The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set To Square Off At Rice
2/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2008
UAB-Rice Game Notes | Gametracker
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will look to win its third Conference USA game on the road this season, when it squares off against the Rice Owls on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Blazers and Owls will meet for th fourth time in series history, with UAB holding a 3-0 advantage, including a 2-0 record at Rice.
UAB (16-7, 6-2 C-USA) enters the game against Rice in third place in the latest Conference USA standings following an 81-73 victory over UTEP last Saturday night. Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard continued his impressive play with 23 points in 22 minutes of action to help lead the Blazers to the win.
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden currently leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 20.8 points a game which rank fourth in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (100-of-241, 41.5 percent) and minutes played (34.9).
Junior guard Channing Toney, who had to sit out during the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules, has played in six contests and is collecting an average of 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. He is shooting 48.0 percent from three-point range (12-of-25), which leads the league in C-USA contests only. Kinnard is the team's third-leading scorer at 10.6 points a game, and also leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 boards per contest.
Junior forward Reggie Huffman, who returned to the starting lineup after playing sparingly over the previous three games due to an injury, is second on the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and is fourth in scoring (7.3 ppg).
As a team, the Blazers are leading the league in field goal percentage, hitting 46.8 percent from the floor, and ranks second in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, UAB ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.3 percent) and scoring defense (64.0 ppg). The Blazers are outscoring their opponents by 9.3 points a game (73.3-64.0).
Head coach Mike Davis is in his second season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. Davis, who is in his eighth season as a head coach, boasts a career record of 146-102 (.589) and has made five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 31-23 (.574) at UAB.
Scouting Rice
Rice comes into the game against UAB with a 3-19 overall record and are 12th in the league standings at 0-9. The Owls have struggled with injuries throughout the season and have now dropped 11 consecutive contests following a 68-53 defeat at SMU last Saturday night.
Rice's leading scorer and rebounder, Paulius Packevicius, is expected to miss his third straight game after an injury. Prior to his injury, Packevicius was averaging 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest. Packevicius joined junior guard Cory Pflieger (8.0 ppg) and freshman guard Jasen Williams (10.3 ppg) who are both out for the season with injuries.
In their absence, junior guard Rodney Foster is the team's leading scorer with an average of 10.9 points a game. Foster also leads the Owls in assists (2.5 apg) and steals (1.4 spg). Senior forward Patrick Britton is second on the team in scoring with 9.3 ppg, and is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds a game.
Sophomore guard Lawrence Ghoram is the only other Rice player to average more than four points a game, collecting 7.7 points per contest.
Head coach Willis Wilson is in his 15th season at the helm of the Rice program and has compiled a record of 219-238 (.479) during his tenure.
UAB-Rice: The Series
UAB and Rice will face each other for the fourth time in series history on Wednesday night, with the Blazers holding a 3-0 advantage in the series history. Of the three contests played between the two teams, two of the three UAB wins have come at Rice. The Blazers captured a 78-60 win at Rice in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 29, 1980. UAB also captured a 75-68 victory at Rice in its last trip to Houston on Jan. 16, 2006. Last season, the Blazers recorded an 83-74 victory last season (2/14/07).
UAB-Rice: A Year Ago
Lawrence Kinnard scored 21 points and Wen Mukubu added 20 to lead UAB to an 83-74 victory over Rice in the team's last meeting on Feb. 14, 2007 at Bartow Arena.
Paul Delaney III scored 15 points and Mukubu added 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals for UAB.
Morris Almond scored 28 points to lead Rice. Cory Pflieger scored 17 points, and Lorenzo Williams had 10 points and seven assists for the Owls.
UAB led 38-35 at halftime, but Rice got off to a quick start in the second half. Almond hit a jump shot in the lane and Pflieger hit two 3-pointers to help Rice take a 51-44 lead.
UAB used strong inside play to come back. Jeremy Mayfield scored three straight baskets inside to spark a 13-2 Blazer run. Two inside baskets by Frank Holmes and a 3-point play by Mukubu gave UAB a 57-53 lead.
The Blazers went on to lead by as many as 13 points. Rice pulled to within 75-66 with two minutes left on a 3-pointer by Williams. But the Owls could get no closer as Delaney, Mukubu and Kinnard combined to hit seven free throws down the stretch.
