The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Takes On Memphis In Home Finale Wednesday Night
3/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2010
UAB-Memphis Game Notes 
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will play its final regular-season home contest when it hosts the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The contest will mark the final home game for the Blazers' senior class of Howard Crawford, Kenneth Cooper and George Drake.
The game is set to be televised on CSS and can also be heard on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, WUHT 107.7 FM. Tickets still remain and fans who would like to purchase tickets for the game can do so by going online at UABsports.com/tickets, or by calling 205-975-8221.
UAB enters Wednesday's contest against Memphis sporting an overall record of 23-5 on the season. The Blazers improved to 11-3 in Conference USA play with their 76-55 victory over Tulane on Saturday. Junior guard Elijah Millsap collected 20 points, while senior forward Howard Crawford added 14 points. Junior point guard Aaron Johnson tied his career-high with 10 assists to go along with seven points in the winning effort.
The Blazers continue to be led by Millsap, who leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), steals (1.7 spg) and free throws made (140) and attempted (198). He also ranks in sole possession of second place of single-season double-doubles with 14 on the year. That number not only leads the league, but ranks 18th nationally. Additionally, he is only on of two guards ranked among the top-40 rebounders in the nation, coming in at 38th nationally. The Louisiana-Lafayette transfer has led the Blazers in scoring and/or rebounding in 23 of their 28 games this season.
Crawford is second on the team with 12.3 points per contest, while junior guard Jamarr Sanders adds 10.8 ppg and leads the team in three-pointers made (58) and attempted (149). Junior guard Aaron Johnson collects 9.7 points per game and leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 5.0 assists per game.
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc this year. UAB also boasts a +5.1 advantage on the boards (36.6-31.5), which ranks third in C-USA. Furthermore, the Blazers hold the opposition to 61.1 points a game, which is second in C-USA and ranks 30th nationally (as of 2/18), and have held 21 of their 28 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 83-44 (.654) at UAB and a 198-123 (.619) mark overall. He now owns a record of 41-21 (.661) in Conference USA play.
Memphis comes into Wednesday night's matchup with an overall record of 21-8 on the season and is tied with UAB for second place in the latest C-USA standings with an 11-3 overall mark. Most recently, the Tigers pulled out a 76-69 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday night. Sophomore guard Elliot Williams scored a game-high 26 points, while junior guard Roburt Sallie added 20 points off the bench to lead Memphis to its fifth win in six games.
Williams, who scored 25 points in Memphis' first matchup against the Blazers, leads four Tigers' players in scoring, and ranks second in the league with 18.9 points a game. He also averages 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
Sophomore guard/forward Wesley Witherspoon is second on the team with 12.7 ppg and leads the squad in three-point field goal percentage (.431). Sallie (11.2 ppg) and Doneal Mack (10.2 ppg) each average double-figure scoring, while senior guard Willie Kemp leads the team in assists (4.1).
As a team, Memphis is outscoring its opponents by 10.8 points a game (75.9-65.1), which ranks third in C-USA. The Tigers are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, ranking second at 38.3 percent from beyond the arc. Memphis is also shooting 45.6 percent from the floor.
Head coach Josh Pastner is in his first year at the helm of the Memphis basketball program. He was an assistant coach under John Calipari for one year before taking the head coaching position at Memphis. Pastner was also an assistant coach at Arizona for eight seasons before taking the position at Memphis.
Quotables
UAB Guard Aaron Johnson
On magnitude of game against Memphis
"It's a real big game for us. These last two are the most important of the season so far. We have to be ready to come out with some energy. Everybody wants to beat Memphis because of what they have done in the past.This Memphis game is going to be a tough battle, out there and we have to just come prepared."
On pressure concerning winning out to make it to the NCAA Tournament
"It's not any pressure to me because I have been in this position two years in a row. This year I feel that we have a little bit more to be comfortable about. Our main focus is winning no matter what. We want to make to make it to the NCAA Tournament; that's what we're winning for, and we're just going to come in and focus on winning."
