The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set To Square Off Against Savannah State On Saturday
1/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2009
Savannah State Game Notes| Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of Bartow Arena when it takes on Savannah State on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The contest, which marks just the fifth home game for the Blazers in 14 games this season, will be the first time the Blazers and Tigers will meet on the hardwood.
UAB (8-5) enters Saturday's match-up against Savannah State trying to snap a two-game losing skid. The Blazers played two ranked opponents last week on the road in No. 18 Louisville and No. 25 Butler. UAB dropped an 82-62 decision against the Cardinals, and also fell 72-68 against the Bulldogs.
Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden, a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, recorded 23 points against the Bulldogs and has now scored at least 20 points in nine of UAB's 13 games on the season. He currently leads the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Vaden has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 50 treys on the season. In fact, Vaden ranks seventh in the nation in total threes made and is fourth in threes attempted (133).
Senior guard Paul Delaney, who is the only Blazer to have scored in every game he has played, recorded 19 points and four assists in the loss to Butler. He is second on the team with 16.9 ppg, to go along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 72-of-122 shots from the floor this season (.590).
Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard leads the team with 9.0 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game. He recently recorded his Conference USA-leading fifth double-double of the season and 12th of his career against in the win over Florida Atlantic (12/22). He enters the Butler game ranked second in the league in rebounding and is ninth in scoring.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 8.2 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 4.5 points a game (73.5-69.0), despite having one of the toughest schedules in the nation (current strength of schedule is No. 17 according to CBSsportsline.com's RPI rankings through games of Jan. 1).
Savannah State comes into the UAB contest with a 7-6 overall mark following a 55-29 setback to Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 30. The loss marked the second straight for the Tigers and the fourth loss over their last six contests.
Three Tigers are scoring over eight points a game in senior guard Raye Bailey (8.6 ppg), senior forward Chris Linton (8.4 ppg) and freshman forward Rasham Hassan (8.2 ppg). Bailey leads the team with 2.6 assists and is second in three-point shooting at 48.6 percent (16-of-33), while Linton is the team's leading rebound with 5.5 boards per contest.
Junior guard/forward Jovonni Shuler leads the team in three-point shooting (50.0 on 16-of-32 shooting) and steals per game (2.8). He also averages 7.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest.
As a team, the Tigers are shooting 36.5 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. They are also being outscored by 7.4 points a game (61.3-53.9). However, Savannah State's strength relies on the defensive end of the floor, as it averaged 10.0 steals per game, while forcing opponents into 19.8 turnovers per game.
The contest will air live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, WUHT 107.7 FM, with David Crane, Steve Mitchell and Jon Gentile on the call.
