The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Begins Two-Game Road Swing At East Carolina
2/27/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
UAB-East Carolina game notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will begin an important two-game road swing when it travels to Greenville, N.C. to take on the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday night. The contests, which is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) will air live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT.
UAB enters its matchup against at East Carolina with a 19-9 overall mark and a 9-4 record in Conference USA play following a 71-60 defeat to No. 4 Memphis on Thursday night. The Blazers were led by senior Lawrence Kinnard's 25 points and 11 rebounds on the night.
Senior Robert Vaden currently leads the team in scoring (17.7 ppg) and is second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Vaden also leads the league in three-pointers made (89) and ranks fifth in the league in scoring.
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 4.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team and is second in the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 155-of-266 shots from the floor this season (.583).
Kinnard leads the team and leads the league with 9.1 rebounds a game and is third on the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game. His double-double in the loss to Memphis last Thursday marked his league-leading 13th double-double of the season (18th in his career).
As a team, the Blazers are leading Conference USA in field goal percentage, connecting on 46.5 percent of their shots from the floor, while also hitting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is averaging 6.9 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 7.3 points a game (73.3-66.0), 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).
East Carolina enters the game on Saturday sporting a 13-14 overall record and a 5-9 mark in league play following a 76-62 home loss to Marshall last Wednesday. ECU produced three players with double-digit point performances, led by sophomore center Chad Wynn with 16 points.
East Carolina boasts two of the top three-point shooters in Conference USA in senior guards Sam Hinnant and James Legan. The duo has each connected on 75 treys this season and both rank among the top seven three-point shooters in the league in terms of percentage (Legan is second at 41.4 percent, while Hinnant is seventh at 35.5 percent).
Hinnant leads the Pirates in scoring at14.9 points per game, while Legan is second on the team, averaging 12.3 points per contest.
Sophomore guard Brock Young is one of the top point guards in the country. He enters Saturday's contest tied for the national lead in assists per game, averaging 7.7 helpers per contest. Young, who is also averaging 11.1 ppg, is one of three Division I point guards who have compiled over 200 assists on the year (207).
Freshman forward Darrius Morrow has made his case as one of the top freshmen in Conference USA. Morrow comes into the UAB contest averaging 9.9 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per contest.
As a team, ECU is shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from deep, while averaging 73.5 points per contest. The Pirates are second in the league in three-point field goal percentage and are fifth in shooting percentage. The Pirates also rank second in the league in team assists, dishing out 14.93 assists per contest. However, ECU is allowing the opposition to score 73.7 points per contest, while allowing foes to shoot 44.7 percent from the field - both of which rank near the bottom of Conference USA. Additionally, the Pirates are being outrebounded by 1.3 boards per contest (35.7-34.3).
UAB and East Carolina will meet for the ninth time in series history on Saturday night, with the Blazers owning a 7-1 advantage. The lone ECU victory came on Feb. 16, 2005 in Bartow Arena when the Pirates snuck out a 67-64 win. The Blazers will make their fourth appearance at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday. UAB has never lost in the previous three games played in Greenville, N.C. UAB head coach Mike Davis has a 2-0 record vs. the Pirates, capturing a 58-42 victory at ECU on Jan. 27, 2007 and a 77-59 win at Bartow Arena last season (1/23/08).