On constantly having to prove themselves as a basketball team
"We feel like we have provided a lot this year. Coming into this season, everybody said that we would be lucky to win 14 games and then we won 23. Coming into this season, nobody felt that we had good enough players to even compete. It bothers us but we just use it for motivation, and we are just going to keep playing hard and get into this NCAA Tournament."
UAB Player Howard Crawford
On Memphis game
"It's a big game for us obviously; not having beat Memphis in the last few years. Obviously [Memphis] is not as good as they have been in the past few years, but I think when they play against us, I always think its going to be a good game. We want to come out and play as hard as we can for forty minutes."
On conclusion of the season
"These two games coming up are really big games for us; we just want to take it one game at a time.We just want to focus on Memphis right now and after we get done with Memphis, then we will focus on the UTEP game."
On the importance of senior night
"I know my teammates are going to try to come out and get us a win at our last game at Bartow Arena. I have been here since 2006, and it seems like four years just flew by."
UAB Player George Drake
On facing Memphis
"It's going to be a very exciting game, and we're looking forward to it. It's a big game and I think its going to be a fun game. It's a must-win because it's our next game, but we have to take care of business, especially here at home."
On pressure of winning to get in NCAA Tournament
"We know and understand that we must take each game one at a time. I wouldn't say there is any added pressure; we just have to come out, stay focused in practice and play hard."
On emotions concerning last game at Bartow
"It'll be a very emotional game, and being at home, I have a lot of friends and family here. It's going to be fun. To end my career at home in Birmingham in front of my family and friends who come to support me here; its going to be a lot of fun. We're really focused on coming out here and playing hard, and all that stuff will take care of itself."
UAB Head Coach Mike Davis
On facing Memphis
"It's a different team. They are a very talented team - one of the most talented teams in our league. We have to keep them off the free throw line. It's going to be a challenging game; our crowd will be excited, and our players should be excited."
How this season ranks compared to others
"I think this team is one of the toughest teams I've coached. It's not about talent, it's about toughness, and I think we have that. The five games we lost could have gone either way. It's not the talent, it's the will to win; we don't have a five star team, but we do have a team of guys with a lot of toughness."
On significance of next game
"It's a big game, but no bigger than UTEP. It's no bigger than the game we played against Southern Mississippi because that was a must win. There are no excuses; we will be well prepared, and whether or not we lose will depend on how well we play. It's not a do-or-die game; but it's a game we really want to win."
UAB vs. Memphis: The Series
UAB and Memphis will meet for the 40th time in series history, with the Tigers owning a 29-10 advantage in games played between the two longtime rivals. The Blazers have lost eight-straight contests to Memphis dating back to an 80-74 UAB victory on March 2, 2006. UAB is 8-8 in contests played against the Tigers in Bartow Arena, but are 2-18 when the teams do battle in Memphis.
UAB-Memphis: Earlier This Year
Wesley Witherspoon scored 29 points and keyed a late Memphis rally as the Tigers defeated UAB 85-75 back on Feb. 13 at the FedExForum.Elliot Williams added 25 and seven assists for Memphis.
Elijah Millsap led the Blazers with 18 points and nine rebounds, connecting on 7 of 11 from the field. Jamarr Sanders added 16 points and Howard Crawford finished with 13 points. Aaron Johnson had 12 points and eight assists for UAB.
The game was close throughout with 31 lead changes and 10 ties. Neither team led by more than six points, until the stretch run.
Last Time Out
Elijah Millsap scored 20 points as UAB routed Tulane 76-55 on Saturday. Howard Crawford added 14 points, while Aaron Johnson tied his career high with 10 assists to lead the Blazers to their fourth-straight win.
Freshmen Dexter Fields and Ovie Soko each had a solid game for the Blazers. Fields collected 10 points off the bench, while Soko had seven points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.
The Blazers held Tulane to just 34.0 percent (17-of-50) shooting from the field and 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from three-point range. In comparison, the Blazers were 25-of-45 (55.6 percent) from the floor and 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from three-point range.
