The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB-No. 4 Memphis Set For Showdown Thursday Night
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
UAB-Memphis Game Notes | Gametracker
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will take on No. 4 Memphis Thursday night at Bartow Arena at 8 p.m. The Conference USA rivals will do battle on the hardwood in front of a sold out Bartow Arena, as the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Blazer fans are encouraged to arrive early and wear gold as part of Thursday's Gold Rush. All fans holding lower level seat tickets, as well as season ticket holders with seats in the upper level of the arena, will be given a special gold shirt, courtesy of sponsors Legacy Community Federal Credit Union, Team Fever and Full Moon.
Memphis will come to Birmingham having won 54 consecutive Conference USA games, its last loss coming to UAB in Bartow Arena in 2006.
A limited number of the special gold shirts to be distributed Thursday night at Bartow are currently available at Birmingham-area Team Fever store locations and will also be sold at the arena on the night of the game.
UAB enters its matchup against No. 4 Memphis with a 19-8 overall mark and a 9-3 record in Conference USA play following an 86-56 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday. Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden led UAB with 22 points on the night to lead four players in double-figure scoring.
Vaden currently leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Vaden also leads the league in three-pointers made (89) and ranks fourth in the league in scoring. He has now scored in double figures in 26 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 16.6 ppg, to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team and is second in the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 149-of-253 shots from the floor this season (.589).
Senoir forward Lawrence Kinnard leads the team and is tied for the league lead with 9.0 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game. He collected 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Tulane on Feb. 18, which marked his league-leading 12th double-double of the season (17th in his career).
As a team, the Blazers are leading Conference USA in field goal percentage, connecting on 47.0 percent of their shots from the floor, while also hitting 34.8 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is averaging 6.9 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 8.0 points a game (73.8-65.8), despite having one of the toughest schedules in the nation (strength of schedule is No. 71 according to CBSSportsline.com rankings (as of Feb. 23).
Memphis enters the game at Bartow Arena sporting a 24-3 overall record and a 12-0 mark in Conference USA play following a 70-63 win at UTEP Saturday. The victory was the Tigers' 54th consecutive C-USA win and the 18th straight win this season. The Tigers were led by freshman Tyreke Evans' 25 points and eight rebounds in the contest. Senior Antonio Anderson was the only other Memphis player to reach double-digits, collecting 10 points and eight rebounds in the contest.
Evans comes into the contest as one of the top freshmen in the nation, collecting a team-leading 17.1 points a game. In addition to his scoring output, Evans also leads the team in steals with 2.1 per game, ranks second in assists (3.7 apg) and is third in rebounding (5.3 rpg).
Senior forward Robert Dozier is second on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). Dozier also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 51.1 percent from the floor and his 1.7 blocks per contest rank fifth in Conference USA. Anderson (10.5 ppg) and junior forward Shawn Taggart (10.1 ppg) also average double figures. Anderson leads the team with 4.2 assists a game, which is good enough for sixth in the league. Taggart also leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and blocked shots (1.7).
As a team, Memphis ranks second in the country in scoring margin coming into Thursday night's game, outscoring the competition by 17.1 points a game (76.2-59.1). The Tigers are also one of the top defensive teams in the nation, holding opponents to 37.4 percent shooting from the floor and 31.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Memphis also leads the league with 9.4 steals and 6.4 blocked shots per game. Additionally, the Tigers are tops when it comes to rebounding, pulling down an average of 39.1 boards per game and outrebounding the opposition by 4.9 rebounds per contest.
UAB and Memphis will meet for the 38th time in series history, with the Tigers owning a 27-10 advantage. Memphis defeated UAB, 81-68, earlier this season at the FedExForum. They enter Thursday's contest against the Blazers having won six straight in the series and 10 of the last 12. The last time a UAB team defeated the Tigers came on March 3, 2006 at Bartow Arena. That game also marked the last time Memphis lost a Conference USA contest (54 straight wins). UAB has an all-time record of 8-7 in games played vs. Memphis in Birmingham, but enters Thursday's contest on a two-game home losing streak to the Tigers.
In addition to the contest being televised, it will also air live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT, with the pregame show beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT.
