The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Ready To Take On Tulane Saturday Afternoon
2/26/2010 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2010
UAB-Tulane Game Notes 
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of Bartow Arena to take on the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The Blazers and Green Wave will meet for the second time this season, after UAB earned a 58-49 victory over Tulane back on Jan. 9 in New Orleans.
UAB enters Saturday's contest against Tulane sporting an overall record of 22-5 on the season. The Blazers improved to 10-3 in Conference USA play with their 53-49 victory at UCF on Wednesday night. Junior guard Elijah Millsap collected his conference-leading 14th double-double on the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Dexter Fields, a native of Orlando, Fla., came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points in the victory.
The Blazers continue to be led by Millsap, who leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (9.4 rpg), steals (1.9 spg) and free throws made (136) and attempted (194). He has now moved into sole possession of second place of single-season double-doubles with 14 on the year. That number not only leads the league, but ranks 17th nationally. Additionally, he is the only guard ranked among the top-40 rebounders in the nation, coming in at 36th nationally. The Louisiana-Lafayette transfer has led the Blazers in scoring and/or rebounding in 22 of their 27 games this season.
Senior forward Howard Crawford is second on the team with 12.3 points per contest, while junior guard Jamarr Sanders adds 10.9 ppg and leads the team in three-pointers made (56) and attempted (146). Junior guard Aaron Johnson collects 9.8 points per game and leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 4.8 assists per game.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc this year. UAB also boasts a +5.3 advantage on the boards (36.7-31.4), which ranks third in C-USA. Furthermore, the Blazers hold the opposition to 61.4 points a game, which is second in C-USA and ranks 31st nationally (as of 2/18), and have held 20 of their 27 opponents to 66 points or below.
Head coach Mike Davis is in his fourth season at the helm of the UAB basketball program and his 10th season as a head coach. He boasts a record of 82-44 (.651) at UAB and a 197-123 (.616) mark overall. He now owns a record of 40-21 (.656) in Conference USA play.
Scouting Tulane
Tulane comes into the matchup at UAB with a 7-19 overall record and a 2-11 mark in league play. The Green Wave, who was off Wednesday night, last played on Feb. 20, dropping a hard-fought 58-55 decision to Marshall in New Orleans. Junior forward David Booker led the way with a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and two steals in the losing effort.
Junior guard Kris Richard paces Tulane with a team-best 12.3 points per contest. He also leads the team in steals (43) and ranks second in assists (2.1 apg) and minutes per game (28.9). Senior Kevin Sims, who broke his right wrist in Tulane's first contest against UAB back on Jan. 9, has returned to the lineup three games ago against UCF (2/13). He currently ranks second on the team with 11.7 points per game and, despite missing eight games with the injury, leads the team with 53 assists (2.9 apg). Sims is also the Green Wave's best three-point shooter, averaging 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Kendall Timmons (8.0 ppg), Booker (7.9 ppg) and senior forward Asim McQueen (7.7 ppg) all average over seven points a game. McQueen also leads the team in rebounds (4.5 rpg), while Booker is the squad's leading shot-blocker (1.0 bpg). As a team, Tulane is being outscored by 4.0 points a game (66.5-62.5) and outrebounded by 6.2 rebounds a contest (36.3-30.1).
The Green Wave enter the contest last in scoring offense and field goal percentage (.399) and are 11th in field goal percentage defense (.460). Tulane ranks fourth in the league in free throw shooting as a team (.704).
Head coach Dave Dickerson is in his fifth season at the helm of the Tulane men's basketball program. He owns an overall record of 67-81 (.453).
UAB vs. Tulane: The Series
UAB and Tulane have played each other on 33 previous occasions with the Blazers owning a 21-12 lead in the all-time series. UAB owns a 10-4 advantage over Tulane in Bartow Arena. With the win earlier in the season (58-49 on Jan. 9 in New Orleans), UAB has now won six consecutive contests over the Green Wave, with the last loss coming on March 3, 2007 at Bartow Arena. It is the only loss UAB head coach Mike
Davis has suffered to Tulane.
UAB-Tulane: Earlier This Season
Elijah Millsap scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Howard Crawford added 13
points to help UAB beat Tulane 58-49 on Jan. 9 at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans. The win for the Blazers came in the 1,000th all-time game for UAB.
The Blazers captured their fifth in a row against Tulane and eighth of the last nine games in the series. The Blazers led by nine at halftime, 27-18, and led by at least six points throughout the second half. Cameron Moore hit a free throw with 12 seconds remaining to give the Blazers their biggest lead of the game at 58-46.
Tulane got 17 points off 18 Blazer turnovers, but shot only 36.2 percent (17 of 47) for the game. Trent Rogers had four steals for the Green Wave.
Kendall Timmons scored 16 points to lead the Green Wave.
Last Time Out
Behind junior guard Elijah Millsap's conference-leading 14th double-double of the season, the UAB men's basketball team picked up an important 53-49 victory at UCF on Wednesday night. Freshman Dexter Fields, a native of Orlando, Fla., chipped in with a career-high 13 points and four treys off the bench.
The UAB bench came up huge for a second consecutive contest, outscoring its counterparts,29-21, and combined to play 73 minutes in the game.
The Knights trailed by eight at halftime, 31-23, as the Blazers led by as many as 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. But UCF fought back and tied the game at 38-38 on a basket by Keith Clanton with 11:02 remaining. UCF went the next 6:27 without a point and the next 7:21 without a field goal.
But the Blazers struggled to pull away, in particular due to a dismal performance from the free throw line. The Blazers connected on only 7-of-18 free throws in the second half, and went 10-of-22 from the charity stripe for the contest.
A.J. Tyler's tip-in basket with 1:58 brought UCF to within two. The Knights had an opportunity to tie the game or go ahead, but Millsap stepped in front of a UCF pass and went the length of the court for a slam dunk to give the Blazers a four-point lead with 1:26 left.
Notes From The Previous Game
Below are some notes in regards to the previous game:
• The 53 points in the contest scored by UAB marked a season low. However, the Blazers held UCF to just 32.1 percent shooting for the contest, which was also a season best for field goal percentage defense.
• UAB was outrebounded for the sixth time this season, 38-36, in the win over UCF. However, being out rebounded is not a bad thing, as the Blazers are now 6-0 when losing the rebounding battle this season.
• Dexter Fields, playing in his hometown of Orlando, Fla., recorded a career-best four three-pointers on his way to a career-high 13 points off the bench.
• UCF never led throughout the entire contest, marking just the second time this season UAB was won a contest when leading wire-to-wire (Cincinnati).