Last Time Out
Lawrence Kinnard scored 23 points and Robert Vaden added 17 to lead UAB to an 81-73 victory over UTEP on Saturday night. The win improved the Blazers to 11-0 in home games this season. It is the best-ever start at Bartow Arena, and the best home start to a season since beginning 11-0 during the 1983-84 campaign. Channing Toney had 12 points and Howard Crawford had 10 as UAB held off a late rally from UTEP. Stefon Jackson scored 22 points and Randy Culpepper had 20 to lead UTEP. UAB took a 67-57 lead when Vaden hit a 3-pointer with 7:10 left in the game. The Blazers led as much as 14 points (71-57) with 5:32 remaining, but UTEP chipped away at the lead, with Jackson scoring 13 points down the stretch. The Miners pulled to within 73-71 on a free throw by Kilgore with 1:20 left, but Vaden hit four free throws, and Aaron Johnson drove for a clutch layup to help UAB hang on. Johnson finished the game with a game-high seven assists to go with seven points and four rebounds. The Miners grabbed a 31-29 lead with just under three minutes left in the half. But a follow shot and two free throws by Reggie Huffman gave UAB a 35-34 lead at the break. Huffman finished with nine rebounds to help UAB to a 51-32 advantage on the boards. Huffman made his first start in three games after nursing an injury.
Hitting The Century Mark
By connecting on three three-pointers in Saturday's game against UTEP, junior forward Robert Vaden became only the second Blazer in program history to hit 100 three-pointers in a single-season. Former UAB great and current Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy connected on a school-record 122 three's in 1988-89 and 107 treys during the 1990-91 campaign. Vaden needs to make only 23 more threes to capture the single-season record. Furthermore, Vaden needs to attempt 27 more treys to surpass Andy Kennedy's school record of 267 attempted threes, set during the 1988-89 campaign.
Starting Rotation
UAB head coach Mike Davis has been forced to tinker with the starting lineup throughout the season. The Blazers have used six different starting lineups this year. In fact, all but two players on UAB's roster (Mike Davis Jr. and Tyler Marsh) have started at least one game this season. Additionally, junior Robert Vaden is the only Blazer to have started all 23 contests entering Wednesday's game at Rice.
Loe-vin' It
Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard has been a dominant player of UAB's last five contests. He has come off the bench in each of the last five games and provided an instant spark to the team. Over the span, Kinnard is averaging team highs of 19.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, while also recording 1.3 assists and 28.5 minutes per contest. He also connected on 30-of-49 shots from the floor (61.2 percent) and 6-of-15 three-pointers (40.0 percent). During the stretch of games, Kinnard also recorded his first two 20-point games of the season. He tied his career high of 25 points in UAB's 88-81 win at UCF on Jan. 30. He also recorded 23 points in an 81-73 win over UTEP last Saturday.
Board Work
A main reason why UAB earned an 81-73 win over UTEP last Saturday was because of the work on the boards. The Blazers grabbed a season-high 51 rebounds and outrebounded the Miners, 51-32, en route to the eight-point victory. In fact, the rebounding has been a major key in the outcome of a game for this year's UAB squad. When the Blazers outrebound an opponent this season, they are a perfect 14-0. Furthermore, in UAB's 16 wins this season, it owns a +7.1 advantage on the boards (37.9-30.8). However, in the Blazers' seven losses, they have been outworked on the glass, 40.7-34.9, for a -5.9 disadvantage.
Bench Preference
Junior Lawrence Kinnard is proving to be a bigger contributor when coming off the bench this season. Over his last five games, all of which he came off the bench, Kinnard has recorded 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game and led the Blazers to four victories. In fact, in his eight non-starts this season, the Memphis, Tenn. native is averaging 15.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg, while shooting 55.4 percent from the floor and 48.1 percent from three-point range. In his 15 starts, the 6-8 forward is contributing just 8.1 ppg, while shooting 35.0 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from deep. Furthermore, six of his top eight scoring games this season have come when he was not in the stating lineup.
Huffman Returns
Junior forward Reggie Huffman returned to the starting lineup against UTEP last Saturday and performed well. Huffman had played sparingly off the bench due to a back injury in UAB's previous three games. Against the Miners, Huffman played 18 minutes and recorded nine points and six rebounds. Huffman is proving to be a key cog in UAB victories this season. In the 16 wins this year, Huffman is averaging an impressive 8.9 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds a game. He also has connected on 65-of-99 shots (65.7 percent). However, those numbers drop significantly during UAB's seven losses. Huffman averages 3.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in the seven defeats. Additionally, his field goal percentage lowers to 36.4 percent.
Bench Depth
One of the main reasons for the Blazers' victory over UTEP last Saturday was the play of the reserves. The Blazers' bench outscored its counterpart by a score of 43-27. It marked the 11th time UAB's bench has outscored its opponent on the season. When that happens, it is usually a good thing. The Blazers hold a 9-2 record when UAB reserves outscore its counterparts.
