and is 10-9 (.526) in his first season at UAB.

A UAB Win Would:
• Improve UAB's record to 11-9 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA play.

• Earn the Blazers their fifth win in the six meetings between the two schools, and improve UAB to a perfect 3-0 at East Carolina.

• Mark the 126th win in coach Mike Davis' career (214 games).

Last Time Out
Jeremy Wise hit a driving layup in heavy traffic with one second left in overtime to give Southern Mississippi a 57-55 victory over UAB. Wise, one of four freshmen in the Southern Mississippi 8-man rotation, led all scorers with 22 points. Paul Delaney III scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead UAB. Lawrence Kinnard and Wen Mukubu added 13 points each for the Blazers. The loss broke a 19-game home winning streak for UAB. The school record home streak remains 20 games. A running floater by Wise gave Southern Mississippi a 50-48 lead heading into the final minute of regulation. Delaney hit two free throws to tie it 50-50, with 22.8 seconds left. A 5-second call on Wise gave UAB a chance to win it. But Delaney missed a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime. Wise's driving basket gave Southern Mississippi a 55-52 lead midway through the extra period. But Frank Holmes dunked on an offensive rebound to bring UAB to within one point. Holmes hit the second of two free throws with 30.2 seconds left to tie the game and set up Wise's game-winning shot.

UAB-East Carolina A Year Ago
The Blazers won the lone meeting between the two teams during the 2005-06 season, capturing a 72-64 decision on Feb. 11, 2006 in Birmingham, Ala. Wen Mukubu and Paul Delaney III each accounted for 12 points, while Lawrence Kinnard contributed 10 points in the UAB victory. The Pirates outrebounded the Blazers, 41-26, but UAB collected 13 steals and forced ECU into 26 turnovers during the contest.

Defending The Trey
The UAB perimeter defensive effort over its last eight games has been impressive. Over that span, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot just 28.2 percent (40-of-142) from three-point range.

In fact, a way to foretell an outcome to a contest is the way the Blazers are defending the three-point line. In UAB's 10 victories this season, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot 30 percent from the arc (61-of-203). However, opponents shoot nearly 40 percent (36.0 percent on 56-of-156) from beyond the arc in the Blazers' nine losses on the year.

Overtime Anyone?
The overtime loss to Southern Miss last Saturday was the fourth overtime game of the season for UAB, which ties a single-season school record. Ironically, all the overtime games have occurred in Bartow Arena, marking the most overtime games on the Blazers' home court in one season. UAB is now 3-1 this season in extra time on the year. The Blazers matched the school record set during the 1983-84 campaign, going 3-1 in the contests as well.

UAB's other contests involving overtimes this season occurred earlier in the year, including playing in two consecutive overtime contests. UAB and Minnesota played a double-overtime affair on Dec. 5, with the Blazers edging out an 88-81 victory. Following that contest, the Blazers defeated DePaul in overtime, 58-57, on Dec. 9. It marked the first back-to-back overtime games since the 2002-03 campaign. That year, the Blazers defeated TCU 84-82 in extra time on Jan. 29, 2003. Following that contest, the Blazers lost at Southern Miss in double overtime on Feb. 4, 2003 (82-80). Furthermore, the double overtime affair against Minnesota was only the fifth time in the program's 29-year history the Blazers have played a game consisting of at least two overtimes. The Blazers also defeated UCF, 74-64, in overtime on Jan. 10.

Bench Struggles Continue
One of the reasons the Blazers have been struggling in recent games is due to the lack of depth on this year's team. The Blazers' bench have been outscored by an average of nearly five points a game (14.5-9.9/game). On the season, UAB reserves have been outscored by their counterpart in 15 of its 19 games. In the overtime loss to Southern Miss last Saturday, UAB's reserves were outscored by its counterparts, 12-6, which marked the sixth straight time and the 10th time over the last 12 games the Blazers were outnumbered in bench points. However, when the UAB reserves one-up the opposition, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers boast a perfect 4-0 this season when their bench outscores the opponents.

Home vs. Road
UAB enters its game against East Carolina sporting a 6-1 record on its home floor, compared to a 3-6 overall record in true road games. Part of the reason for the disparity is the way the Blazers shoot the ball at home versus road contests. When playing in Bartow Arena, UAB is shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from behind the arc, while averaging an impressive 75.6 ppg. However, those numbers drop significantly in road contests. In the nine true road games this season, the Blazers are shooting only 40.5 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent from three-point range, while averaging almost 19 points less per game (60.6 ppg).