The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Earns Third-Consecutive NCAA Basketball Tournament Berth
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's basketball team will play in its third consecutive NCAA Tournament as the Blazers were one of the 65 teams announced to the 2006 field Sunday.
UAB (24-6) is seeded ninth in the Washington, D.C. Region and will take on the No. 8-seeded Kentucky Wildcats (21-12) of the Southeastern Conference in a first round matchup on Friday, March 17 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Gametimes for all tournament games will be announced on Monday.
The game with the Wildcats will be a rematch of the NCAA second round contest of two seasons ago when UAB stunned Kentucky, the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, 76-75, at Columbus, Ohio.
Head coach Mike Anderson's Blazers finished as runner-up to NCAA No. 1 seed Memphis in the Conference USA regular season standings and also placed second in the C-USA Tournament Saturday at FedEx Forum in Memphis.
This will be UAB's 13th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and the first time in two decades the Blazers have earned three straight bids to the event.
"I'm excited for our basketball program, UAB and the City of Birmingham," said Anderson, who has guided the Blazers to a record of 89-40 and postseason tournament appearances in each of his four seasons at the helm. "Kentucky is a different team than we played two years ago. Tubby Smith does an outstanding job, so we're going to have our work cut out. We'll be the underdog, there's no question about it."
Anderson's Blazer teams have earned postseason a tournament berth in each of his four seasons at UAB. "It's amazing, and I look at some of the common denominators and I see winners," he said. "We have had guys who are winners who have been a part of this. We have guys who understand about winning, but it's amazing what they have accomplished in their years here. This is a great way for our seniors to go out in style and have a chance to perform in the NCAA Tournament."
The Blazers' best finish in the NCAA Tournament was in 1982 when they advanced to the Elite 8 after beating Indiana and Virginia.
This will be the fourth meeting overall -- and third in the NCAA Tournament -- between UAB and Kentucky with the Blazers holding a 2-1 series advantage. UAB defeated the Wildcats, 69-62, in the second round of 1981 NCAA Tournament at Tuscaloosa. The other meeting, a December, 1980 contest at Lexington, resulted in a 61-53 Wildcat victory.
