The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Accepts NIT Bid, Will Play Notre Dame Tuesday Night
3/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB accepted an invitation to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament Sunday and will play a first round game on the road on Tuesday night against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) on ESPN2.
The Blazers (22-11) earned a No. 7 seed while the Fighting Irish (18-14) are seeded No. 2 in the 32-team NIT field. The contest will be played on the campus of Notre Dame at the Joyce Center (11,418).
UAB finished the campaign with an impressive 22-11 overall record and an 11-5 mark in Conference USA play. The Blazers have an RPI of 46 and will enter the tournament having won 12 of their last 16 games. UAB finished third in C-USA regular season play and fell Friday in the conference tournament semifinals to No. 2 seed Tulsa, 70-67.
"We are excited for this opportunity to compete in the NIT and against a tradition-rich basketball program like Notre Dame," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "We don't get much time to prepare, but we are looking forward to what should be an exciting game between two very good teams."
Notre Dame finished with an 18-14 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big East play. The Fighting Irish are led by junior All-American Luke Harangody, who leads the team with 23.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. Harangody's scoring average is ninth-best in the country, while his rebounding ranks sixth in the nation.
Harangody is one of four Fighting Irish to average double-figure scoring. Senior Kyle McAlarney averages 15.4 points and has made 115 threes on the season. Senior guard Ryan Ayers (11.4 ppg) and junior guard Tory Jackson (10.4 ppg) also collect double digit points a game.
A trio of All-Conference USA seniors -- all career 1,000-point scorers -- lead the way for UAB. Guard/forward Robert Vaden, a second-team all-league selection, averaged 17.5 points this season while fellow second-team choice Paul Delaney III averaged 16.0 points per contest. Forward Lawrence Kinnard averaged 14.2 points and paced the team in rebounding at 9.0 boards.
The Blazers will be making their 10th appearance in the NIT and will be playing in the tournament for the second consecutive season. Last year as a No. 5 seed, UAB reached the second round knocking off VCU (80-77) on the road in first round play before losing at Virginia Tech (75-49) in the second round.
UAB has reached the NIT Final Four on two occasions, both under coach Gene Bartow. In 1989, UAB advanced to the semifinals in New York where it lost to St. John's (76-65) before coming back to defeat Michigan State (78-76) in the third place game.
The Blazers also reached the NIT semifinals in the 1993 tournament, falling to Georgetown (45-41). Again, UAB rebounded to win the third place contest, defeating Providence by a 55-52 score. UAB has an all-time record in the NIT of 12-9.
UAB has participated in 13 NCAA Tournaments, making this the Blazers' 23rd overall postseason appearance.
UAB was one of two Conference USA schools to receive bids to the 2009 NIT and is one of three league teams to earn a bid to the postseason. Tulsa, a No. 4 seed, also received an NIT invitation while Memphis is the No. 2 seed in the West Region of the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
