The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts No. 9 Louisville In Nationally-Televised Game
2/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB hosts No. 9 Louisville Saturday in a battle of teams at or near the top of the Conference USA standings. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT at Bartow Arena for the clash between the Blazers and the Cardinals. Tickets for the contest are sold out.
Louisville sits atop C-USA with a 7-1 league mark and 19-3 overall record. UAB is tied for second place with Cincinnati, Memphis and DePaul at 6-2 in league games. A Blazer win would vault UAB into a tie with Louisville and further cloud a league race that produced a five-way tie for the title a season ago. UAB and Louisville were among the team's who shared last year's Conference USA crown.
"Louisville is playing some of its best basketball of the year right now," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "That means we will have to play very well to win. But these are two teams fighting it out for a conference championship and this game will go a long way in deciding who wins the conference this year and what happens to either team in terms of postseason play. It's another game on our schedule, but it is a big game for us and for them."
The Cards head into the contest on an eight-game win streak and are ranked No. 9 in both major polls. Rick Pitino's club is coming off a 77-70 home win over Cincinnati Wednesday night which vaulted the Cards into first place in league standings. Taquan Dean scored 19 points on five three-pointers and Juan Palacios notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the win for Louisville.
Preseason league Player of the Year Francisco Garcia leads Louisville with 16.5 points per game. He also averages 5.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. Garcia, however, is just one of five Cardinals who average double figures. Dean (14.5), Larry O'Bannon (14.3), Palacios (11.1) and Ellis Myles (10.2) also go for 10 or more for UofL.
UAB earned an impressive, 86-63, road victory at Marquette on Wednesday night. Demario Eddins tied his season-high with 23 points, scoring 18 in the second half, as the Blazers beat Marquette for the third straight time. The Golden Eagles were playing without point guard Travis Diener, who missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, but led at the half, 39-38. UAB put together a 15-2 run to start the second period to pull away. Donell Taylor scored 15 for the Blazers and Marques Lewis, in his return to his hometown of Milwaukee, had 13 for UAB.
The Blazers have won three consecutive games and have lost just once at home this year. Donell Taylor's 15.2 points per game lead the Blazers. Ronell Taylor and Eddins both average 12.4 points while Marvett McDonald scores 10.2 points per game.
The UAB-Louisville game will air live nationally on ESPN2 and will also be broadcast live on the Blazer Sports Network, which airs in Birmingham on WYDE, 101.1 FM. UAB Hospital heart transplant recipient Harvel Douglas is scheduled to sing the national anthem prior to the game. Douglas is just one week short of his two-year anniversary of receiving his new heart.
UAB Men's Basketball Game Notes in PDF Format
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