The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Back On Road To Battle Marshall
2/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2007
Marshall Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to road action when it travels to Huntington, W. Va. to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). The Blazers will be making their third trip to the campus of Marshall University, boasting a perfect 2-0 record, including a 76-64 victory in Huntington last season (1/14/06).
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 5:30 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.
Scouting Marshall
Marshall enters Saturday night's contest sporting an 8-13 overall record on the season, and is tied with UAB at 3-4 in C-USA play. The Herd has won three of its last five contests, including a 56-52 home victory over East Carolina last Wednesday. Sophomore guard Markel Humphrey led Marshall with team highs of 17 points and seven boards on the night.
Humphrey leads the team this season in both scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg). Humphrey is one of the Marshall players to average double figures, along with junior guard Mark Dorris (13.0 ppg) and senior guard Travis Aikens (10.7 ppg). Dorris also leads the team in steals (1.3 spg) and three point field goal percentage (38.2 percent), while senior guard Chris Ross leads the squad with 52 assists this season (2.5 apg).
Head coach Ron Jirsa is in his fourth year at the helm of the Marshall basketball program, and has compiled a record of 38-68 (.358) record while at the helm of the Thundering Herd, and is 73-98 (.427) in six seasons as a head coach.
Scouting UAB
UAB will enter its contest at Marshall with an overall record of 11-10, and a 3-4 mark in league play. The Blazers enter the contest having dropped three of their last four contests, including a 60-56 defeat to SMU last Wednesday.
Junior guard Paul Delaney III, a two-time recipient of the Conference USA Player of the Week this season, leads the Blazers in points (16.5) and assists (5.3) per game, while also ranking third on the team with 5.0 boards a contest.
Along with Delaney, senior guard Wen Mukubu and sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard are also threats on offense. Mukubu averages 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest, while leading the team shooting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc. Kinnard ranks third on the team with 12.9 points per game, and also leads the team with 5.7 rebounds a game.
UAB head coach Mike Davis enters the game against the Thundering Herd with an overall record of 126-89 (.586) in his seventh season as a head coach, and is 11-10 (.524) in his first season at UAB.
A UAB Win Would:
• Improve UAB's record to 12-10 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA play.
• Earn the Blazers their fourth consecutive win and fourth win in five overall games against Marshall.
• Mark the 127th win in coach Mike Davis' career (216 games).
Last Time Out
Bamba Fall scored 16 points and Brian Epps added 14 to lead SMU to a 60-56 victory over UAB Wednesday. Ike Ofoegbu scored 10 points and hit a 3-pointer to spark a 16-2 second half run that proved decisive for SMU. The Mustangs trailed 27-26 at halftime. Wen Mukubu scored 14 points to lead UAB. Lawrence Kinnard added 12 points and Mike Davis Jr. had 10 for the Blazers. UAB lost its second game in a row at home. A 3-pointer by Mukubu gave UAB a 45-41 lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game. But a basket inside by Donatas Rackauskas and a 3-pointer by Epps started the run that put SMU ahead for good. Epps' driving basket gave SMU a 57-47 lead with five minutes left. UAB had chances down the stretch, pulling to within 59-56 on a reverse layup by Davis Jr. with less than a minute to play. But UAB struggled all night to get good shots against SMU's zone defense and could not make another basket.
UAB-Marshall A Year Ago
The Blazers swept Marshall in two games last season. UAB defeated the Thundering Herd by a count of 76-64 on Jan. 14, 2006 in Huntington, W.Va. The Green and Gold also defeated Marshall, 82-61, in the regular season finale in Birmingham on March 4. Frank Holmes led UAB at Marshall, connecting on all nine of his shots to finish with 22 points in the victory. Paul Delaney III scored 14 points off the bench to help the cause. In the second game between the two squads, it was Maurice Gibbs who came off the bench to add 10 points, while Delaney added nine in the victory.
Block Party
For a second time this season, junior forward Frank Holmes tied his career-high when he swatted five shots in UAB's loss to SMU last Wednesday. Earlier this season, he had five blocked shots in a 59-57 victory over the Bearcats on Dec. 2. He became the first UAB player to block five shots in a contest since former UAB great Will Campbell blocked five shots against Southern Miss on Jan. 12, 2002. Holmes currently leads the Blazers with 27 swats this season (1.3 bpg). Furthermore, he is the first player in school history to have blocked five shots on two separate occasions in the same season since former Blazer great Alan Ogg accomplished the feat during the 1989-90 campaign.
Defending The Trey
The UAB perimeter defensive effort over its last six games has been impressive. Over that span, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot just 27.1 percent (32-of-118) from three-point range. In fact, during seven conference games, UAB is allowing the opposition to connect on just 28.8 percent of its three point attempts. That number currently leads the league in C-USA play.
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 11 victories this season, the Blazers are allowing opponents to shoot 29.5 percent from the arc (66-of-224). However, opponents shoot nearly 40 percent (36.2 percent on 64-of-177) from beyond the arc in the Blazers' 10 losses on the year.
Welcome Back
When the Blazers travel to Huntington, W.Va. to take on Marshall, junior forward Frank Holmes will be happy to make the trip. Last season, the Somerville, Tenn. native connected on 9-of-9 field goals, and hit 4-of-5 free throws, to finish with a career-high 22 points.
Holding Opponents Under 50 Points
For the first time since Dec. 20, 2005, a UAB team held its opponent to below 50 points, when the Blazers won at East Carolina, 58-42, last Saturday. In fact, it was the lowest point total scored by an opponent since beating Houston, 64-42, on Jan. 10, 2004. The Blazers have now won 15 straight games when holding their opponent to under 50 points, and boast an all-time mark of 29-2. The last time a UAB team lost when holding the opposition below 50 points occurred on Feb. 15, 1986, when the Blazers lost, 48-46, at South Alabama.
Dishing It Out
In UAB's 58-42 win last Saturday at East Carolina, the Blazers assisted on 84 percent of their made baskets, collecting 16 assists on 19 made field goals during the contest. It is the highest percentage of assists this season, topping the 71 percent set against Radford back on Nov. 11 (20 assists on 28 baskets). Furthermore, in its 11 wins this season, UAB is averaging an impressive 13.6 assists per contest. However, that number drops significantly to 8.7 assists per game in the Blazers' 10 defeats this season. In fact, UAB has recorded 12 assists or more in eight games this season, winning all but two of those (12 assists at Wyoming on No. 18 and vs. SMU on Jan. 31).
Three Amigos
When Paul Delaney III, Lawrence Kinnard and Wen Mukubu reach double figures, good things usually occur. The top three scorers on this year's team have accomplished the feat on 10 occasions this season, winning six of those contests. The three games the Blazers lost when the trio hit double digits came against Washington State (71-60), at Wyoming (93-87) and at Memphis (79-54). Overall, UAB has won four times over the last six games when the threesome score in double figures in a contest.
Furthermore, the trio is combining to average 43.5 of the Blazers' 66.9 ppg, or approximately 66 percent of team's offensive output.
