The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Goes on the Road to Play Tulane
2/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2002
Game 25 February 16, 2002, 7:00 p.m. CST UAB (11-13, 4-7) vs. TULANE (12-10, 4-7) Fogelman Arena / New Orleans, Louisiana WABM ? TV 68, ESPN-Plus
RADIO Blazer Sports Radio Network WAPI-AM 1070 in Birmingham Garry Sanders, Play by Play Matt Coulter, Color Analyst John Gentile, Producer/Host
TELEVISION WABM-TV 68, ESPN-Plus Chris Stewart, Play-by-Play Sonny Smith, Color Analyst
SERIES UAB leads 9-6
LAST MEETING UAB 80, Tulane 63 Jan. 26, 2002 Bartow Arena, Birmingham, Ala.
OFFICIALS Tom O'Neill, Terry Davis, Mike Sanzare
NEXT UAB GAME Feb. 19 at Saint Louis 7:10 Savvis Center, St. Louis, Mo.
UAB BLAZERS UAB is 11-13 overall and 4-7 in C-USA. The Blazers are tied for fourth place in the National Division with Tulane. UAB has won three of its last five games. The Blazers lost to TCU 78-68 in its last game after beating Memphis 64-46 last Friday.
The Blazers are one of the top defensive teams in C-USA, allowing just the opposition to score just 67.5 points per game and holding them to 41 percent shooting from the field.
Will Campbell leads the team in scoring and rebounding. The senior center is averaging 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He has four double-doubles in his last six games and has reached double figures in rebounding in five of the last six games. Mo Finley is scoring 12 points per game. He has made 51 three-pointers this season. Eric Bush is sixth in the league in assists with 5.1 per game, and fourth in steals with two per game.
Head Coach Murry Bartow is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach with a record of 101-79 (.561). He won his 100th game in the first TCU meeting. He has taken UAB to three post-season appearances, including an NCAA appearance in 1999.
TULANE GREEN WAVE The Green Wave is 12-10 overall and 4-7 in C-USA. They are tied with the Blazers for fourth place in the league's National Division. Tulane has not played since last Saturday, when they lost to South Florida 76-65.
The Green Wave is third in the league in field goal percentage, making 47.2 percent of its shots. They are second in defensing 3-point shooters, limiting the opposition to just 30 percent shooting behind the arc.
Forward Brandon Brown leads the Green Wave in both scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 16 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Brown is shooting 59 percent from the floor. Guard Brandon Spann is scoring 13.5 points per game and Waitari Marsh is scoring 12.1 points a contest.
Head coach Shawn Finney is in his second year at Tulane and as a collegiate head coach. He has a record of 21-31. Finney is a former assistant to Tubby Smith at Kentucky, Georgia and Tulsa.
Tulane plays at Houston, Tuesday night in its next game.
LAST TIME OUT - TCU 78, UAB 68 TCU outscored UAB 15-2 over a five-minute span that broke a 60-60 tie and gave the Horned Frogs the win. Junior Blount scored 27 points and Bingo Merriex added 23 points. TCU shot 59 percent from the field in the second half to just 41 percent for the Blazers. UAB made a season-low 22 percent of its 3-point shots, going 6-of-27. The Horned Frogs led by as much as 11-points in the first half, 23-12. UAB came back and trailed just 31-28 at the half. The Blazers outscored TCU 19-8 at the start of the half to lead 47-39. The Horned Frogs came back and tied the game at 51 with 10:46 left in the game. The two teams battled evenly over the next five minutes before TCU made its final run. TCU shot just 31 percent in the first half and UAB 33 percent. Antonae Roberson came off the bench to score 20 points and lead UAB. The Blazers did match their season-high with six blocked shots.
THE TULANE SERIES UAB leads the series 10-6, winning 80-63 in the first meeting this season. UAB has won three games in a row over Tulane after losing three in a row. The Blazers have won four of their last five games in Fogelman Arena. The first meeting was in 1992 with UAB winning 75-69 in Birmingham. UAB won five straight from 1997-98.
THE FIRST MEETING THIS YEAR Will Campbell scored 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and UAB built a big lead by shooting 61 percent from the field in the first half to go on to a 80-63 win. The Blazers led 47-28 at the half after leading by as much at 24-points at 37-13. Tulane never got closer than 12 points the rest of the game. Brandon Spann led Tulane with 18 points.
MURRY BARTOW VS. TULANE Murry Bartow is 8-4 against Tulane. He led the Blazers to a five-game win streak from 1997-through the first meeting of the 1998-99 season. He as led the Blazers to four wins in the last five games in Tulane's Fogelman Arena. Bartow is 3-0 against current Green Wave head coach Shawn Finney.
BACK ON THE ROAD While Fogelman Arena may be kind to the Blazers, the road has not been this season. UAB is 2-8 away from Bartow Arena and 1-7 on the opposition's home court. The Blazers defeated TCU 77-71 earlier this season. UAB was 1-2 in the Paradise Jam Tournament in Saint Thomas of the Virgin Islands.
FRIENDLY FOGELMAN Tulane's Fogelman Arena has been a kind place for the Blazers. They have won four of the last five games in Fogelman and 4-3 all time in the arena. The only loss in the last five games in New Orleans was a 73-62 decision, Jan. 23, 2000.
