The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Faces UL-Lafayette In Final Non-Conference Game
1/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2009
UAB-Louisiana-Lafayette Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its final non-conference game of the season when Louisiana-Lafayette invades Bartow Arena on Monday night at 7 p.m. CT. The Blazers and Ragin' Cajuns are meeting for the fifth time in series history, and second time in as many years.
UAB enters Monday's matchup against Louisiana-Lafayette with a 10-7 overall mark and a 1-2 record in Conference USA play following an 81-68 loss at Memphis on Saturday night. Senior guard Paul Delaney III led UAB with a game-high 26 points, while senior guard/forward Robert Vaden recorded 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds in the losing effort.
Vaden, a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, currently leads the team in scoring (18.6 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.9 rpg). Vaden has scored at least 20 points in nine of UAB's 17 games on the season. He has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 57 treys on the year. In fact, Vaden ranks 16th in the nation in total threes made and is eighth in threes attempted (165).
Delaney, who has scored double figures in all but one game he has played this season, is second on the team with 17.0 ppg, to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 93-of-159 shots from the floor this season (.585). He currently ranks second in the league in field goal percentage and is ninth in scoring.
Lawrence Kinnard leads the team with 9.2 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game. He recently recorded his Conference USA-leading seventh double-double of the season and 14th of his career with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win over UCF (1/13). He enters the UL-Lafayette game second in the league lead in rebounding and is 10th in scoring.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 32.6 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 7.0 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 3.6 points a game (70.8-67.2), despite having one of the toughest schedules in the nation (strength of schedule is No. 31 according to RPIRatings.com rankings through games of Jan. 18).
Lousiana-Lafayette enters the contest at UAB with a 6-10 overall mark following a 79-71 overtime loss to Arkansas Little Rock last Thursday. It marked the Ragin' Cajuns fifth defeat in their last seven contests coming into Monday night's contest.
Sophomore guard Travis Bureau leads the team in scoring (15.4 ppg) and steals (17). Additionally, Bureau is shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. Junior guard Randell Daigle, who will be playing in just his seventh game this season, is second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and has connected on 21-of-45 (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Sophomore 6-7 guard Chris Gradnigo is the team's third-leading scorer, collecting 12.6 points a game.
Junior forward Tyron Johnson is the team's leading rebounder (5.8 rpg) and shot blocker (1.8 bpg), while Junior guard Ryan McCoy leads the team with 2.5 assists per contest.
As a team, Louisiana-Lafayette shoots 42.6 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc entering the contest against the Blazers. However, the Ragin' Cajuns are getting outscored by 2.7 points a game (69.6-66.8) and outrebounded by 1.6 boards per contest (35.9-34.3). Additionally, UL-Lafayette is allowing the opposition to shoot 42.9 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Blazers currently own a 3-1 advantage over the previous four meetings between the two squads, including three consecutive wins. The only Ragin' Cajun victory over the Blazers came in the first meeting between the two teams, as UL-Lafayette pulled out a 74-72 home victory on March 6, 1980. Last year, UAB pulled out a 78-72 overtime in the Cajun Dome on Nov. 27, 2007
The contest will air live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.
