The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set To Take On SMU At Bartow Arena
2/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2009
UAB-SMU Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday when it takes on the SMU Mustangs on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The contest will mark the sixth time the two teams will meet on the hardwood, but it is only the second time the Mustangs have made an appearance on the Blazers' home court.
UAB currently owns a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in three of the last four meetings between the two teams. However, the Blazers dropped their only meeting against the Mustangs at Bartow Arena, falling 60-56 on Jan. 31, 2007.
UAB enters its matchup against SMU with a 16-8 overall mark and a 6-3 record in Conference USA play following a 66-49 victory at Southern Miss last Saturday. Four players scored in double figures for the Blazers, as UAB captured its sixth win over its last seven games.
Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden, a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, finished with 15 points in the win over the Golden Eagles and currently leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Vaden, who has scored at least 20 points in 12 of UAB's 24 games on the season, leads the league in three-pointer made (79) and ranks sixth in the league in scoring. He has now scored in double figures in 23 consecutive contests.
Senior guard Paul Delaney III, who has scored double figures in all but one game he has played this season, is second on the team with 16.7 ppg, to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team and the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 136-of-228 shots from the floor this season (.596). In addition to leading the league in field goal percentage, Delaney is also eighth in scoring.
Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard leads the team and is tied for the league lead with 9.3 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game. He collected 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Southern Miss, which marked his league-leading 11th double-double of the season (18th in his career). In addition to leading C-USA in rebounds per game, Kinnard also ranks 12th in the league in scoring coming into the SMU game.
As a team, the Blazers are leading Conference USA in field goal percentage, connecting on 46.7 percent of their shots from the floor, while also hitting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is averaging 6.9 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 7.4 points a game (73.0-65.6), despite having one of the toughest schedules in the nation (strength of schedule is No. 38 according to CBSSportsline.com rankings (as of Feb. 12).
SMU comes into Saturday's contest on an opposite kind of roll than UAB, having dropped six of its last seven contests including a 69-56 home loss to Houston last Wednesday. The Mustangs were led by senior center Bamba Fall's 16 points, while junior forward Mouhammad Faye collected nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds in the losing effort.
Freshman guard Paul McCoy, who scored 10 points against the Cougars, enters the game as SMU's leading scorer at 13.1 points a game. He also leads the team in steals (43) and from beyond the arc (37.5 percent). McCoy, who is one of three Mustangs to average double figures, also ranks second on the team in assists (3.0 apg) and is third in rebounding (4.1 rpg).
Fall is the team's fourth-leading scorer with 8.7 points per contest, but at 7-1, he leads the team with 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game. Fall leads the league and ranks 14th in the nation in blocks. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 55.9 percent (71-of-127).
Junior guard Derek Williams is second on the team with 12. 3 ppg and leads the team with 3.5 assists per contest, while Faye is averaging 10.0 points and second in rebounding with 4.8 boards a game.
As a team, the Mustangs are outrebounding the opposition by 1.3 boards per game (35.1-33.8) but are being outscored 65.4-63.8. SMU ranks third in the league in scoring defense but it is last in C-USA in scoring offense.
The contest can be heard live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT, with the pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT.
