March 2, 2007

Tulane Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will close the regular season slate when it takes on the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday at 1 p.m. The radio broadcast can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:30 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 Green Wave will be meeting for the second time this season and 26th time overall. Earlier in the season, UAB snapped a four-game losing streak in New Orleans with a 67-60 victory on Jan. 13. The win improved UAB to 14-11 in the series history, and 5-7 in games played at Tulane.

Scouting Tulane
Tulane enters Saturday's contest sporting a 15-12 overall record, and is one game ahead of UAB in the C-USA standings at 8-7 in league play. The Green Wave enters the game having captured two straight victories and have won six of their last eight games overall entering the game against the Blazers. Tulane enters the contest as one of the league leaders in scoring, averaging 70.1 ppg (6th), and rebounding (38.1 rebounds a game/5th). Most recently, the Green Wave collected 42 combined points from junior forward David Gomez (20) and senior guard Chris Moore (22), en route to an 88-72 home victory over East Carolina last Wednesday night.

The Green Wave is led on the year by Gomez, who leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (53.5 percent). Moore (10.3 ppg) and freshman guard Kevin Sims (10.1 ppg) also average double figure scoring for Tulane. Sims also leads the team with an average of 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.

Head coach Dave Dickerson is in his second year at the helm of the Tulane basketball program. Dickerson has compiled a record of 27-27 (.500) while with the Green Wave, and a 14-14 mark in C-USA games.

Scouting UAB
UAB will enter its contest against Tulane with an overall record of 15-14, and a 7-8 mark in league play. The Blazers have won four of their last six games entering the game against the Green Wave, but dropped their last game at Southern Miss, 76-68, last Wednesday night.

Junior guard Paul Delaney III, a two-time recipient of the Conference USA Player of the Week this season, leads the Blazers in points (16.0) and assists (5.2) per game, while also ranking fourth on the team with 4.9 boards a contest.

Along with Delaney, senior guard Wen Mukubu and sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard are also threats on offense. Mukubu averages 14.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest, while also shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. Kinnard ranks third on the team with 12.7 points per game, and also leads the team with 6.0 rebounds a game and a team-leading average of 41.6 percent from beyond the arc.

UAB head coach Mike Davis enters the game against Tulane with an overall record of 130-93 (.583) in his seventh season as a head coach, and is 15-14 (.517) at UAB.

Last Time Out
Senior Wen Mukubu scored a career-high 26 points, but it was not enough, as Southern Miss beat UAB 76-68, assuring the Golden Eagles at least a .500 mark in conference play for the first time in six seasons. The Golden Eagles were led by Jarvis Hill, who scored a career-high 22 points to lead USM to the win. Coupled with its 57-55 overtime win against UAB last month, the Golden Eagles swept the Blazers for the first time in 11 years and the second time in the history of the league. The Golden Eagles put four players in double figures. Jeremy Wise added 18 points, Craig Craft had 13 and Courtney Beasley 12. Wen Mukubu scored 26 points and had seven rebounds for UAB, while Paul Delaney III added 16. Hill's 3-pointer with three minutes left gave Southern Miss its largest lead at 65-56. The Golden Eagles led 31-30 at the half thanks to a buzzer beater by Dwayne Green.

UAB-Tulane Earlier This Year
Sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard led all scorers with a career-high 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the UAB men's basketball team to a 67-60 victory against Tulane. Junior guard Paul Delaney III added 21 points, nine assists and four steals in the winning effort. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Blazers at Tulane dating back to the 2000-01 season. Tulane led for a majority of the first half and built its largest lead of six points with 2:24 remaining in the first half. However, UAB rallied behind Kinnard, who finished with 14 points in the opening half. Kinnard and Tulane junior Matt Wheaton traded three-pointers to open the second half and tied the game for the sixth time at 31 apiece. Kinnard then buried another trey to give UAB the lead for good at the 17-minute mark. However, Tulane, which trailed by as many as 10 points, never gave up. The Green Wave scraped back and Sims' trey at the 7:39 mark brought TU to within four points. After a pair of free throws by Kinnard, Sims was fouled and once again pulled Tulane to within striking distance when he converted both attempts. UAB responded on a Mike Davis Jr. trey with 4:50 remaining that gave the Blazers an eight-point cushion and Tulane was never able to get any closer than five points during the remaining minutes.

`Wen'ing Ways
Senior guard/forward Wen Mukubu has been a main reason why the Blazers have captured wins in three of their last five contests heading into the game against Tulane. During that span, the Miami, Fla. native has reset his career-high scoring mark on two separate occasions, going for 24 at Houston (2/17) and a career-high mark of 26 against Southern Miss (2/28). Ironically, UAB's lone two losses during the stretch of games. Over UAB's last five contests, Mukubu is averaging 20.0 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, which leads the Blazers in both categories.

Celebrating Senior Day
Saturday's contest against Tulane will mark Wen Mukubu's and Maurice Gibbs' last game played at Bartow Arena. That should bode well for their team, as the Blazers have won five consecutive contests in their last home game of the season dating back to a 73-41 defeat to Saint Louis exactly six years to the date of this afternoon's game (3/3/01). In fact, UAB has an all-time record of 22-7 (.759) when playing its final game at home.

Offense Heating Up
One of the reasons for the Blazers capturing four wins in their last six games has been the way they are shooting the ball. UAB has hit 45 percent or more of its field goals in eight of its last 12 halves. That is part of the reason the Blazers are shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and scoring 70.2 points a game during the six-game stretch. In fact, when UAB shoots at least 50 percent from the floor in a game this season, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers are 5-1 on the year when connecting on at least half of their field goals in a game, with the lone loss coming at Wyoming on Nov. 18. In fact, the Blazers have an outstanding record of 38-2 since the 2001-02 campaign when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor in a contest.

Defensive Pride
Not only has the offense been heating up, but the UAB defense has been stepping up as well, helping it to wins in four of its last six contests. First would be the offensive side of the court. Over that span, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot just 37.1 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc, while also collecting 7.1 steals a game. In fact, the team defensive effort has been evident throughout play in Conference USA. During conference play, the Blazers are allowing league opponents to shoot just 32.3 percent from three-point range, and holding the opposition to 64.4 points a game. The statistics rank third and second in both categories, respectively, in C-USA in league games only. 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 15 victories this season, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot 30.2 percent from the arc. However, opponents shoot nearly 40 percent (36.6 percent on 98-of-268) from beyond the arc in the Blazers' 14 losses on the year.