The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Travels To Take On Memphis On Saturday
1/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2009
UAB-Memphis Game Notes| Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team is set for a showdown at Conference USA-leading Memphis on Saturday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. The contest, which is set to tip off at 7 p.m. CT, will be televised live on CBS College Sports and can also be heard on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT.
UAB enters Saturday's matchup at Memphis with a 10-6 overall mark and a 1-1 record in Conference USA play following a 60-52 victory over UCF on Tuesday at Bartow Arena. Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden led UAB with a game-high 19 points, including eight points in the Blazers' 17-0 run to end the game. Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard added 14 points and 14 boards to earn his Conference USA-leading seventh double-double of the season.
Vaden leads the team in scoring (19.0 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.7 rpg). He has scored at least 20 points in nine of UAB's 16 games on the season. Vaden has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 55 treys on the year. In fact, he ranks 14th in the nation in total threes made and is fourth in threes attempted (158).
Senior guard Paul Delaney III is second on the team with 16.4 ppg, to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 86-of-149 shots from the floor this season (.577). He currently ranks second in the league in field goal percentage and is ninth in scoring.
Kinnard leads the team with 9.4 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. He enters the Memphis game tied for the league lead in rebounding and is 10th in scoring.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 32.8 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 7.1 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 4.6 points a game (70.9-66.3).
Memphis enters the contest against UAB with a 13-3 overall mark and a perfect 3-0 record in Conference USA. The Tigers are coming off a 55-54 victory at Tulsa, which marked their seventh consecutive victory. Freshman guard Tyreke Evans was the only Memphis player to reach double-figure scoring in the win, leading the way with a game-high 23 points on the night.
Evans enters Saturday's matchup against the Blazers with a team-leading 16.8 points per contest, which ranks eighth among the league scoring leaders, and has reached double figures in all but one contest this season. He also leads Memphis and ranks second in the league in steals (2.8) and is second on the team in assists (3.9).
Senior forward Robert Dozier is second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg). Junior forward Shawn Taggart is the third Memphis player to average double figures, collecting 10.6 ppg, while also leading the team with 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots a game.
As a team, Memphis shoots 43.0 percent from the floor and 29.9 percent from beyond the arc entering the contest against the Blazers. The Tigers rank among the league leaders in many categories, and lead the conference in steals (9.88), blocked shots (7.06), rebounding (41.0), offensive rebounding (15.06) and field goal percentage defense (.370).
UAB and Memphis will meet for the 37th time in series history on Saturday night, with the Tigers owning a 26-10 advantage. Memphis enters the contest against the Blazers having won five straight in the series and nine of the last 11. Last season, Memphis swept both games, winning 79-78 in Birmingham on Feb. 16, 2008 and 94-56 in Memphis on March 8, 2008.