The Blazers bolted to a 41-21 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half. They built their largest lead of the game at 28 points, 61-33, with 10:09 remaining.
UAB outscored the Green Wave 23-13 on points off turnovers. Additionally, the Blazers' reserves played a combined 70 minutes and outscored their counterparts, 21-12.
Notes From The Previous Game
Below are some notes in regards to the previous game:
• UAB's 21-point win over Tulane was the largest margin of victory in Conference USA play this season, passing the 11-point win at Rice back on Feb. 6. In fact, it was the biggest Blazer victory since a 22-point win over East Tennessee State (Dec. 4).
• UAB defeated Tulane for the sixth consecutive time, while Mike Davis improves to 7-1 all-time against the Green Wave.
• Aaron Johnson's 10 assists tied a career high and marked the second time in three games he has reached the plateau. In fact, over his last seven games, Johnson is averaging 7.1 assists per game.
• The UAB defense held Tulane to 17 made field goals and 34.0 percent shooting. It is the second time this season the Blazers have held the Green Wave to 17 made field goals, which are a season-best.
• Elijah Millsap reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time this year he has scored 20 points in a game this season. He has now reached double figures in all but three games on the campaign.
• UAB shot a season-high 55.6 percent from the floor.
Dishing Out The Dimes
Junior guard Aaron Johnson collected 10 assists in UAB's win over Tulane last Saturday. It marks the second time over his last three contests he has reached 10 assists in a game, which ties his career high. In fact, over his last seven games, Johnson has collected 50 assists, which averages out to 7.1 assists per game.
Additionally, Johnson has accrued 401 assists throughout his career, making him just the eighth player in school history to reach the 400-assist plateau. He needs only three assists to move into seventh on the school's all-time list. A complete listing of UAB's all-time assist leads can be found in the column on page five.
"Field"ing An Opportunity
Freshman Dexter Fields has been playing inspired basketball over his last three games. Over that stretch, the Orlando, Fla. native is the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 10.3 points a game. Additionally, he is averaging 15.7 minutes a game, while also shooting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the floor and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc. In the 14 games prior to his recent surge, Fields averaged 1.0 points and 5.5 minutes a game, while making just 5-of-21 shots (23.8 percent) from the floor and 2-of-17 attempts (11.8 percent) from three-point range.
Difference Between Wins And Losses
When breaking down the statistics, it becomes obvious that there is a big difference in the UAB defense when it wins or loses. Below is a breakdown of the Blazer defense in games won and games lost.
UAB defense in... Games Won Games Lost
FG Pct. Def. .395 .481
3-pt. FG Pct. Def. .291 .382
Pts. Allowed 57.7 76.8
Record Defense
This year's UAB defense is close to etching its name in the program's record books. The Blazers have allowed teams to score just 61.1 points a game this year, which would rank third in UAB lore. Below is a breakdown of the top five defensive teams and where this year's squad would rank.
Year Games Pts. Allowed PPG
1993-94 30 1806 60.2
1985-86 36 2169 60.3
2009-10 28 1712 61.1
1984-85 34 2123 62.4
1981-82 31 1974 63.7
Best Team In School History?
The Blazers opened the season by winning 18 of their first 20 contests, which set a school record. Furthermore, UAB's 23 wins on the season is tied for fifth-best in program history. Below is a chart of where this year's team ranks on that list.
Season Final Record Pct. Postseason
1981-82 25-6 .806 NCAA Elite 8
1984-85 25-9 .735 NCAA
1985-86 25-11 .694 NCAA
2005-06 24-7 .774 NCAA Sweet 16
2009-10 23-5 .821 ???
1980-81 23-9 .718 NCAA Sweet 16
1983-84 23-11 .676 NCAA
2007-08 23-11 .676 NIT
A Rare Feat
For just the sixth time this season, UAB lost the rebounding battle when it was outrebounded by UCF, 38-36, in the 53-49 Blazer victory on Wednesday night. However, that may not be such a bad thing. UAB has won all six contests this season when losing the battle of the boards.
