The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts TCU Tuesday Night at 7:30
2/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2002
Game 23 February 12, 2002, 7:30 p.m. CST TCU (13-12, 3-8) vs. UAB (11-12, 4-6) Bartow Arena / Birmingham, Alabama
UAB vs. TCU
RADIO Blazer Sports Radio Network WAPI-AM 1070 in Birmingham Garry Sanders, Play by Play Matt Coulter, Color Analyst John Gentile, Producer/Host
TELEVISION ESPN-Plus Brian Estridge, Play-by-Play Renzi Stone, Color Analyst
SERIES UAB leads 2-1
LAST MEETING UAB 77, TCU 71 Jan. 29, 2002 Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, Ft. Worth, Texas
OFFICIALS Kerry Sitton, Gerry Pollard, Sam Croft
NEXT UAB GAME Feb. 16 Tulane 7:00 CST Fogelman Arena, New Orleans, La.
UAB BLAZERS UAB is 11-12 overall and 4-6 in C-USA. The Blazers have moved up to fourth in C-USA's National Division after winning three of their last four games. UAB beat Memphis 64-46 this past Friday to break the Tigers 10-game win streak.
The Blazers are third in the league in 3-pointers per game, making 7.4 a contest. UAB is fifth in the league in defense, giving up 67.1 points per game, and fourth in field goal percentage defense, allowing the opposition to make just 41 percent of its shots.
Senior center Will Campbell recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games against Memphis. He has seven this season and leads the team in scoring, 12.7 points per game, and rebounding, 9.0 rebounds a game. Mo Finley scored 19 in the win over Memphis and is averaging 11.9 points a contest. Eric Bush is averaging 5.1 assists a game and is third in C-USA in steals with 2.1 a contest.
Head Coach Murry Bartow picked up his 100th win as UAB's head coach with a win over TCU in the two teams' first meeting. He is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach with a record of 101-78 (.564). He has taken UAB to three post-season appearances, including an NCAA appearance in 1999. TCU HORNED FROGS TCU is 13-12 overall and 3-8 in C-USA. The Horned Frogs have won three of its last five games. TCU defeated Houston 87-69 in its last game.
The Horned Frogs lead the league in scoring, averaging 86.5 points per game. They are last in defense giving up 82.4 points per game. TCU does lead the league in free throw percentage, shooting 71.3 percent at the line.
Junior Blount leads the Horned Frogs, scoring 17.9 points per game. He is shooting 86 percent at the free throw line. Freshman guard Corey Santee is scoring 14.8 points and dishing out 6.1 assists per game. Center Jamal Brown leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.8 per game and is scoring 11.2 points a contest. Bingo Merriex is scoring 12.4 points per game.
Coach Billy Tubbs is in his eighth and final year with TCU with a record of 153-92. Tubbs is 592-294 in his 28th year as a collegiate head coach. He was head coach at Southwestern, Lamar and Oklahoma and took the Sooners to the NCAA Championship game in 1988. Tubbs took TCU to the NCAA Tournament in 1998.
LAST TIME OUT UAB 64, Memphis 46 UAB held Memphis to just 30 percent shooting in breaking the Tigers' 10-game win streak. It was the first C-USA loss of the season for Memphis. Will Campbell got his fourth double-double in the last five games with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Mo Finley led the Blazers in scoring with 19 points. Freshman guard Jeffrey Collins made his first start of the season and scored 12 points with five rebounds. Memphis trailed by double figures for the first time in C-USA play when the Blazers took a 10-point first half lead. The Tigers rallied to cut the score to 30-26 at the half. Memphis battled to cut the margin to two, 33-31 with 17:33 remaining in the game, but the Blazers kept gradually pulling away and led 64-44 with 45 seconds remaining in the game. It was the lowest point total for Memphis since 1997. Tiger freshman Dajuan Wagner made just 6-of-23 shots for 16 points. Memphis came into the game as the league's top rebounding team, but, the Blazers outrebounded the Tigers 43-33.
THE TCU SERIES UAB leads the series 2-1 after winning 77-71 earlier this season in Fort Worth. UAB won the first meeting, 69-62 in the 1985 UNLV Classic. TCU's win came in the first round of the 1997 NIT in Fort Worth, 85-62.
MURRY BARTOW VS. TCU Murry Bartow is now 1-1 against the Horned Frogs and coach Billy Tubbs. He was in his first year as head coach when the Blazers met TCU in the 1997 NIT. It was Bartow's 100th win as a collegiate head coach when the Blazers won at TCU earlier this year.
LAST TIME VERSUS THE FROGS Will Campbell scored 30 points and had 19 rebounds in leading the Blazers to a 77-71 win. Junior Blount scored 31 points, including all of the Horned Frogs points in an 18-6 run that saw TCU tie the score at 65. UAB answered by scoring the next 10 points and putting the game away. The Blazers held TCU, the league's top scoring team, to just 29 points in the first half and 16 below its average.
UAB IN BARTOW ARENA The Blazers are 8-3 in Bartow Arena this season. They are 160-37 (.812) in their 14th year playing in Bartow. The Blazers were 10-5 at home last year. Overall the Blazers are 294-73 (.801) in Birmingham. UAB beat UNLV in the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex as part of the Arby's Hardwood Classic.
THE BIG WIN UAB got its biggest win of the season when the Blazers broke Memphis's 10-game win streak with a 64-46 win. It was the lowest point total since 1997 for the Tigers. UAB held Memphis to just 30 percent shooting. That is the best defensive effort of the year for UAB. The win also broke a three-game losing streak to Memphis.
BARTOW'S 100TH Blazer head coach Murry Bartow got his 100th win with the victory over TCU. In the five-plus years he has been head coach at UAB, only Cincinnati, Charlotte and Marquette have won more than 100 games against Division I opponents in C-USA. That puts the Blazers in an elite class in the league.
ANOTHER BIG BARTOW WIN UAB's 18-point win over Memphis was just another in the string of Bartow blowouts. UAB is 8-3 in Bartow Arena this year. All but one of those wins has been by double figures. The Blazers have a +13 scoring margin in Bartow Arena. The biggest win was a 102-61 decision over Alcorn State. The Blazers also beat Bradley by 32 points, 82-50.
A NEW STARTING LINEUP UAB used its eighth different starting lineup in the win over Memphis. Freshman guard Jeffrey Collins got his first start of the season. He scored 12 points, had five rebounds and held the Tiger's scoring sensation Dajuan Wagner to a 6-of-23 shooting night. Eric Bush did not start for the first time this season and played just 10 minutes. Bush played his second fewest number of minutes. He played just nine in the blowout win over Alcorn State.
GETTING TO .500 Should UAB win Tuesday night it would put the Blazers back at .500 for the season. That would be the first time since UAB was 8-8 after the loss to Southern Miss, Jan. 12. UAB fell as low as 8-11 before winning three of its last four and getting to 11-12.
